Rafael Armando Class-Davila Charged with Assaulting Federal Officer

SAN JUAN—On June 19, 2013, Rafael Armando Class-Davila was taken into custody by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Class-Davila was charged with assaulting, resisting, or impeding federal officer using a deadly or dangerous weapon, Title 18 U.S.C. Section 111(a) (b) and intentionally harassing another person and thereby hindering, delaying, preventing, or dissuading any person from arresting or seeking the arrest of another person in connection with a federal offense or attempts to do so, Title 18 U.S.C. Section 1512(d) (3).
A federal complaint states that on June 17, 2013, the FBI San Juan Division SWAT team was traveling southbound on Highway 52. Thereafter, a 2012 blue Jeep Compass driven by Class-Davila pulled into the FBI SWAT convoy between the second and third Chevrolet Suburban.
Class-Davila maintained his position in the convoy and continued to drive at a high rate of speed, ignoring the signal to move aside. Agents proceeded to utilize the public address (PA) system to announce, in Spanish, that the Suburban was a police vehicle and commanded the driver of the Jeep to move out of the way. Agents were forced to reposition the convoy in a neighboring lane as Class-Davila failed to abide by instructions to move.
Agents were able to maneuver the Suburban in front of the Jeep and continued to drive forward with the convoy. Approximately one minute later, Class-Davila swerved in front of the convoy, interfering with operations again. When Class-Davila positioned himself in front of the Suburban, he slammed on his breaks, causing agents to break suddenly to avoid collision.
Class-Davila remained in front of the Suburban and continued to prevent it from joining the convoy. Agents utilized sirens and the air horn, along with the PA system, to announce the vehicle was police and commanded it to move.
Shortly thereafter, the SWAT convoy team began to exit Highway 52. As the Suburban passed on level with Class-Davila, Class-Davila made threatening gestures toward the agents. While making these gestures, Class-Davila sideswiped and scraped the side median that divided the exit and Highway 52. Class-Davila, in spite of the collision, continued to drive down Highway 52.
If convicted, Class-Davila faces up to 20 years of imprisonment.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Justin R. Martin and is being investigated by the United States Attorney’s Office and the FBI.
The public is reminded that a criminal complaint contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty. The U.S. government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Pittsburgh Man Sentenced to Seven Years in Prison for Violating Federal Drug and Gun Laws

PITTSBURGH—A Pittsburgh man has been sentenced in federal court to 84 months’ imprisonment for his convictions of violating federal drug and firearms laws, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
United States District Judge Joy Flowers Conti imposed the sentence on Rayshaun Jones, 25, who is currently incarcerated.
According to information presented to the court, between September 14, 2010 and September 15, 2010, Jones conspired to distribute and possess with intent to distribute less than 50 kilograms of marijuana and to rob the Swap Meet, a business engaged in interstate commerce, as well as its owner, vendors, employees, and customers of money, merchandise, and marijuana. On September 15, 2010, Jones and other co-defendants robbed the Swap Meet and as a result obtained, among other things, $300-$400 and one kilogram of marijuana. During the robbery, Jones carried, used, and possessed firearms.
Assistant United States Attorney Troy Rivetti prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
This case is being prosecuted under Project Safe Neighborhoods, a collaborative effort by federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and communities to prevent, deter, and prosecute gun crime.
U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Pittsburgh Police Department for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Rayshaun Jones.

Anchorage Man Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison for Drug Conspiracy

