# Doj
St. Louis carjacking caught on camera, suspect who left debit and EBT cards convicted
This article contains AI-assisted content. St. Louis, Missouri - James Blakemore, 36, has been convicted for his involvement in a 2020 carjacking incident. The conviction stemmed from a carjacking event caught on camera, where the accused threatened a truck driver at gunpoint and stole a vehicle. Blakemore faced multiple felony charges, including carjacking, brandishing a firearm in a violent crime, and illegal firearm possession by a felon.
High-speed chase leads to firearm charges for Billings man
This article contains AI-assisted content. Billings, Montana - Christopher Samuel Fear, 38, of Billings, has admitted to illegal possession of a firearm. While already on state probation for a drug conviction and having an outstanding probation violation arrest warrant, Fear led law enforcement on a high-speed chase that ended with his vehicle crashing. A subsequent search of the vehicle revealed a firearm, leading to his guilty plea.
Cut Bank man pleads guilty to violent assault and shooting on Blackfeet reservation
This article contains AI-assisted content. Great Falls, Montana - Luke Charles Wells, 32, of Cut Bank, has admitted to charges of assault with a dangerous weapon and using a firearm during a crime of violence on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. For the assault charge, Wells faces up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release. The firearm charge carries a more severe mandatory minimum sentence of five years to life in prison, in addition to a $250,000 fine and five years of supervised release.
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Fort Belknap man faces charges for hoax threat against Dodson school
This article contains AI-assisted content. Great Falls, Montana - Jacob Erwin Wilson, 40, of Fort Belknap, was arraigned on Tuesday following allegations of making hoax threats against a school in Dodson, near the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation. U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich announced the arraignment today.
Federal court sentences Ozark man to over 16 years in prison for meth conspiracy
This article contains AI-assisted content. Kansas City, Missouri - Jevn Todd Griffitt, 26, of Ozark, was sentenced to 16 years and eight months in federal prison without the possibility of parole for his involvement in a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy. The court also ordered Griffitt to forfeit $15,324, representing the proceeds from his involvement in the drug-trafficking conspiracy.
18-year sentence for Kansas City man found with meth and illegal guns after mother's death
This article contains AI-assisted content. Kansas City, Missouri - Michael Thomas Cummings II, 41, known as “Blue,” of Kansas City, was sentenced to 18 years in federal prison without parole following his guilty plea to possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute and being a felon in possession of firearms. This case unfolded after Cummings called 911 for his unresponsive mother, leading to the discovery of illegal drugs and firearms at his residence.
Springfield court sentences Arkansas man to 13 years in prison for meth distribution
This article contains AI-assisted content. Springfield, Missouri – Marcelino Sauseda, Jr, 44, of Arkansas, was sentenced to federal prison for his involvement in a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy in Douglas County, Missouri. He admitted guilt to one count each of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime. Sauseda was ordered to serve a 13-year and four-month sentence without the possibility of parole and to forfeit $24,830 in drug-trafficking proceeds.
St. Louis man admits to the February robbery of Jennings Gas Mart
This article contains AI-assisted content. St. Louis, Missouri - Richard E. Barber, 51, of St. Louis County, confessed in U.S. District Court to the armed robbery of a convenience store in Jennings this past February. Barber admitted that at the time of the robbery, he was under supervised release. He had previously pleaded guilty in 2014 to being a felon in possession of a firearm and was sentenced to 100 months in prison.
Florissant man charged with fentanyl distribution in case that led to the death of twin brothers
This article contains AI-assisted content. St. Louis, Missouri - Jesse Charleston, 33, of Florissant, was arrested and charged with three felonies relating to the distribution and possession of fentanyl. These charges come in the wake of a tragic incident in May, where the illegal substance he allegedly sold led to the death of twins in St. Louis.
18-year-old Bay St. Louis woman faces prison for fentanyl pill trafficking
This article contains AI-assisted content. Gulfport, Mississippi - Emma Kate Stoute, 18, of Bay St. Louis, has entered a guilty plea to charges of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute fentanyl-laced pills. The plea was entered in the U.S. District Court in Gulfport on November 27, 2023.
