SEVEN INDICTED AND ARRESTED ON FEDERAL DRUG, GUN & ROBBERY CHARGES

Two More Defendants Arrested Will Face Criminal State Charges

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A total of nine defendants were arrested earlier today and face federal and state criminal charges, announced Anne M. Tompkins, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Seven of the defendants were charged with federal drug, gun and robbery offenses, and two face state criminal charges.

U.S. Attorney Tompkins is joined in making today’s announcement by Tony Robbins, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Charlotte Field Division; R. Andrew Murray, District Attorney for Mecklenburg County; Chief Rodney D. Monroe, of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD); J. Richard Griffin, Special Agent in Charge of the North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement Division (ALE); and Tracy Lee, Judicial District Manager of the 26th Judicial District of the North Carolina Division of Community Corrections.

The defendants were apprehended during an early morning take-down today conducted by federal, state, and local law enforcement officials. Those arrested and federally charged include, in alphabetical order:

• Tangie Alexander, 28, of Charlotte;

• Curtis Davis, 57, of Charlotte;

• Dequrius Stephon Greene, 20, of Charlotte;

• Damien Jackson, 31, of Charlotte;

• Louis Daniel Misenheimer, Jr., 40, of Charlotte;

• Anthony Moye, 49, of Charlotte; and

• Charles Edward Toney, a/k/a “CJ”, 31, of Charlotte

In addition to the seven federal defendants apprehended today, Tommie Lee Williams, a/k/a “ATL”, 39, and Dapatrick Marque Richardson, 28, both of Charlotte and currently in custody on state offenses, have also been charged federally in connection with this investigation.

Three more defendants, Daysha Cole, 20, Roberto Gallegos, 23, and Jamire White, 21, all of Charlotte, were arrested in November 2011, on a federal complaint on bank robbery charges stemming from this investigation. They are currently in local federal custody.

Of those arrested today, Curtis Davis, made his initial federal court appearance this morning. The other six individuals in custody on federal charges will have their initial court appearances later today or tomorrow.

Two additional defendants arrested today face state criminal charges.

Today’s arrests and indictments are the result of a four-month, cross-jurisdictional and multi-agency investigation conducted by local, state, and federal law enforcement officers, dedicated to making our streets and communities safer. The agencies involved in the initiative include the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina, ATF, CMPD’s North Tryon Division & Vice Unit, the Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s Office, the North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement Division, and North Carolina State Probation. The goal of the investigation is to target and reduce violent crime in Mecklenburg County, with special emphasis placed on the Sugar Creek/Interstate 85 corridor.

In making today’s announcement U.S. Attorney Tompkins stated, “Today’s arrests are the result of a coordinated effort among federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to focus our resources on a hot spot for violent crime. Throughout this investigation all agencies worked side by side to identify and prosecute individuals who pose a continuous threat to our community. I want to thank all the agencies involved in this successful endeavor, and to assure the public that we will all continue to work together and remain vigilant in our commitment to making our streets and communities safer. ”

“Today’s joint enforcement operation should send a loud and clear message,” said ATF’s Acting Special Agent in Charge Robbins. “ATF will continue to combine our efforts and resources with our law enforcement partners to hold those accountable who continue to endanger our communities by engaging in violent crime; especially those crimes involving the use of firearms.”

“A successful operation of this magnitude could only have been accomplished through multi-agency collaboration and communication. By working with our partners, who are just as committed as we are to reducing crime and bringing violent offenders to justice, we helped to improve the quality of life for our citizens today along the Sugar Creek corridor,” said Chief Monroe of CMPD.

“Alcohol Law Enforcement is always willing to assist local, state and federal agencies in combating violent crime for the betterment of the community,” stated ALE’s Director John Ledford.

“We are excited about working with federal and local law enforcement agencies in promoting public safety,” stated Tracy Lee, Judicial District Manager with North Carolina’s Division of Community Corrections. “We are encouraged by this initiative and look forward to continued collaboration among these agencies."

The charges contained in these indictments are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The investigation is being handled by the ATF, CMPD, ALE, and NC State Probation. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ann Claire Phillips and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Greene of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte.

(VIDEO) FBI Offers Reward in Armored Car Robbery

The FBI Charlotte Division is offering a reward of up to $20,000 for information which leads to the identification and successful prosecution of the person responsible for robbing an armored car and shooting a Loomis employee outside an ATM on Fairview Road in the Foxcroft Shopping Center in Charlotte, NC, on January 23, 2012.

Witnesses describe the robber as a black male, 15-25 years old, with a small build. He was wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt, black t-shirt, grey sweatpants, black Nike shoes with a white swoosh, and a baseball cap with a silver sticker on the brim. He had a white glove on his right hand; it can be seen in surveillance video as he runs away with a gun in his hand.

The FBI is investigating this robbery and shooting in partnership with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. Anyone with information should call FBI Charlotte at 704-672-6100 or the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600.

