Deleon Springs Felon Convicted for Possessing Firearms and Ammunition

Orlando, Florida – United States District Judge Roy B. Dalton, Jr. today found Marco Maurice Heath (36, Deleon Spring) guilty of being a convicted felon who unlawfully possessed multiple firearms and ammunition. Heath faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison due to his prior felony convictions for crimes of violence and serious drug offenses. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for November 3, 2014. He was indicted on May 7, 2014.

According to evidence presented at the trial, on November 8, 2013, an investigator with the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office (VCSO) was driving to work when he saw Heath riding a bicycle toward him with a shotgun and another long gun lying across the handlebars of the bicycle. The investigator radioed the VCSO dispatcher for back-up assistance while he turned around to look for Heath.  A short time later, Heath was stopped, but no longer had any guns with him. Deputies continued to search the neighborhood for the guns. Ultimately deputies arrived at a nearby residence occupied by Heath’s girlfriend. She gave consent for the officers to search her home, and in a bedroom officers found a shotgun and a semi-automatic rifle underneath one bed, and a backpack containing three handguns and ammunition underneath another bed. Following his arrest, Heath admitted that he had possessed the firearms and ammunition the officers found that morning. Heath has eight prior felony convictions, including a conviction for armed robbery and multiple convictions for selling cocaine.

This case was investigated by Volusia County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Bruce S. Ambrose.

This is another case prosecuted as a part of the Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Neighborhoods” program - a nationwide, gun-violence reduction strategy.  United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III, along with Trevor Velinor, Acting Special Agent in Charge, ATF, is coordinating the Project Safe Neighborhoods effort here in the Middle District of Florida in cooperation with federal, state, and local law enforcement officials.

It is also a part of ATF’s Frontline strategy to reduce violent crime and improve the quality of life in communities where law enforcement efforts are focused.

Changes to academic degree and developmental education expectations

8/19/2014 - WASHINGTON, D.C. (AFNS) -- Air Force officials announced actions designed to set clear expectations, restore Airman's time and refocus officer promotions on job performance.

The Air Force has addressed long-standing perceptions that to be promoted, officers must complete an advanced academic degree, and those officers selected by a promotion board to attend developmental education in-residence, are expected to first complete that same level of developmental education by correspondence.

"My number one priority is taking care of people and these initiatives aim to do just that," said Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James.

"Our intention is to set clear expectations and ensure that, where possible, we give time back to our officers," continued Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh III.

Effective Dec. 1, advanced academic degrees will no longer be considered for officers meeting line of the Air Force promotion boards below the grade of colonel. Additionally, information provided to all promotion board members will only show the "completed" level of developmental education or whether the officer is a "select" to attend in-residence. The method and year of completion will no longer be displayed.

"The change does not prevent officers from completing an advanced academic degree, which is important to officer development," Welsh said.

In fact, officers are expected to have an advanced academic degree for promotion to colonel. These changes allow the officer to focus on job performance and acquire an advanced academic degree at a time best suited for their life, career and family without worrying about possible effects of not having an advanced academic degree at ranks lower than colonel.

"Since job performance is the most important factor when evaluating an officer for promotion, the decision to delay completion of an advanced academic degree will not affect their ability to serve a full career in the Air Force," Welsh said.

Another long-standing perception is that officers selected to attend professional military education in-residence must also complete the same level of PME by correspondence. This perception was based on the belief that officers who complete PME by distance learning early are demonstrating more initiative and are therefore more competitive for future opportunities and/or promotion.

The Air Force wants to debunk this perception by refocusing on job performance and Airmen's time.

"We realize how valuable time is and want to give that time back to our officer corps," Welsh said.

Officers chosen as "selects" on promotion boards will be prohibited from completing the distance learning course unless they are subsequently designated to attend a program requiring the distance learning course to obtain full Joint Professional Military Education credit. In addition, boards will be instructed to consider those with "select" status as having completed PME thereby eliminating any timing concerns for those "selects" meeting promotion boards prior to attending PME in-residence.

The Air Force also enacted an important change for captains. Every active- duty captain will have an opportunity to attend Squadron Officer School in-residence and criteria for selection to attend will be based on the officer's date of rank, duty requirements and family situation rather than whether or not they have already completed the distance learning course. In fact, they will no longer be allowed to complete the distance learning course unless operationally deferred and within one year of meeting the promotion board to major. The distance learning course will remain available for Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve officers.