Lynn man gets 44 months in prison for using a fake identity to rent an apartment, obtain PPP loans
This article contains AI-assisted content. Boston, Massachusetts - Steeve Jean, 36, of Lynn, was sentenced to 44 months in prison and three years of supervised release for a series of criminal activities, including submitting fraudulent federal loan applications and using a stolen identity to rent an apartment without making rent payments.
High school in Essex County victim of cyberattack, former IT manager charged with causing it
This article contains AI-assisted content. Boston, Massachusetts - Conor LaHiff, 30, of Ayer and a former Information Technology Manager of a public high school in Essex County, has been charged and agreed to plead guilty to damaging the school's computer network in June 2023. He is expected to appear in federal court in Boston at a future date.
Tampa man sentenced in $2.5 million laundering scheme involving crypto & Nigeria
This article contains AI-assisted content. Boston, Massachusetts - Tochukwu Abel Edeh, 33, a Nigerian national formerly residing in Jacksonville, has been sentenced to a term of 42 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Edeh was convicted of laundering proceeds from international online investment fraud schemes, often described as Ponzi-style operations. In September 2022, he pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering conspiracy and one count of conspiracy to conduct an unlicensed money-transmitting business.
Baltimore man admits to committing 3 more bank heists after serving time for 2003 bank robbery
This article contains AI-assisted content. Baltimore, Maryland - Kevin Maurice Lawson, 55, of Baltimore, entered a guilty plea for committing three armed bank robberies that occurred between June 6 and July 18, 2022. He used a black air gun in each incident. These crimes were carried out while Lawson was participating in a residential re-entry program, concluding his federal sentence for a prior bank robbery conviction from 2004.
Chicago man among four Sin City Deciples members convicted in racketeering case
This article contains AI-assisted content. Hammond, Indiana - Four members of the Sin City Deciples [sic] motorcycle organization, including one man from Chicago, have been convicted on various felony charges after an eighteen-day jury trial, according to an announcement from the U.S. Justice Department's Northern District of Indiana. The word 'Deciples' is purposefully misspelled by the organization, similar to how the Hells Angels dropped the apostrophe in "Hell's".
Jefferson Parish woman sentenced for defrauding buyers of PPE during pandemic
This article contains AI-assisted content. New Orleans, Louisiana - Cynthia Caronna, of Jefferson Parish, has been sentenced to five years probation, six months of home detention, and pay $1,012,500 in restitution for her involvement in a conspiracy to defraud a business seeking to purchase personal protective equipment (PPE) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Caronna's co-defendants in the case are Frank LaBruzzo and an unnamed resident of the United Kingdom.
LaPlace man pleads guilty to $20k CARES Act loan fraud, faces up to 20 years in prison
This article contains AI-assisted content. New Orleans, Louisiana - Bashir Schofield, 24, of LaPlace, has pleaded guilty to wire fraud in relation to his involvement in filing false applications for loans under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). Schofield, along with two relatives, submitted fraudulent applications to acquire funds from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and Economic Injury Disaster (EIDL) loans.
$133k CARES Act fraud leads to 18-month prison sentence for Louisville man
This article contains AI-assisted content. Louisville, Kentucky - Blake Patterson, 38, of Louisville, has been sentenced to federal prison for his involvement in the submission of twelve fraudulent applications under the CARES Act. He was sentenced to 1 year and 6 months in prison for twelve counts of wire fraud and one count of bank fraud. Following his prison term, he will undergo a 5-year term of supervised release and pay $133,802 in restitution. The federal system does not offer parole.
LexLive adopts new service animal policy after ADA complaint settlement with veteran
This article contains AI-assisted content. Lexington, Kentucky - The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Kentucky recently announced a settlement with Big Picture Ventures, the owner of LexLive in Lexington. This settlement resolves a complaint alleging the entertainment center violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by excluding an individual with a disability accompanied by a service animal.
Appalachian Regional Healthcare & cardiologist agree to $3 million settlement over billing claims
This article contains AI-assisted content. Lexington, Kentucky - Appalachian Regional Healthcare, Inc. (ARH), a Kentucky-based hospital system, and Padubidri Chandrashekar, M.D., a cardiologist with admission privileges at ARH, will pay $3,033,861.92 to settle civil allegations involving improper claims submitted to Medicare and Kentucky Medicaid for non-covered diagnostic cardiac catheterizations and associated services.