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Marcos Daniel Gomez, 21, from Brownsville, was sentenced March 30 in federal court to 192 months in federal prison to be followed by 30 years of supervised release. At the hearing, the court heard additional information including a statement from the victim’s mother detailing the pain and overwhelming sadness brought about by Gomez’ abuse.

Jonathan Mefford was sentenced for selling fentanyl-laced pills that caused the death of a 20-year-old Chula Vista man, identified in court records as J.P., in October 2018, and for distributing multi-pound level quantities of methamphetamine from San Diego to Kansas.

Robert Gasper Peri, a 56-year-old former resident of Houston who had access to children for more than 30 years as a music teacher, pleaded guilty to the charges Dec. 9, 2020.

Donald Thomas Dehnert, a 50-year-old resident of Kingwood, Texas, and former HCSO sheriff’s deputy, was sentenced in Harris County District Court after pleading guilty to possession of child pornography.

Joshua Welch, 50, a resident of Orange, Texas, was sentenced March 24 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. Welch pleaded guilty to the charges on Sep. 20, 2021.

Isaiah Gore, 21, and Denerio Williams, 22, were sentenced March 25 by U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo. Judge Marmolejo sentenced Gore to 30 months in federal prison while Williams was ordered to serve 24 months.

ICE will discontinue use of the Etowah County Detention Center in Gadsden, AL and will limit the use of the three other detention facilities: Glades County Detention Center (Moore Haven, FL), Winn Correctional Center (Winnfield, LA), and Alamance County Detention Facility (Graham, North Carolina).

On Thursday, the head of the Gulf Cartel, Jose Alfredo Cardenas-Martinez, aka El Contador, 42, of Matamoros, Mexico, was indicted on various charges related to his position as the head of the Cardenas family drug trafficking operation known as the Cartel del Golfo.

Michelle Krystal Mendez, 36, of Arizona, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jennifer G. Zipps who also handed down three years of supervised release after completing her prison sentence. Mendez previously pleaded guilty to importing fentanyl into the United States from Mexico.

Marco Antonio Martinez Sanchez, a citizen of Mexico, was charged March 21, in the Santa Cruz County Superior Court.

Eduardo Figueroa Jr., a 26-year-old resident of Cleveland, Texas, and Cynara Lucia Sarmiento, a 23-year-old resident of Conroe, Texas, pleaded guilty March 22 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to both counts of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamines.

Roel Alanis, 32, of McAllen, Texas, was sentenced March 22 to 30 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release. At the hearing, the court noted how the serious violation of his conduct and the series of continuing bribes in return for noncitizen rosters he received merited some incarceration time.  Alanis pleaded guilty on April 27, 2021.

A federal grand jury returned the two-count indictment against Bok Nyo Kim, 72, a legal permanent resident and Henry Yuseok Kim, 45, both citizens of South Korea residing in Laredo.

Eduardo Figueroa Jr, 26, of Cleveland, Ohio and Cynara Lucia Sarmiento, 23, of Conroe, Texas, pleaded guilty March 22 before U.S. District Judge Ricardo H. Hinojosa who accepted their pleas for both counts of possession with intent to distribute meth.

According to court records and evidence presented during a three-week trial, Roberto Cruz Moreno, 22, of Woodbridge, and Marvin Torres, 21, of Manassas, were “chequeos,” which are soldiers, in the Guanacos Lil Cycos (GLCS) clique of MS-13; Kevin Perez Sandoval, 24, of Warrenton, was an “observacion,” which is a lower level soldier in the GLCS clique; and Jose Rosales Juarez, 27, of Manassas, was a “paro,” which is an entry level member of the GLCS clique.

Nathan Nichols, a 46-year-old Corpus Christi resident, pleaded guilty March 21 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to conspiring with others to steal $2,176,000 in sensitive military equipment from U.S. Army Garrison Ft. Hood in June 2021.

Carlos Daniel Uribe-Garza, 23, from Edinburg, Texas was sentenced March 21 to 121 months, followed by five years of supervised release. He will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children.

Eugenio Dario Molina-Lopez, aka “Don Dario,” was indicted on Jan. 29, 2019, on charges of Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine Intended for Unlawful Importation and Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine on Board a Vessel.  Molina-Lopez remains a fugitive. 

U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey sentenced Charles “Man Man” Thompson to 45 years in prison today. The 35-year-old St. Louis resident pleaded guilty in January 2020 to one count of conspiracy to distribute cocaine; three counts of discharging a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime resulting in death; and one count of discharging a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

Following the presentation of court documents and evidence at trial, a jury found Kevin Lewis, 58, and Travis Vontress, 45, guilty of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, conspiracy to distribute heroin, conspiracy to distribute cocaine powder, maintaining drug involved premises, and unlawful use of a telephone in furtherance of drug trafficking.

The indictment returned on Nov. 1, 2018, charges Axel Bladimir Montejo Saenz, 35, aka “Mosh,” aka “Kraken,” with conspiracy to distribute cocaine intended for unlawful importation and conspiracy to distribute cocaine on board a vessel. Montejo remains a fugitive.

Oscar Hinojosa, 36, of Mexico residing in Pharr, Texas, was sentenced to 210 months in federal prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release. Hinojosa, a noncitizen, is set to face removal proceedings following completion of his sentence.

During this two-day undercover investigation aimed at addressing human trafficking in the east Tennessee area, officers placed several decoy advertisements on websites known to be linked to prostitution and commercial sex. The focus of the operation was to identify individuals seeking to engage in commercial sex acts with minors.

On March 17, David John Nava, 63, of La Jolla was sentenced in federal court for his role in multiple felonies related to the operation of his financial firm, Surf Financial Group, LLC, including conspiring to defraud shareholders of publicly traded companies, transmitting millions of dollars through an unlicensed money transmitting business, and falsifying multiple years of federal tax returns. He was also ordered to pay $3,716,888.27 in restitution.

According to court documents, in August of 2019, agents with HSI Fayetteville received information that Jessica Marie Harcrow, 40, was trafficking large quantities of methamphetamine into the Northwest Arkansas area from Oklahoma.