"We understand our Airmen are challenged every day to accomplish the mission with limited time, manpower and resources," Welsh said. "By eliminating these perceived expectations, we hope to remind our officers that job performance is what we value most and that we want them to have a life away from work."

"A balanced force is a healthy force and these changes strive to promote equilibrium in our Airmen's lives," James said.

The new policy modifications will be captured in the Air Force Guidance Memorandums to AFI 36-2301, Developmental Education and AFI 36-2406, Officer and Enlisted Evaluation Systems. The first promotion board to implement the new policy will be the Major's (LAF) Central Selection Board scheduled for Dec. 1.

Serial Robber Sentenced to Over 12 Years in Prison

Robbed Seven Businesses and Employees; Attempted to Rob a Take-Out Restaurant

Greenbelt, Maryland – Chief U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow sentenced Duane James, age 53, of Germantown, Maryland today to 151 months in prison for five counts of robbery.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Acting Special Agent in Charge William P. McMullan of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives - Baltimore Field Division; and Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Montgomery County Police Department.

According to his plea agreement, on seven occasions from January 21 to February 17, 2013, James robbed Maryland businesses and their employees, each time wearing a ski mask and pointing what appeared to be a gun at the store clerks. In Silver Spring, James stole $50 and $10,000 worth of jewelry at The Gold Spot store; $110 from the store register and $100 from the clerk’s wallet at the AT&T store; and $3,000 from the cash drawer and lottery proceeds at the Bel Pre Beer & Wine store. In Rockville, James stole $1,500 from the register at the Shell Gas Station. In Gaithersburg, James stole $400 from the store register and $5 from the clerk at the Walnut Hill Liberty Gas Station; $300 from the cash register and $200 from the clerk at Twinbrook Shell Gas Station; and $1,043 from the register and cigarettes at the Exxon Gas Station.

Also, on February 17, 2013 and prior to robbing the Exxon gas station that same day, James pointed what appeared to be a gun at a clerk at a take-out restaurant in Gaithersburg, demanding cash from the register. The clerk did not move or open the drawer. James left the store.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the ATF and Montgomery County Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel C. Gardner and Adam Ake, who prosecuted the case.

Bunthan Sam Sentenced to 10 Years’ Imprisonment for Conspiracy to Distribute Heroin

The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that Bunthan Sam, 35, of Chicago, Illinois, was sentenced to 120 months in prison, having pled guilty to the charge of conspiracy to distribute at least 100 grams of heroin. United States District Judge William K. Sessions III, sitting in Burlington, also sentenced Sam to 4 years of supervised release.

Court records show that Sam, who went by the alias AAdam@ or ATaun,@ sold heroin in the Burlington area over a period of about two years. He obtained this heroin from suppliers in Chicago and Connecticut. Sam was arrested on the conspiracy charge in Chicago on July 24,2013, and incarcerated thereafter.

Court records further show that Sam is a member of a larger group with ties to Chicago; Lowell, Massachusetts; and Connecticut that distributed an especially strong form of heroin in the Burlington area from about mid-2011 through the time of the arrest of Sam=s brother, codefendant Chandara Sam, on April 10, 2013. Chandara Sam, who went by the alias APo,@ was taken into custody in White River Junction, after selling approximately 40 grams of heroin to an individual cooperating with law enforcement. Some of the heroin sold by the conspiracy was known as AChi town@ or AChi,@ short for Chicago, and has caused several overdoses in the last several years. The Vermont State Police Drug Task Force began an investigation into Sam=s heroin ring in December 2011.

In January 2013, members of the Essex Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration arrested two individuals, Edward Chavin, also known as ATommy,@ and Christopher Nason in the Handy=s Suites in Essex. Chavin was found in possession of more than 100 grams of heroin. He and Nason were subsequently indicted for conspiracy to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin, and both have pled guilty. The Handy=s Suites raid occurred following a heroin overdose in a nearby room. Investigation revealed that Chavin, Nason, and the Sams were part of the same heroin ring, and that Chavin had been transporting heroin from Chicago to the Burlington area for nearly a year prior to his arrest.

