Matthew R. Molsen United States Attorney for the District of Nebraska | U.S. Attorney for the District of Nebraska
Mia Armani Williams, a 22-year-old resident of Chicago, was sentenced for misprision of a felony in a federal court in Lincoln, Nebraska, on April 14, 2025, as announced by Acting United States Attorney Matthew R. Molsen. Senior United States District Judge John M. Gerrard handed Williams a sentence of two years of probation. The federal system does not offer the possibility of parole.
The case dates back to October 1, 2022, when a Nebraska State Patrol trooper noticed two nearly identical black Mercedes SUVs with Illinois license plates traveling eastbound on I-80 in Seward County. One SUV, driven by co-defendant Jennilee Velez with Mia Williams as a passenger, was stopped. The second SUV, which initially sped away, was stopped later by a Saline County deputy. It was driven by Samantha Francisco and had Julany Rivera as a passenger.
After Williams and Francisco admitted to possessing marijuana, both vehicles were searched. The SUV driven by Velez contained over 16 pounds of cocaine and 393 oxycodone pills, while the other SUV had more than 24 pounds of cocaine and 66 oxycodone pills. Further investigation of Velez’s and Francisco’s phones revealed that the group of four women had traveled from Chicago to Los Angeles, where the drugs were loaded into the SUVs. At the time of the stop, they were returning to Chicago. Williams did not inform law enforcement about the illegal activities when initially questioned.
Co-defendant Jennilee Velez received a sentence of 42 months in prison and two years of supervised release on April 29, 2024. The cases of the other co-defendants are yet to be resolved.
The investigation was conducted by the Nebraska State Patrol, the Seward County Sheriff's Department, the Saline County Sheriff's Department, and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
