News Releases and Statements

Russell Tim Shen, 69, Andre Jorge Hernandez, 39, pleaded guilty to one count of distribution and possession with intent to distribute marijuana.  They face a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.  Ernesto Esteve, 50, pleaded guilty to one count of misprision of a felony.

Todd Darren Rickdal, 50, of Seattle, first came to the attention of special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) after he responded to a Seattle Police Department Craigslist ad during a 2016 sting operation.

Robert Dion Ables, 40, of Hutchins, Texas, has been in custody since his arrest in December 2016 on a related federal criminal complaint.  In March 2017, Ables pleaded guilty to one count of receiving child pornography and two counts of producing child pornography.

Issac Gonzalez, 62, from Los Fresnos, Texas, appeared before U.S. District Judge, Rolando Olvera who ordered Gonzalez to serve 78 months in prison July 5 to include a life time of supervised release. Judge Olvera also ordered Gonzalez to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the internet, to include registering as a sex offender for life. Gonzalez pleaded guilty to the charges April 4.

A Guatemalan man illegally present in the United States who has been deported from the country three times, and subsequently re-entered the country illegally, was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison on a felony charge of illegal re-entry of a removed alien.

Najee Antonio Clarke, a citizen and national of Jamaica, entered the United States on June 17, 2010, at John F. Kennedy Airport, Queens, NY as a B-2 visitor for pleasure and was authorized to remain until Dec. 16, 2010, but failed to leave upon expiration of the waiver. He has current charges pending in New York and was released from ICE custody with an active detainer.

The government also filed a stipulation of settlement with Hobby Lobby, in which Hobby Lobby consented to the forfeiture of the artifacts in the complaint, approximately 144 cylinder seals and an additional sum of $3 million, resolving the civil action. Hobby Lobby further agreed to adopt internal policies and procedures governing its importation and purchase of cultural property, provide appropriate training to its personnel, hire qualified outside customs counsel and customs brokers, and submit quarterly reports to the government on any cultural property acquisitions for the next eighteen months.

At the recent Recruit Military Los Angeles Job Fair, which was held in Los Angeles, more than 600 veterans were the focus of 60 exhibitors, including ICE. ICE HSI Special Agent Kim Speakman and ERO Assistant Field Office Director Marisa Flores represented the agency as a united force. A veteran himself, Speakman enjoyed the event.

Aaron Turk, 31, of Yuma, who provided babysitting services at the residence he shared with his girlfriend, was re-arrested Thursday morning by HSI special agents after a forensic examination of his electronic devices revealed more than 500 images of child pornography.

The team of ERO officers reacted quickly and professionally in a dangerous situation.

Joselin Medina, 58, a citizen and national of Dominican Republic, was previously removed from the United States in 2002.  He has a past felony conviction for criminal sale of a controlled substance and a pending misdemeanor charge and felony re-entry charge.

Jose Arizmendi, 54, a native of Mexico, pleaded guilty in April 1996 to aggravated sexual assault of a child in the District Court of Harris County, Texas. When Arizmendi applied for naturalized U.S. citizenship later that month — and again when he was interviewed in connection with his application in October 1996 — he answered “no” when asked if he had “ever been arrested, cited, charged, indicted, convicted, fined, or imprisoned for breaking or violating any law or ordinance excluding traffic regulations.”

Sheku Kumalah, 31, faces up to four years in federal prison at sentencing for obstructing his removal. According to court documents, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) deportation officers twice attempted to place Mr. Kumalah on escorted commercial flights to his home country at the Alexandria International Airport in July 2016 and August 2016.

HSI Presidio’s area of responsibility covers more than 10,000 square miles, including 230 miles along the U.S-Mexico border.  Special agents investigate all crimes that fall under the HSI mission. During a week when agents are on duty, they may be assigned human and narcotics smuggling cases, or cases involving customs violations, or more likely all three.

Among the Tucson residents taken into custody Tuesday was the organization’s alleged ringleader, Sean Player Dixon, 43. Also arrested were Ricky Manning Jr., 36; Jeneayi Manning Qualls, 34; Raymond Pro, 40; Makayla Bower, 23; Anthony Torres, 43 and; Jennifer Estrada, 39.

Wayne Douglas Burnet, 64, from San Antonio pleaded guilty June 28 before a U.S. District judge in Austin to possession with intent to distribute between 50 to 100 kilograms of marijuana. 

Rehan A. Merchant, 40, pleaded guilty in June 2016, admitting that from Sept. 2014, through Sept. 2015, he and his co-conspirators used and attempted to use counterfeit and stolen credit and debit cards to make fraudulent purchases at the Cigar and Tobacco Outlet.

On June 26, a Coast Guard maritime patrol aircraft detected a 25-foot boat traveling southbound without navigation lights approximately 22 nautical miles north of Loiza.

Marciano Millan Vasquez, 34, was sentenced by a U.S. District Judge to seven consecutive life imprisonment sentences for committing and aiding and abetting the commission of numerous murders and other acts of violence that included drug and weapons trafficking in Northern Mexico in furtherance of a drug distribution operation.

Brandon Quinn Vasquez, 31, of Phoenix, was taken into custody June 20 by special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

The criminal complaint alleges that Carolina Aguilar Rodriguez, 47, aka “Doctora” sold the counterfeit Diprospan to undercover federal agents on at least five occasions. According to the charges, Rodriguez was not licensed to dispense prescription medications in Texas, and Naturavida was not licensed as a Texas pharmacy.

Jake Nicholas Luera, 31, from Webster, Texas, came to the attention of law enforcement following an investigation dubbed “Operation Back to School” in August 2015 that targeted predators who solicit minors online. During the operation, Luera engaged in online chats with an undercover officer posing as a 15-year-old female and drove to a location where he believed he would make sexual contact with her.

Johanne P. Jarlego, 44, of Kapolei, was indicted by a federal grand jury June 21 following a probe by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.