In early June 2014, one of conspiracy leaders, codefendant James Nastri, of Deep River, Connecticut, was convicted of conspiracy to distribute at least 100 grams of heroin following a jury trial before Judge Sessions in Burlington.

Court records further reveal that Bunthan Sam possessed handguns at various points during the Vermont heroin trafficking conspiracy. Sam also has a criminal history that includes numerous prior felony offenses, violent offenses, and several instances of unlawful weapons and firearms activity.

For his crime, Sam faced a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison. In sentencing Sam, Judge Sessions noted the devastating impact heroin has had on Vermont communities, citing specifically the potency of the heroin Sam sold. Judge Sessions further noted that Sam had continued to sell heroin after learning that a person had overdosed on the AChi-town@ heroin and after Lowell, Massachusetts police pulled him over and seized a firearm from his vehicle, resulting in a felony charge.

The investigation was a collaborative effort of the Vermont State Police Drug Task Force; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms; the Essex, Burlington, and South Burlington Vermont Police Departments; and the Lowell,

Massachusetts Police Department.

Assistant United States Attorney Christina Nolan prosecuted the case. Sam is represented by Richard Goldsborough of Burlington.

Man Who Stole Explosives From Forest Service Pleads Guilty

BILLINGS – A Wyoming man who stole over 500 pounds of explosives from the U.S. Forest Service has pleaded guilty to federal charges arising from the theft. Budd Nesius, a 33-year old resident of Wheatland, Wyoming pleaded guilty to possession of stolen explosives. He faces 10 years in prison, $250,000 in fines and 3 years supervised release. Sentencing has been set for December 4, 2014 in Billings before U.S. District Judge Susan Watters. Nesius is being detained pending sentencing.

In an Offer of Proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan Whittaker, the government told the court that in April 2013 in Red Lodge, the defendant knowingly possessed approximately 500 pounds of stolen explosive materials. On the weekend of April 26, 2013, Nesius met a female friend at the Yodeler Motel in Red Lodge to go camping. After picking up the female, the two drove into the mountains. At one point, the two of them split up and she returned to Red Lodge to get food. Nesius continued driving around looking for a place to camp and eventually drove down a dirt road and arrived in the area of a U.S. Forest Service (“USFS”) bunker which contained explosives. This explosives magazine/bunker is located several miles west of Red Lodge on USFS property. Nesius saw signs in the immediate vicinity warning of the explosives. Nesius later joined back up with the woman and told her that he intended to break into the bunker he found and steal explosives. Nesius thought he might be able to sell the explosives and make a little money.

The female parked at the bottom of the dirt road leading up to the bunker to be a “lookout.” Shortly before dark, Nesius walked down to the bunker and cut the locks with a pair of bolt cutters. Once the door was open, Nesius took one box of explosives and attempted to walk back to where his truck was parked above the bunker. Because the explosives box was heavy, he left the box there and returned to his truck. Nesius then drove down next to the bunker, where he loaded approximately 10 boxes of explosives into the back of his truck.

This amounted to more than 500 pounds of explosives and was enough to fill up the front area of his truck bed. Once he loaded up the stolen explosives, Nesius left the area and met the female back in Red Lodge. Nesius spent that night in a hotel/motel in Red Lodge.

Nesius left his truck, loaded with the stolen explosives, backed up against a wall at a local business so that the truck topper would not open. Nesius parked the truck in this manner because he did not want the truck with the stolen explosives near him and because his truck topper did not lock. Nesius also covered the boxes of explosives with a tarp to conceal them. The following morning Nesius transported the stolen explosives from Red Lodge to his hometown of Wheatland, Wyoming. Sometime thereafter, Nesius attempted, on at least one occasion, to sell the stolen explosives.