ANCHORAGE—U.S. Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced today that a man from Anchorage was sentenced in federal court in Anchorage for his role in an Anchorage and Fairbanks drug conspiracy.
Rock E. Phelps, II, 26, a/k/a “Skitzo Scoe,” from Anchorage, Alaska, was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Ralph R. Beistline. Phelps received a sentence of 18 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Phelps had previously pled guilty to an indictment charging him and his co- conspirators with one count of drug conspiracy.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly Cavanaugh, who prosecuted the case, Phelps was a member of a drug trafficking organization in Anchorage and Fairbanks that between 2009 and February 2012, sold powder cocaine, marijuana, and oxycodone pills in Anchorage and Fairbanks. Phelps sold cocaine in Anchorage. On four occasions in February 2011, Phelps sold cocaine to a confidential informant; he possessed 70 grams of cocaine in his residence that he intended to distribute and possessed a firearm. Phelps also facilitated the sale of cocaine between another individual and his co-conspirator DeMarr Moultrie.
Phelps and other members of the conspiracy attempted to conceal their drug trafficking by claiming they were involved in a legitimate business, specifically that they were “artists,” employees, or promoters of concerts. Members of this conspiracy would record rap and hip hop songs, post videos on Youtube.com, and perform local shows in Anchorage and Fairbanks. Much of their music glorified the lifestyle of selling illegal narcotics and committing other crimes. The lavish and extravagant lifestyle portrayed in their music and videos was supported by their sales of illegal narcotics. Phelps had no record of serious or consistent employment since dropping out of high school in 2005 and only received minor, nominal payments for work as a rap recording and performance artist. The main source of his income since dropping out of high school was from the distribution of illegal narcotics in Anchorage.
Prior to imposing a sentence, Judge Beistline informed the defendant he had to take responsibility for his own actions and he needed to find some better individuals to associate with in the future.
Phelps was indicted along with 13 other members of the conspiracy located in Anchorage and Fairbanks. Christopher Anderson was previously sentenced to 14 months prison on November 2, 2012; DeMarr Moultrie was sentenced to 40 months prison on May 1, 2013; Jeraelyn Hill was sentenced to 66 months prison on May 28, 2013; and Jerry Wormley was sentenced to 36 months prison on May 31, 2013.
Donnell Johnson, Joshua Mustovich, Mihla Hall, Antonio Fleming, Dalon Johnson, Tevoris Carter, Emma Shine, and Brent Gunnels have pled guilty for their roles in connection with the conspiracy and await sentencing. Terrance Fleming has a pending trial scheduled for August 2013.
Ms. Loeffler commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, and the Anchorage Police Department for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Phelps.

Ten People from the River Region Receive Large Sentences for Their Part in a Drug Trafficking Organization

MONTGOMERY, AL—Ten people were sentenced last week for their participation in a drug trafficking organization operating in Autauga, Elmore, and Montgomery Counties, announced George L. Beck, Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama. United States District Judge Keith Watkins sentenced the 10 people after they were either convicted following a two-and-a-half-week trial in February 2013 or plea of guilty.
Evidence in this case showed that this drug trafficking organization was very sophisticated and sold many kilograms of powder cocaine. This large drug organization started with two smaller drug trafficking organizations that joined forces to saturate Autauga, Elmore, and Montgomery Counties with cocaine. According to the evidence, Mr. Willie Jerome Davis had at least $500,000 of illicit assets, including real and personal property. After establishing that Davis had very limited legitimate income, the jury was allowed to infer that his “wealth” came from illicit activity—drug trafficking.
The sentences for the ten are:

• Delmond Lemar Bledson, a.k.a “Two Face,” age 38 of Deatsville, Alabama, was sentenced to 188 months’ imprisonment. Bledson was convicted of conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute cocaine hydrochloride in violation of Title 21 United States Code, Sections 841 and 846;

• Willie Jerome Davis, a.k.a “Moby,” age 52 of Elmore, Alabama, was sentenced to life imprisonment. Davis was convicted of conspiring to distribute cocaine hydrochloride, use of a communication facility to further the cocaine conspiracy, and money laundering in violation of Title 21 United States Code, Sections 841, 846, 843(b) and Title 18 United States Code, Section 1956(a)(1)(B)(ii);

• Eulanda Lashade Trimble, a.k.a “Yo Yo,” age 33 of Montgomery, Alabama, was sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment. Trimble was convicted of conspiring to distribute cocaine hydrochloride and use of a communication facility to further the cocaine conspiracy in violation of Title 21 United States Code, Sections 841, 846 and 843(b);

• Willie James Walker, a.k.a “Nicodemus,” age 60 of Montgomery, Alabama ,was sentenced to 72 months’ imprisonment. Walker was convicted of conspiring to distribute cocaine hydrochloride in violation of Title 21 United States Code, Sections 841 and 846;

• Clifton Pettus, a.k.a “Biscuit,” age 33, of Montgomery, Alabama, was sentenced to 188 months’ imprisonment. Pettus was convicted of conspiring to distribute cocaine hydrochloride and use of a communication facility to further the cocaine conspiracy in violation Title 21 United States Code, Sections 841, 846 and 843(b);

