An Independence, Missouri, business owner has been sentenced in federal court for his role in a conspiracy to commit arson against a rival business as well as a residence, and for illegally possessing a firearm. William “Bill” Joseph Reneau, 44, of Overland Park, Kansas, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark on Tuesday, Feb. […]
An indictment was unsealed charging 11 individuals on a 136-count federal indictment including violations of drug conspiracy, drug possession, and drug possession with the intent to distribute, and violations of the dogfighting prohibitions of the federal Animal Welfare Act, and conspiracy to commit the same. The defendants include Jarvis Lockett, 40, of Warner Robins, Georgia; […]
A Missouri, woman was sentenced in federal court for leading a conspiracy that distributed more than 15 kilograms of methamphetamine in a three-county area. Christina E. Gauger, 39, of Springfield, Missouri was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 17 years in federal prison without parole. Law enforcement officers seized a total of […]
(Missouri Independent) – Seven U.S. Senate Democrats urged the chamber’s ethics panel last week to investigate Sen. Josh Hawley’s role in the pro-Trump assault on the Capitol. Now Hawley is calling for an ethics probe of the Democrats. In a Monday letter, Hawley argued that the Democrats filed an improper complaint last week against him and Sen. […]
Seven alleged members of the violent Gangster Disciples gang, including top national and state leaders, are in custody after multiple arrests this morning for their alleged participation in a years-long interstate racketeering conspiracy involving multiple murders, drug trafficking, and other crimes. The case was unsealed today in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District […]
A former captain in the Kansas City, Missouri, Fire Department was sentenced in federal court for illegally selling dozens of firearms over a five-year period, and to selling firearms to convicted felons. James Samuels, 55, of Kansas City, Mo., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner to six years in federal prison without […]
Two leaders of the national gang the Gangster Disciples were sentenced today for a racketeering conspiracy involving murder. Shauntay Craig, aka Shake, 42, of Birmingham, Alabama, was sentenced to 40 years in prison. Craig pleaded guilty in August 2019 to racketeering conspiracy involving murder and drug trafficking. Donald Glass, aka Smurf, 30, of Decatur, Georgia, […]
A Missouri, a man was sentenced in federal court for his role in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and for illegally possessing a firearm. Ladd E. Callen, 50, Rolla, Missouri was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs to 12 years in federal prison without parole. On Sept. 25, 2020, Callen pleaded guilty to […]
A Missouri, man has been sentenced in federal court for distributing methamphetamine and possessing a homemade firearm. Lyle Scott Jennings, 49, of Butler, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner on Tuesday, Jan. 12, to 10 years in federal prison without parole. On Feb. 10, 2020, Jennings pleaded guilty to participating in a […]
Former Missouri U.S. Senator John Danforth is weighing in on fellow Republican Josh Hawley’s effort to contest General Election results. Danforth, who endorsed Hawley, says “Lending credence to President Trump’s false claim that the election was stolen is a highly destructive attack on our constitutional government.” He says it is “the opposite of conservative; it […]
A Missouri, man pleaded guilty in federal court to his role in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in Camden County, Missouri. Stephen Joseph Sanchez, 35, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Willie J. Epps Jr. to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Co-defendant Jo Marie Pollina, 37, of Kansas City, Mo. pleaded guilty to […]
A corporate executive has been ordered to serve 20 years in prison after his conviction related to falsely telling thousands of patients with long-term incurable diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and dementia, they had less than six months to live and subsequently enrolling them in hospice programs. A federal jury in McAllen, Texas, convicted Rodney […]
A Minnesota man accused of unlawfully going onto property and entering a house in Daviess County on December 14th entered a plea of not guilty on December 15th. Forty-one-year-old Greg Bryan Ortega of Saint Peter, Minnesota has been charged with felony burglary in the first degree, misdemeanor property damage in the second degree, and an […]
A federal grand jury has returned a 147-count superseding indictment against 40 defendants across South Carolina in the largest federal racketeering conspiracy in South Carolina history. The indictment alleges a sprawling criminal enterprise whereby inmates with the South Carolina Department of Corrections, often through the use of contraband cell phones, orchestrated murder, kidnapping, firearms distribution, […]
The new cold case unit in Missouri has already charged its first murder case. The Missouri Attorney General’s Cold Case Unit will take a fresh look at cold cases across the state and work to investigate and charge those cases. “Since entering office, I’ve made it one of my missions to prosecute the state’s […]
Nineteen defendants have been indicted by a federal grand jury for their roles in a $1.2 million insurance fraud conspiracy that involved false claims of injuries suffered in car accidents. Lawrence Courtney Lawhorn, 32, and Latoya Marie Brown, 35, who resided in Columbia and in the Kansas City area; Lauren Courtney Luque, 34, Michael Jadon […]
Thirty-four-year-old Kristopher Sean Matthews (aka Ali Jibreel) admitted to conspiring to provide material support to the designated foreign terrorist organization Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham/Syria (aka ISIS), announced Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, U.S. Attorney Gregg N. Sofer for the Western District of Texas, and FBI Special Agent in Charge […]
The United States Attorney General has directed the Federal Bureau of Prisons to schedule the executions of three federal-death row inmates sentenced to death for brutal murders, including the murder of a child and, with respect to two inmates, the murder of multiple victims. Alfred Bourgeois abused, tortured, and beat to death his young daughter. […]
Five members of the violent Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) international street gang are set to appear in court following charges of conspiracy and murder in aid of racketeering, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian C. Rabbitt of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick. Wilson Jose Ventura-Mejia, 24; Jimmy Villalobos-Gomez, 23; Angel […]
Seven individuals across two states were charged in an indictment unsealed for their alleged participation in a scheme to obtain approximately $16 million in forgivable Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Amir Aqeel, 52, and Pardeep Basra, 51, both of […]