On or about June 7, 2013, evidence and information led ATF agents to visit Nesius’ home in Wheatland, Wyoming where they made contact with Nesius’ mother in the late afternoon/evening hours. Nesius was not home at the time. Nesius’ mother consented to let the ATF agents search her home and several other buildings on the property. No explosives or evidence of criminal activity was located. The next morning, however, law enforcement received information that a concerned citizen had discovered boxes of explosives abandoned approximately a quarter mile east of Wheatland reservoir. The explosives were approximately 15 feet off the roadway stacked in boxes. The responding sheriff deputies observed that the explosives had USFS stickers on some of the cardboard boxes and had been recently discarded there because the boxes had not been damaged by the weather. An examination of the serial numbers on the recovered explosives determined that these were in fact the same stolen explosives taken from the USFS in Red Lodge, Montana. The location where the explosives were recovered was approximately 35 miles south and west of Nesius’ Wheatland, Wyoming residence. After ATF agents visited Nesius’ home, his brother called him to tell him about the ATF agent’s visit. The defendant then told his brother that there were stolen explosives concealed on their family property in a travel trailer of Highway 34. The brother agreed to drive to the location of the stolen explosives and to load them into his truck to dispose of them. The brother then moved the explosives down Highway 34 and unloaded them on the side of the road in the middle of the night.

“This volume of explosives in the wrong hands is an obvious threat to public safety,” said Michael Cotter, U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana. “Our office is pleased to have played a role in holding Nesius accountable for his dangerous and intentional decision to steal over 500 pounds of explosives.”

“We will vigorously pursue those responsible for such acts, dedicating any and all investigative resources needed in order to bring these matters to a successful conclusion,” said Ken Bray, ATF’s Resident Agent in Charge in Montana. “All the stolen explosives in this case have been recovered. The public can rest assured that this matter has been resolved.”

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

Buffalo Man Sentenced on Drug Charge

BUFFALO, N.Y. – U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Demerius Rivera, 33, of Buffalo, N.Y., who was convicted of possession with intent to distribute marijuana, was sentenced to 18 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank T. Pimentel, who handled the case, stated that on June 6, 2012, officers with the Buffalo Police Department Narcotics Unit and the Lancaster Police Department SWAT Team executed a search warrant at 77 Landon Street in Buffalo. During the search, the SWAT Team encountered the defendant in a rear bedroom. Officers found 25 ounces of marijuana packaged for sale in a dresser. Upon questioning, Rivera admitted that the marijuana was his and that there were two guns “under the bed” in the bedroom. Officers recovered two shotguns under the bed, and a third shotgun in the basement.

The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation on the part of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge James S. Higgins, New York Field Division, the Buffalo Police Department, under the direction of Commissioner Daniel Derenda, and the Lancaster Police Department, under the direction of Chief Gerald Gill.

Registered Convicted Sex Offender Found Guilty of Attempted Production of Child Pornography and Traveling to Engage in Sex with a Minor

Defendant Believed He Was Driving to Plainfield to Meet a 14-Year-Old for Sex

A 65-year-old registered sex offender, with two prior convictions relating to possession of child pornography and attempted sexual conduct with minors, was found guilty today of attempting to produce child pornography, travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, transporting child pornography, possessing child pornography and offense by a registered sex offender.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Josh Minkler for the Southern District of Indiana made the announcement.   The verdict was rendered by U.S. District Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson.

According to the evidence introduced at trial, the defendant, John Alan Lewis, met an individual he believed to be a 14-year-old online in November 2011.   From November 2011 until May of 2012, Lewis sent and received numerous images depicting a minor under the age of twelve engaging in sexually explicit conduct via emails with this individual, who actually was an adult male registered sex offender living in Queens, New York.   Following the arrest of the individual in the Eastern District of New York, in August of 2012, law enforcement assumed this individual’s online identity and engaged in a series of online chats where the defendant expressed his desire to travel from Ohio to Indiana, pick the 14-year-old up, and take her to a motel to engage in sexual acts with her.

On Sept. 19, 2012, the defendant rented a car in Lima, Ohio, and drove to Plainfield, Indiana.   He was arrested when he arrived at the agreed-upon meeting location.   The defendant had in his possession three electronic devices, each of which contained images depicting a minor, between the ages of 10 and 12, fully nude and engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

Lewis has been in federal custody since he was arrested in September of 2012.   Sentencing will be scheduled at a later date.

The investigation was conducted by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Cyber Crime Unit, the Indiana State Police Cyber Crime Unit, the FBI’s Violent Crimes Against Children Section and the Indiana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, which is made up of federal and state law enforcement agencies.   The case is being prosecuted by Criminal Division Trial Attorney Amy E. Larson of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Senior Litigation Counsel Steven D. DeBrota of the Southern District of Indiana.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.   Led by U.S. Attorneys’ offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.