• Robert Marshall, a.k.a “Big Daddy,” age 39 of Montgomery, Alabama, was sentenced to 300 months’ imprisonment. Marshall was convicted of conspiring to distribute cocaine hydrochloride and use of a communication facility to further the cocaine conspiracy in violation Title 21 United States Code, Sections 841, 846 and 843(b);

• Tony Gardner, a.k.a “Rock,” age 41 of Millbrook, Alabama, was sentenced to 78 months’ imprisonment. Gardner was convicted of conspiring to distribute cocaine hydrochloride in violation of Title 21 United States Code, Sections 841 and 846;

• William James Reese, age 38 of Deatsville, Alabama, was sentenced to 360 months’ imprisonment. William Reese was convicted of conspiring to distribute cocaine hydrochloride and use of a communication facility to further the cocaine conspiracy in violation Title 21 United States Code, Sections 841, 846 and 843(b);

• Eric Orlando Reese, age 38 of Montgomery, Alabama, was sentenced to 240 months’ imprisonment. Eric Reese was convicted of conspiring to distribute cocaine hydrochloride and use of a communication facility to further the cocaine conspiracy in violation Title 21 United States Code, Sections 841, 846 and 843(b);

• Ger Derrick Moncrief, age 39 of Montgomery, Alabama, was sentenced to 108 months’ imprisonment. Moncrief was convicted of conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute cocaine hydrochloride in violation of Title 21 United States Code, Sections 841 and 846;

“These long sentences should send a message: if you sell drugs in the Middle District of Alabama, you will go to jail, and you will go to jail for a long time,” stated U.S. Attorney George L. Beck, Jr. “With the sentencing of these defendants, our community is a safer place to live.”
“The impact of this investigation, the lengthy prison sentences imposed and the collaborative efforts of our law enforcement colleagues should send a clear message that drug trafficking will not be tolerated in our communities,” stated Clay Morris, DEA Resident Agent in Charge. “The combined efforts of law enforcement have removed a well-established drug trafficking organization from our neighborhoods and has made our communities a safer place for our children.”
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration in Montgomery, with the assistance from DEA Atlanta, DEA New York, Montgomery HIDTA Task Force, Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Marshal Service, Central Alabama Drug Task Force, Office of the Attorney General, Elmore County Sherriff’s Office, Wetumpka Police Department, Montgomery Police Department, Millbrook Police Department, Montgomery County Sherriff’s Office, Prattville Police Department, Autauga County Sherriff’s Office, Alabama State Troopers, Alabama Beverage Control, Alabama Bureau of Investigation, Chilton County Sherriff’s Office, and the Alabama National Guard.

Prosecutors Seek to Dismiss One Defendant from Drug Conspiracy Indictment

BIRMINGHAM—The U.S. Attorney’s Office has asked a federal judge to dismiss one of 10 defendants from a drug trafficking conspiracy indictment returned in April and unsealed in May following the arrests of all the defendants, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance.
Prosecutors this week filed the motion in U.S. District Court to dismiss Dealdre R. “Twin” Murrell, 27, of Birmingham, from the April 25 indictment. The move was prompted by information the government received and confirmed this week, according to the motion.
Dealdre’s twin brother, Deandre “Laray” or “Tojo” Murrell, also of Birmingham, remains under indictment in the case, along with eight other defendants: Billy “Champ” Williams Jr., 40, of Midfield; Sammuel Dewayne “Rosé” Gulley, 28, of Fairfield; Walter “Walt T” Johnson, 47; and Wilbert Curtis “Bing” Dalton Jr., 41, both of Dolomite; Grady Isam “Shady Grady” Jenkins, 46; Abe “Cuz” Johnson, 49; and Marion “Tuna” Reynolds Jr., 52, all of Birmingham; and Vernon Llwellyn “RJ” Mcadory, 38, of Bessemer.
The government is seeking to dismiss Dealdre Murrell from the four charges that he faced: conspiracy to distribute heroin and cocaine and three counts of using a telephone to facilitate drug trafficking.
The indictment charges that Williams and his co-defendants ran a large-scale heroin and cocaine distribution network in western Birmingham and Jefferson County. The investigation by the FBI, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation Division, and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office began in 2011 and culminated with the January arrest of Gulley, followed by the April indictment and remaining arrests in May.
Gulley was arrested in possession of two kilograms of nearly pure heroin following a high-speed chase with Jefferson County Sheriff’s deputies on January 25. Later that night, agents seized one-and-a-half kilograms of cocaine from a home associated with Williams and Gulley.

