Akron man indicted for robbing Mantua bank this summer

An Akron man was indicted for robbing a Mantua bank this summer.

Alan T. Hargover, 38, was indicted on one count of bank robbery. He is accused of robbing the Cortland Bank on State Route 44 on June 30.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Henry F. DeBaggis.

If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant's role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation.  In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.

A charge is not evidence of guilt.  A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Bronx Man Sentenced To Life In Prison For 2010 Murder

Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that JOSE SANTIAGO-ORTIZ was sentenced today to three consecutive life sentences for murder, participating in a narcotics conspiracy, and firearms offenses.  SANTIAGO-ORTIZ was convicted on May 15, 2018, following a one-week jury trial before U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, who also imposed today’s sentence.

U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said:  “Over eight years ago, in service of a violent drug crew, Jose Santiago-Ortiz brutally and senselessly murdered Jerry Tide.  Now, thanks to the extraordinary work of the FBI, Santiago-Ortiz stands convicted of that murder and other crimes, and will spend the rest of his life in prison.”

According to the Complaint, the Indictment, other filings in Manhattan federal court, evidence at trial, and statements made in court proceedings:

On September 11, 2010, SANTIAGO-ORTIZ shot and killed Jerry Tide in the vicinity of Jerome Avenue and 182nd Street in the Bronx.  Between 2010 and November 2015, SANTIAGO-ORTIZ was the leader of a violent heroin trafficking enterprise (the “Flow Heroin Enterprise”) that trafficked kilogram quantities of heroin, stamped “Flow,” in the Bronx and to Rutland, Vermont.  SANTIAGO-ORTIZ killed Jerry Tide in part to increase his position within the Flow Heroin Enterprise.  Following his arrest on state charges in March 2014, SANTIAGO-ORTIZ continued to direct narcotics trafficking and acts of violence from prison.  In addition, in 2015, members of the Flow Heroin Enterprise engaged in several shootings with rival drug dealers in the Bronx.

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In addition to the prison term, SANTIAGO-ORTIZ, 27, was sentenced to five years of supervised release.

Mr. Berman thanked the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s New York Field Division for their work on the investigation.

The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shawn G. Crowley, Lauren B. Schorr, and George D. Turner are in charge of the prosecution.

Fort Peck Reservation meth trafficker sentenced to prison

GREAT FALLS—A Wolf Point woman convicted of trafficking methamphetamine on the Fort Peck Reservation was sentenced on Wednesday to 41 months in prison and four years supervised release, U.S. Attorney Kurt G. Alme said.

Taurean Grandchamp, 31, pleaded guilty on Aug. 23 to possession with intent to distribute meth.

U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided at sentencing.

In October 2017 and in January, the Montana Highway Patrol made two traffic stops of vehicles with Arizona license plates on the reservation and near Wolf Point. The driver and passenger were the same in both stops. Drug information from those stops led law enforcement officers to Grandchamp, who admitted to distributing meth on the reservation. She told law enforcement that she was provided with one pound of meth for distribution in 2017. Other individuals also described Grandchamp selling meth with the driver and passenger of the vehicles that were stopped by the MHP.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan Dake prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the FBI and the Fort Peck Department of Law and Justice.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make neighborhoods safer for everyone.  The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of its renewed focus on targeting violent criminals.