Man Pleads Guilty to Making Threats to Burn Churches and NAACP Headquarters

BOSTON—A Medford man pleaded guilty today to mailing threatening letters to churches with predominantly African-American congregations and to offices of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

JEFFREY SMITH, 46, pleaded guilty to 11 counts of an indictment charging him with mailing letters threatening to burn down seven predominantly black churches and four NAACP headquarters in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and North Carolina. Smith also pleaded guilty to two counts of sending letters to individuals in North Carolina and Providence, threatening to kill or injure them.

Smith was arrested on April 15, 2010. The complaint affidavit supporting the arrest stated that between September 17-19, 2009, the Saint Paul American Methodist Episcopal Church in Cambridge, Mass. and the NAACP chapter in Roxbury, Mass. each received letters stating that the author did “not like African American or minorities in charge as supervisors of my security department at Novartis, nor I like them as President of the United States. For that I am going to burn down your offices just let you know how I feel. What right does some black person has the right to be in charge of me.”

The affidavit also said that between September 22, 2009 and March 16, 2010, the FBI was notified of 29 additional computer-generated letters, similarly packaged. Nine of the additional letters were addressed to churches and NAACP chapters in Medford, Mass., Charlotte, N.C. and Providence. Each of the nine letters articulated a specific threat to burn down the church or NAACP chapter which received the letter. The letters referenced racial animus towards “Blacks and minorities,” and the election of President Barack Obama as justification for burning down the NAACP office. Two additional letters allegedly threatened to shoot the recipients “on site” should they enter Boston or Providence.

SMITH admitted to agents during an interview that he composed and mailed all the threatening letters to the churches and NAACP using the name of a Securitas supervisor with whom he did not get along, or whom he believed had unfairly taken employment action against a co-worker who is black.

U.S. District Judge Joseph L. Tauro scheduled sentencing for July 14, 2011. Smith faces up to 10 years’ imprisonment, to be followed by three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine on each of the 11 counts of mailing a threat to use fire to damage property, and five years’ imprisonment, to be followed by three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine on each of the two counts of mailing a threat to injure or kill a person.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation - Boston Field Division; Robert Bethel, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Cambridge Police Commissioner Robert C. Haas; Medford Police Chief Leo A. Sacco, Jr.; Providence Police Colonel Dean Esserman; and Chief Rodney Monroe of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg (N.C.) Police Department made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney S. Theodore Merritt of Ortiz’s Civil Rights Enforcement Team and Public Corruption and Special Prosecutions Unit.

Seven North Carolina MS-13 Gang Members Sentenced to Prison on Racketeering, Murder, Drug and Firearms Charges

WASHINGTON—Seven MS-13 members and leaders of La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, have been sentenced to prison this week, after being convicted or pleading guilty to criminal charges that include racketeering, murder, attempted murder, assault, cocaine trafficking and numerous related federal firearms offenses. The sentences were announced by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Anne M. Tompkins for the Western District of North Carolina.

To date, 25 of the 26 defendants originally charged in the June 2008 indictment have been sentenced for their roles in the racketeering activities of MS-13, a national and international criminal enterprise.

“These sentences reflect the severity of the defendants’ crimes, which included murder, attempted murder and racketeering,” said Assistant Attorney General Breuer. “As we have done in this case, we will continue to target the leaders and most violent members of street gangs like MS-13. We refuse to let these violent groups terrorize our communities and, as these defendants have learned, we will seek stiff prison sentences for their crimes.”

“Today we saw that organized crime is no match for law enforcement. The thugs of MS-13 preyed on the most vulnerable and defenseless amongst us,” said U.S. Attorney Tompkins. “Due to the combined efforts of local, state and federal law enforcement, the threat posed by this criminal enterprise has been neutralized. The sentences today demonstrate that criminal gangs can expect swift justice and harsh punishment. MS-13 and other gangs have my full attention.”

“We are steadily disrupting MS-13’s grip on communities in Charlotte, dismantling the leadership and significantly impacting its ability to operate. Not only are these gang leaders going to prison for extended periods of their lives, the ability to replace them will be made difficult by our persistent interagency investigative efforts,” said Joseph S. Campbell, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in North Carolina. “This case was successfully investigated by dedicated prosecutors and law enforcement personnel, and has become groundbreaking in scope.”

Chief U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad Jr. sentenced the following defendants this week:

Julio Cesar Rosales Lopez, 24, aka “Stiler,” of Guilford County, N.C.; was sentenced today to 320 months in prison;

Juan Gilberto Villalobos, 44, aka “Smoke,” of Charlotte, N.C., was sentenced today to 204 months in prison;

Elvin Pastor Fernandez Gradis, 34, aka “Tigre,” of Charlotte, was sentenced today to life in prison;

Johnny Elias Gonzalez, 22, aka “Solo,” of Charlotte, was sentenced today to 360 months in prison;

Santos Anibal Caballero Fernandez, 26, aka “Garra,” of Charlotte, was sentenced today to 150 months in prison;

Carlos Roberto Figeroa-Pineda, 28, aka “Drogo,” of Charlotte, was sentenced yesterday to 420 months years in prison; and

Carlos Ferufino-Bonilla, 31, aka “Tigre,” of Charlotte, was sentenced yesterday to 78 months in prison.