Undercover Investigation Results in Three Arrests and Seizure of 15 Pounds of Methamphetamine

ALBUQUERQUE—Arturo Reynaga, 29, of Los Lunas, New Mexico, Joaquin Alire, 29; of Albuquerque, New Mexico; and Jose Lopez-Hernandez, 31, a Mexican national residing in Belen, New Mexico, made their initial appearance this morning in federal court on a criminal complaint charging them with conspiracy and possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. All three remain in federal custody pending detention hearings scheduled for June 10, 2013.
Reynaga, Alire, and Lopez-Hernandez were arrested yesterday by the FBI after they attempted to sell approximately 15 pounds of methamphetamine to an undercover officer. According to the criminal complaint, the FBI arrested Reynaga in the vicinity of the Hard Rock Casino, located on Isleta Pueblo, New Mexico, and seized the methamphetamine from the vehicle in which Reynaga had traveled to the casino. The complaint further alleges that Alire and Lopez-Hernandez were arrested after additional investigation revealed that they allegedly supplied the methamphetamine that Reynaga was planning to sell to the undercover officer. Alire also was arrested in the vicinity of the Hard Rock Casino, and Lopez-Hernandez was arrested in Albuquerque.
If convicted on the charges in the complaint, each of the three defendants faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years to a maximum of life in prison and Lopez-Hernandez will be deported after serving his prison sentence. Charges in criminal complaints are only accusations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque Division of the FBI, with assistance from the Las Cruces-Doña Ana Metro Narcotics Agency, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Samuel A. Hurtado.

Drug and Violent Crime Sweep Nets Nearly 30 on and Around the Yavapai-Apache Nation

PHOENIX, AZ—Following a coordinated federal, tribal, and state investigation into drug trafficking and related violent crime on and near the Yavapai-Apache Indian Nation, 22 individuals are under indictment on federal charges with another five facing tribal criminal charges and two are facing state charges. Almost all of the individuals charged were taken into custody over the past several days or were already in local custody on other charges. Three remain fugitives.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Northern Arizona Safe Streets Task Force, the Yavapai County Drug Task Force, and the Yavapai-Apache Nation Tribal Police Department led this coordinated enforcement action. They received significant operational assistance from the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office; the Cottonwood Police Department; the Camp Verde Marshals Office; Arizona Department of Public Safety; the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration; the U.S. Marshals Service; the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Department of Homeland Security; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; and the Coconino County METRO Drug Task Force.
“The United States Attorney’s Office will continue to support community impact investigations to reduce violent crime and drug activity both on and off the reservations,” said U.S Attorney John S. Leonardo. “I commend the numerous federal, local, and tribal agencies for their effective cooperation.”
FBI Special Agent in Charge Douglas G. Price, Phoenix Division, stated, “The FBI is committed to enforcing federal laws in Indian Country. These charges are the result of a coordinated effort by the FBI and our law enforcement partners to fight violent crime and drug matters. The goal of this investigative operation is a positive impact on the community by reducing violent crime and the availability of illegal drugs. The FBI will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to combat criminal activity and improve the quality of life in Indian Country.”
“Methamphetamine has plagued our community for years,” said Yavapai Apache Nation Vice Chairman Robert Jackson, Sr. “Addressing this issue as an independent law enforcement agency has been ongoing and overwhelming. The Yavapai-Apache Police Department and prosecutors have been fortunate to work in full cooperation with the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in this proactive investigation since fall 2012, resulting in one of the largest single actions against individuals who have infiltrated our community with meth. We appreciate the cooperative approach between all law enforcement agencies, which has made one more of our Verde Valley communities a safer place for our youth, elders, and community members.”
Convictions for the drug offenses currently charged, which involve trafficking of methamphetamine and marijuana, carry penalties up to 20 years in prison and $1,000,000 in fines. Assault and related charges carry maximum penalties of 10 years to life in prison, as well as maximum fines of $250,000.
An indictment is simply the method by which a person is charged with criminal activity and raises no inference of guilt. An individual is presumed innocent until competent evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The investigation in this case is ongoing, and additional charges and arrests are anticipated.