News Releases and Statements

Ivan Alonso Samaniego-Valenzuela, 43, Mexico, was arrested July 23 for an outstanding warrant for the May 2000 murder of Juan Lara Salazar, 33.

The award, known as the National OCDETF Outstanding Investigation Award, is for Operation “White Rhino,” which involved investigating a large-scale cocaine and ecstasy smuggling organization that trafficked drugs across the U.S.-Canada border.

Gregory J. Chavez, 51, was taken into custody Wednesday at his Porter Ranch residence and is being held on $1.2 million bond pending his arraignment in Los Angeles County Superior Court. Chavez is charged with 40 felony counts, including residential burglary, grand theft by false pretense and attempted grand theft by false pretense.

Thirty fugitive or convicted criminal aliens were arrested in or around Oklahoma City, or around Guymon, Oklahoma, during a four-day initiative that ended Sunday, and was conducted by local officers from ICE ERO.

Arunachalam Annamalai, 48, a resident of Las Vegas, waived his right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty to charges that he participated in the software piracy conspiracy. Annamalai is the owner and operator of Vegascart LLC.

A lot of child pornographers are drawn to the Tor, or the Onion Router. It’s very difficult to track and identify child predators going through the Tor because the network is routed through thousands of relays across the globe and, therefore, identities are masked.

Heesham Broussard, 38, from Lake Charles, Louisiana, also known as Sudan, was found guilty by a jury for conspiracy to commit mail fraud, two counts of mail fraud, and two counts of aggravated identity theft following a four day trial before U.S. District Judge Michael H. Schneider.

After serving his prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Raymond P. Moore also ordered Donnie Waldo Jr., 48, of Dover, Arkansas, to serve 10 years on supervised release. The defendant, who appeared at the hearing in custody, was remanded at its conclusion.

Several of those arrested were members of the Bloods and Crips gangs. The defendants allegedly made numerous narcotics purchases, including heroin and cocaine, and weapon purchases during the course of the investigation. Some of the defendants face charges for narcotics conspiracy as well as possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Both of these charges carry a maximum penalty of life in prison.

Michael Patrick Redente, 40, of San Angelo, Texas, who remains on bond, faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. A sentencing date was not set.

Ladestro Douglas, aka “Derek Douglas,” 36, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Barbara M. G. Lynn to 15 years in federal prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. He must also register as a sex offender, and he was ordered to pay one of his victims, Jane Doe #1, $136,000 in restitution.

On July 28, U.S. District Judge Randy Crane sentenced Mario Guadalupe Saenz, 38, of McAllen to 135 months imprisonment for attempting to possess with intent to distribute cocaine

David Scott Fikani, 61, from Abilene, who remains on bond, pleaded guilty to a one-count indictment charging possession of prepubescent child pornography. Michael Cleo Ivy, 36, also from Abilene and who is also on bond, pleaded guilty to possessing prepubescent child pornography.

Fourteen convicted criminal aliens were arrested in Lubbock during a four-day initiative that ended Sunday which was conducted by local officers from ICE ERO.

Daniel Vivas Ceron, 34, of Colombia, was charged with the following crimes: conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and controlled substance analogues resulting in serious bodily injury and death; conspiracy to import controlled substances and controlled substance analogues into the US resulting in serious bodily injury and death; aiding and abetting the distribution of a controlled substance resulting in death; money laundering conspiracy and; operating a continuing criminal enterprise.

Tyler McIntosh, 26, of Belvidere, Illinois, was charged with one count of possessing child pornography with intent to deliver, a Class X felony; and one count of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, a Class 2 felony.

Steven Asir Thomas, 40, of Olympia, was informed by U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour that the lengthy sentence was prompted by the amount of drugs involved and the defendant’s intent to have an attorney assaulted because of a business dispute involving his nightclub.

John Raymond Kinloch, 43, of San Ysidro, was sentenced July 24. In addition to the prison term, the state court judge also ordered Kinloch to pay restitution to the victims and register as a sex offender. Kinloch was convicted last month of 33 felony charges, including committing lewd acts on a child and possession of child pornography.

Overall, their convictions include: driving while intoxicated, assault with bodily injury on a family member, purchasing/furnishing alcohol to a minor, engaging in organized criminal activity, alien smuggling and theft.

Jose Stephen Gracia, 45, from Galveston, Texas, pleaded guilty to producing child pornography July 27 before U.S. District Judge Marcia Crone. Gracia was indicted by a federal grand jury May 7.

Jimmy Gil, aka Joselin Jimelet Gil Sanchez, aka Joselin Gil, aka Gilberto Sanchez, 35, of Shafter, was sentenced for conspiring with two men in Mexico to import and distribute more than 80 pounds of cocaine.

The ancient coins were originally detained in March 2014 during a routine inspection at the Port of Cincinnati cargo facility by CBP officers before the investigation was turned over to HSI. The intended recipient told investigators the coins were of Middle Eastern origin based on information received from an overseas seller.

William Antonio Martinez-Aguilar, 36, was turned over to Mexican Procuraduría General de la República (PGR) and Interpol officers without incident through the Nogales, DeConcini Port of Entry in Arizona on July 21 about 3 p.m.

On July 17, officers removed Alexander Mendoza-Hernandez to El Salvador, where he was wanted for extortion. In a separate case, Cesar David Rodriguez Lopez, of Guatemala, was wanted by Guatemalan authorities on three criminal warrants for charges involving embezzlement, fraud and forged documents.

Kim Meas, 60, a native of Cambodia, pleaded guilty November 24, 2014, to two counts of conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States, two counts of transporting illegal aliens and two counts of failure to collect and pay federal income and employment taxes.