All of these defendants, except Ferufino-Bonilla, were convicted at trial in January 2010 of conspiring to engage in a racketeering enterprise in the Western District of North Carolina, El Salvador and elsewhere, beginning at least in January 2003 and continuing through July 27, 2009. The evidence at trial showed that the MS-13 enterprise planned and committed various criminal acts, including robbery and extortion, obstruction of justice, tampering with witnesses, conspiring to distribute and possessing cocaine and marijuana, distributing and possessing with intent to distribute cocaine, illegally using communication facilities, murder and conspiring to commit murder. Testimony and evidence introduced during the trial showed that the enterprise also communicated with its leadership in El Salvador, protected its territory, enforced discipline among members, and collected debts through a pattern of racketeering activities that included the murders of seven people in North Carolina and Los Angeles, attempted murder, assaults and threats of violence. MS-13 member Alejandro Umana was previously convicted at trial and sentenced to receive the death penalty for five of the murders in North Carolina and Los Angeles.

Fernandez-Gradis was convicted of two charges involving the shooting and killing of 17-year-old Ulisses Mayo-De La Torre in South Charlotte, N.C., on April 12, 2008. Evidence at trial showed that Fernandez-Gradis killed Mayo-De La Torre because his cousin was wearing a red shirt, the color of a rival gang. Fernandez-Gradis fired multiple shots into the vehicle where the victim was merely a passenger, killing Mayo-De La Torre . Caballero Fernandez, who the evidence at trial showed was present at the shooting, was convicted of being an accessory after the fact to the murder. The evidence at trial showed that Caballero Fernandez helped Fernandez-Gradis escape and took the murder weapon the next day. Caballero Fernandez was found with the murder weapon approximately one month after the murder. Both Fernandez-Gradis and Caballero Fernandez were also convicted of unlawful possession of a firearm by an illegal alien, as well as other charges.

Rosales Lopez, one of the gang’s leaders whom the evidence showed was sent by MS-13 leaders in El Salvador to run what members called “The Program” in the Charlotte and Greensboro, N.C.-areas, was convicted of robbing a victim whom he suspected of dealing drugs in a Charlotte nightclub controlled by MS-13. Rosales Lopez was also convicted of being an accessory after the fact to a double homicide perpetrated by Umana in a restaurant in Greensboro in 2007. In addition, Rosales Lopez was convicted of conspiracy to commit extortion.

Villalobos, whom the evidence at trial showed was the one of the main drug suppliers for the gang and keeper of many of its guns, was convicted of a variety of drug and gun crimes in connection with his MS-13 membership, as well as conspiracy to commit extortion. The evidence at trial showed that Villalobos “controlled” the Mi Cabana and El Vaquero nightclubs in Charlotte on behalf of MS-13.

Gonzalez was convicted of RICO conspiracy. In connection with that charge, the jury found that Gonzalez participated in and was responsible for a robbery-murder of Yonni Alexander Morales Maradiaga, who was shot and killed by another MS-13 member during the robbery in East Charlotte, N.C., in early August 2005.

Figueroa Pineda was convicted of RICO conspiracy, drug conspiracy, two counts of possession with intent to distribute marijuana and possessing a gun during one of those drug crimes. In connection with the RICO conspiracy charge, the court found him responsible for the attempted murder of a victim by use of a vehicle, causing permanent brain injury.

Ferufino-Bonilla pleaded guilty on July 10, 2009, to RICO c onspiracy involving multiple armed robberies, extortion and possession of a firearm by illegal alien.

Four additional defendants have also been sentenced since June 2010, when prison sentences were announced for 11 of the 26 defendants:

Cesar Yoaldo Castillo, 23, aka “Chino,” was sentenced on Jan. 4, 2011, to 392 months in prison;

Michael Steven Mena, 24, aka “Cholo,” was sentenced on Oct. 5, 2010, to 127 months in prison.

Jose Amilcar Garcia-Bonilla, 27, aka “Psicopata,” “Sicario,” ‘Lucio Caesario” and “Jose Luis Ferufino” was sentenced on Oct. 4, 2010, to 78 months in prison; and

Mario Melgar-Diaz, 32, aka “Nino,” was sentenced on Oct. 5, 2010, to 68 months in prison.

Evidence presented at the January 2010 trial showed that the long-term investigation of four of the murders was initiated by the FBI’s “Safe Streets” Gang Task Force from North Carolina when a witness came forward and explained how the killings were part of the violent operation of a single MS-13 cell operating out of the Charlotte area. The Task Force is composed of the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, and the Gastonia, N.C., Police Department. The FBI’s MS-13 National Gang Task Force played a significant role in coordinating the international aspects of the investigation, and additional critical assistance was provided by the Transnational Anti-Gang (TAG) Unit. Additional law enforcement investigative support was provided by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, as well as the Greensboro Police Department and the Durham Police Department. Substantial assistance has been afforded by the U.S. Marshals Service for the Western District of North Carolina, especially with regard to security during the two-week jury trial.

The cases were prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin Zolot, Jill Rose and Adam Morris from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina, and Trial Attorney Sam Nazzaro from the Criminal Division’s Gang Unit.