News Releases and Statements

Kenneth Lee Briggs, 43, from Kyle, Texas, was arrested after a criminal complaint was filed in federal court on Aug. 16. On Thursday, he made his initial appearance in U.S. Magistrate Court in Austin, Texas.

Anner Javier Maldonado-Reyes, 39, of Largo, and Maria Guadalupe Maldonado, 38, of Largo, are both citizens of Honduras. According to the indictments, Anner Maldonado-Reyes, who has operated under several aliases over the years, including “Jose Martinez-Reyes,” “Juan Martinez,” and “Pedro Vargas-Monteramos,” has previously been removed from the U.S. on at least two occasions: February 1999 and February 2008.

Smith Olsola Akin, 34, of Plano, Texas, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering in May 2016. Judge Lynn sentenced Akin to 135 months in federal prison.

At the request of ICE-HSI, INTERPOL Washington caused the issuance of an INTERPOL Blue Notice for the unidentified subject.  Blue Notices are published by INTERPOL, the International Criminal Police Organization, for the purpose of tracing, locating, and seeking information on persons of interest in criminal investigations.  They are disseminated to law enforcement officials in all 190 member countries of INTERPOL.

Kelbin Alberto Perez De Los Santos, 36, entered the United States lawfully on July 15, 2016, in New York, as a non-immigrant visitor for pleasure, with authorization to remain in the United States for a temporary period not to exceed January 14, 2017. On February 21, 2017, ERO Newark arrested Perez upon determination that he was wanted in the Dominican Republic for homicide.

The WPFG is a biennial Olympic-style athletic event held over a period of 11 days with competitions in more than 60 sports, open to active and retired law enforcement and fire service personnel from around the world.

Luis Carlos-Reyes, 37, an illegal alien from Mexico, was sentenced Tuesday by Senior U.S. District Judge Roslyn O. Silver. Carlos-Reyes pleaded guilty March 29 to two counts of aggravated identity theft.

The driver, Comothial Harper, 44, a U.S. citizen from Bainbridge, Georgia, was arrested and charged with transporting illegal aliens for financial gain. Gerardo Aguilar-Roque, 35, one of the passengers, was arrested and charged with possession with the intent to distribute marijuana.

Asael Rodriguez-Alvarado, 21, of North Chicago, Ill., was sentenced Aug. 10 by U.S. Chief District Judge Raner C. Collins. Rodriguez-Alvarado pleaded guilty March 9 to one felony count of traveling with the intent to engage in illicit sexual activity. Upon completion of his sentence, Rodriguez-Alvarado will be on supervised release for the rest of his life and required to register as a sex offender.

James Matthew Bradley Jr., 60, faces the following charges in the five-count indictment: one count of conspiracy to transport and harbor illegal aliens for financial gain resulting in death; one count of transporting illegal aliens resulting in death; one count of conspiracy to transport and harbor illegal aliens for financial gain resulting in serious bodily injury and placing lives in jeopardy; one count of transporting illegal aliens resulting in serious bodily injury and placing lives in jeopardy; and, one count of possessing a firearm by a convicted felon.

Joshua William Jackson, 29, from Wichita Falls, Texas, pleaded guilty in January to one count of using a facility of interstate commerce in aid of a racketeering enterprise, one count of illegally receiving a firearm by a person under indictment, and one count of cyberstalking. Jackson has been in custody since his arrest in April 2016.

Maurice Morlee Johnson, 37, of Oklahoma City, was sentenced Aug. 16 to 20 years in federal prison. In a related case, Tonya Gay Gum, 44, of Oklahoma City, was sentenced the same day to four years in federal prison. Both were convicted of conspiracy to commit child sex trafficking.

A federal grand jury charged 10 individuals with conspiracy to commit extortion, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and use of a firearm during a crime of violence in an indictment returned July 27. Five other individuals were arrested and charged in criminal complaints with federal immigration-related crimes. Two of the 15 remain fugitives.

Joe Neel McGovern, owner of Pappa Yolk’s Grill, located at 5824 Spencer Highway in Pasadena, Texas, has volunteered his company to enter into the IMAGE program. The new partnership was marked by a ceremony Wednesday at the HSI Houston office.

ERO deportation officers escorted Robert John Dando, a 53-year-old citizen of the United Kingdom, as he departed the United States via a commercial flight from Washington Dulles International Airport to Heathrow Airport in London.

According to the indictment, law enforcement began investigating Leroy Perdue and his drug trafficking organization (Perdue DTO) in early 2016 following the heroin overdose death of a young resident of Chesapeake. With the participation of nearly two dozen confidential human sources, law enforcement infiltrated the Perdue DTO and made 10 undercover controlled purchases of heroin and fentanyl. On June 22, the investigative team arrested Rhadu Schoolfield in Norfolk with 800 grams of heroin after he returned from a trip to New York.

This sentence was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Loretta F. Radford, Northern District of Oklahoma.  Chief U.S. District Court Judge Gregory K. Frizzell also sentenced Ronald Eugene Robinson, 62, of Tulsa, to 10 years of supervised release following his release from prison.

She encouraged leadership to make every effort to work closely with federal, state and local partners to keep America safe.

The following five individuals were charged: Jamaal Rozell Dunson, 32, Joe Nathan Spafford, 28, Michael James Huettl, 47, Delores Denise Rodriguez, 25, and Driessan Scott Russell, 28. Trysten Keun Napper, 33, also from Abilene, was arrested on a complaint charging him with being a convicted felon in possession of ammunition.

As special agent in charge, Kelly, a 29-year veteran of federal law enforcement, supervises a cadre of special agents responsible for investigative work across 48 counties in central, western and northern New York State. 

Jorge Moreno-Aguilar, 24, was the fifth defendant arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement during the course of a major counter-gang operation known as Broken Silence to be sentenced to life in prison. Ten additional gang members apprehended by the agency’s Homeland Security Investigations component during the same Maryland-area effort have pleaded guilty and received sentences ranging from 7-30 years in prison.

The three owners of La Espiga De Oro (Espiga) — Alfredo Sosa Lira, 72, his wife Lydia Botello-Lira, 68, their daughter Lydia Lira, 25 — and night manager Roberto Guerra, 45, all of Houston, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor violations associated with their continued employment of illegal aliens between October 2011 and August 2015.