News Releases and Statements
News Releases and Statements
Oscar Barrera, 29, was sentenced Jan. 9 to 220 months in prison. Barrera pleaded guilty April 4, 2022, to one count of distribution of child pornography and one count of receipt of child pornography.
Acting Special Agent in Charge of HSI Kansas City Taekuk Cho and United States Attorney Steven Russell announced that Martin Alonzo Castro, 42, of Fremont was sentenced Jan. 6 in federal court in Omaha for conspiracy to produce and transfer fraudulent documents following an HSI and joint law enforcement investigation.
Acting Special Agent in Charge of HSI Kansas City Taekuk Cho and United States Attorney Steven Russell announced that Gregory Lukassen, 50, of Omaha, was sentenced in federal court in Omaha for distribution and receipt of child pornography, Jan. 5, following joint HSI investigation.
Zumba-Mejia was convicted in February 2010 for the assault of his 7-week-old daughter. The Westchester County Court convicted Zumba-Mejia of reckless assault – causing serious brain injury to a child less than 5 years old by shaking or impacting the head – and sentenced him to three years’ incarceration.
An investigation led by the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore field office resulted in a 45-year federal prison sentence, followed by a lifetime of supervised release, for a registered sex offender for the sexual exploitation of two minor girls to produce child pornography. Dennis James Harrison, 40, of Rocky Ridge, received the lengthy sentence Jan. 3 after pleading guilty to sexually exploiting the minors, who were between the ages of 10 and 12 at the time of the abuse.
Darwin Murillo-Morocho, 25, a citizen of Ecuador, entered the United States without being inspected by an immigration officer on an unknown date and at an unknown location. In January 2018, the Multi-Competent Criminal Judicial Unit in the Canton of Yantazza Province, in Ecuador, issued a criminal arrest warrant for Murillo-Morocho for the charge of crime of attempted murder.
Luis Carlos Rodriguez Elizondo, 23, from Monterrey, Mexico, plead guilty Jan. 4 to conspiring to possess with intent to distribute more than 13 pounds of cocaine.
Orlando Gonzalez, 22, from Roma, was sentenced Jan. 4, to 72 months in federal prison followed by three years supervised release. The court found Gonzalez’s actions to be a danger to the community, noting he led law enforcement agents on a 100-mph high speed chase which resulted in a tragic rollover.
According to court documents, Ivan Sanchez-Jorge, 39, of Clearwater, Florida was selected for vehicle inspection by CBP at Eagle Pass on Dec. 3 and gave multiple negative declarations for weapons, ammunition and currency in excess of $10,000.
According to court documents, Jose Jesus Hernandez-Valle, 54, conspired with others to smuggle a 9mm pistol, a .40 caliber pistol, and more than 200 rounds of ammunition and other related firearm accessories into Mexico.
A federal grand jury in Tucson, Arizona, returned a 19-count indictment on Nov. 10, 2022, against 10 current or former southern Arizona residents following a multi-agency investigation which includes HSI, Arizona DPS, ATF, DEA, USMS, and the USPS OIG.
Acting Special Agent in Charge of HSI Kansas City Taekuk Cho and United States Attorney Steven Russell announced the sentencing of Jorgen Johannssen, 24, of Fremont, Jan.4, for distributing child pornography following an HSI Kansas City probe.
HSI Kansas City is a global leader in the fight against human trafficking and has an extensive mission to proactively fight against the trafficking of individuals.
Mark Forrest Cohn, 68, of Chandler, Arizona, was sentenced on Dec. 21, 2022, by United States District Judge David G. Campbell; Cohn pleaded guilty to one felony count of Entry of Goods by Means of False Statements.
ERO San Diego deportation officers escorted Giovani Danti Gamarra-Puertas, 63, aboard an ICE Air Operations charter flight to Lima, Peru, where they transferred custody of the foreign fugitive to Peruvian authorities at the Jorge Chavez International Airport, Dec. 29.
The FY 2022 annual report highlights how ICE is helping secure the Southwest Border and rebuilding a humane and orderly immigration system; combatting transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) including disrupting the supply of opioids coming to U.S. communities; improving transparency to stakeholders and the public; and supporting its dedicated, resilient workforce.
Luis Alberto Rojas-Carreno, 34, has convictions in Chile from 2013 for trafficking firearms and munitions and again in 2014 for three counts of trafficking small quantities, making threats to the military police, and for possession or carrying weapons subject to control.
Juan Jose Meija-Ramirez, 42, was wanted for illegal re-entry into the United States.
Jaconias Rosa Pereira, 50, a citizen and national of Brazil, entered the United States without being inspected by an immigration officer on an unknown date and at an unknown location.
Acting Special Agent in Charge of HSI Kansas City Joshua Armstrong and United States Attorney Steven Russell announced that Tammie J. Young, 53, of Kearney, Nebraska, was sentenced Tuesday in federal court in Lincoln.
Alphonso L. Battle, 55, pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to participating in a conspiracy to distribute heroin from Sept. 1, 2012, to April 3, 2017.
In January 2015 and April 2015, the Government of El Salvador issued arrest warrants for Bonilla-Garcia for the first for a charge of illicit association and second for aggravated extortion.
HSI’s TCIUs assist with furthering its global mission, working with foreign partners to investigate and prosecute people involved in transnational criminal activities that threaten the region’s stability and national security and who pose continuing threats to the United States. TCIUs identify targets, collect evidence, share intelligence, and facilitate prosecution in the United States and foreign countries.
HSI Panama, in coordination with the local TCIU, in addition to HSI Operation Expanded Impact Costa Rica and the Government of Costa Rica, executed 20 arrest warrants and 23 search warrants that resulted in the arrest of 19 individuals, the seizure of several vehicles, and the rescue of 77 migrants, Dec. 13. The individuals rescued were from various countries enroute to the United States, including nationals from Colombia, Ecuador, India, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, and Venezuela. The arrests included six employees of the migration service for Panama.
HSI Detroit Special Agent in Charge Angie Salazar announced Monday, that Christopher James Masterson, 35, of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina was sentenced to 30 years in the Bureau of Prisons for the sexual exploitation of minor children.
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