U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the San Ysidro port of entry thwarted a significant smuggling attempt after discovering 52 reptiles, tied up in small bags and hidden in and under a man’s clothing as he tried to cross the border into the U.S. The incident occurred at aboutContinue Reading
United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Miranda Delee Farleigh (25, Ocklawaha) has pleaded guilty to possessing stolen mail. Farleigh faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set. Farleigh had been indicted on February 1, 2022. According to courtContinue Reading
United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Jimmy Wayne Hammonds, also known as “the Monkey Whisperer” (57, Parrish), today pleaded guilty to having violated the Endangered Species Act and Lacy Act in connection with a conspiracy to sell a protected primate to a celebrity client in California. Hammonds facesContinue Reading
U.S. District Judge Marcia Morales Howard has sentenced three former Hamilton Correctional Institution Annex officers for violating the civil rights of an inmate. Coty Michael Wiltgen (32, Live Oak) was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release; Ethan Burkett (25, Valdosta, GA) wasContinue Reading
43-year-old Lake City man, John Thomas Jackson was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for distributing visual depictions of child sexual abuse. The Court also ordered Jackson to serve a life term of supervised release, to register as a sex offender, and to forfeit the phone that he had usedContinue Reading
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office arrested a principal with the Hillsborough County School District on multiple charges after he sent sexually explicit texts to an undercover detective he assumed was a juvenile. From January 19 to January 27, 2022, undercover detectives were portraying themselves as a 15-year-old boy during a chat operation toContinue Reading
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office has identified the man responsible for a Dover fatal hit-and-run accident as Joseph Cantrell. Cantrell, 39, has been arrested and charged with striking a pedestrian on Gallagher Road and fled southbound towards Lewis Raulerson Road just after 8 a.m on Jan. 14. The black FordContinue Reading
The two suspects from the Brandon shooting late Monday afternoon were identified after details from the undercover police gun purchase made headlines. One man, Jordan Gracia, has been arrested, while the other, Jaycob Riley, is being sought by police. Chief Deputy Donna Lusczynski said one of their undercover deputies wasContinue Reading
Fraudulent driver’s licenses, which can be used for criminal activity or fraud, continue to be found by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at Express Consignment Operations hub across the nation. Last week Indianapolis CBP detained three shipments that were arriving from Hong Kong. The contents were described asContinue Reading
On Tuesday, January 11, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers (CBPOs) at the port of New Orleans targeted three international shipments for inspection. Each shipment contained boxes with hundreds of the popular pop fidget toys. The toys had copyright and trademark infringements. Some of the counterfeit trademarked items included toysContinue Reading
UPDATE: The discovery of four bodies, including a baby and a teen, in Canada near the U.S. border in what’s believed to be a failed crossing attempt during a blizzard has led to the arrest of Steve Shand. “The investigation into the death of the four individuals in Canada isContinue Reading
United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that DeAnna Marie Stinson (50, Tampa) has pleaded guilty to murder-for-hire. She faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set. According to court documents, on June 24, 2021, Stinson created an account onContinue Reading
U.S. District Judge James Moody has sentenced Mary Kathryn Marr (42, Miami) to 14 years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit money laundering. The Court also ordered Marr to forfeit various assets, which are traceable to proceeds of the offense and, as part of her sentence, entered a moneyContinue Reading
U.S. District Judge Anne C. Conway today sentenced Johnson W. Eustache to five years in federal prison for wire fraud and aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns. The court also ordered Eustache to forfeit approximately $700,000 seized from several bank accounts, as well as real propertiesContinue Reading
A Houston teacher is facing a felony charge for putting her son in the trunk of her car has been identified as Sarah Beam. UPDATED TO INCLUDE NEWS TALK CLIP – WATCH BELOW Beam, 41, a 10th grade English teacher, now faces charges of felony child endangerment, after she confessedContinue Reading
United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Tatiana Power (41, Weston) today pleaded guilty to a money laundering conspiracy related to a Florida-based international enterprise that operated subscription-based sexually exploitative “child modeling” websites. Power faces up to 20 years in federal prison. According to court documents, Tatiana Power (alsoContinue Reading
Andrew Cuomo won’t be held criminally accountable for his “forcible touching” women and actions as governor of New York. The New York Post reported on Monday that “Albany County District Attorney David Soares is expected to drop criminal charges of forcible touching against disgraced ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo days before he was to beContinue Reading
Rio Grande Valley Sector Border Patrol (RGV) agents arrest two sex offenders and a gang member. On Jan. 2, at approximately 7:00 a.m., McAllen Border Patrol Station (MCS) agents arrested three single adult migrants after they illegally entered the United States through Hidalgo, Texas. Criminal records checks obtained at aContinue Reading
76- year-old Naples psychiatrist, Gerald Michael Abraham, was sentenced to three years in federal prison for dispensing controlled substances (oxycodone and amphetamine) for no legitimate medical purpose. According to court documents, Abraham’s Naples clinic operated on a cash only basis, with patients paying $400 per visit. In October 2019, theContinue Reading
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody is fighting back against organized retail theft as 70% of store owners nationwide report an increase in crime over the past year. Most of the high-profile, smash-and-grab cases are taking place outside of Florida in cities like San Francisco, where several multi-day crime sprees disrupted holiday shopping. Continue Reading
53-year-old Patrice Eileen Wilowski-Mevorah of Tampa was sentenced Friday to five years and three months in federal prison for her involvement in a money laundering conspiracy in connection with an international enterprise that was based in Florida and which operated subscription-based sexually exploitative “child modeling” websites. Wilowski-Mevorah had pleaded guiltyContinue Reading
