For the Tribune
WILMINGTON A Duplin County woman has been sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in federal prison on possession and drug distribution charges.
Ashley Shackleford, 35, was arrested for conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute and distributing 500 grams of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine, and with possession with intent to distribute 500 grams of a mixture substance containing methamphetamine.
On June 20, the Drug Enforcement Administration, in cooperation with Duplin County narcotics deputies, received information that Shackleford had recently been in possession of several ounces of meth and a firearm at her home.
Additional information revealed Shackleford and another person were traveling to Atlanta to obtain 2 pounds of meth before returning to eastern North Carolina.
Shyreek Thatch, a 21-year-old man from Lexington, N.C., who was arrested in Wilmington in a 2019 drug bust, was sentenced Friday to 108 months in prison.
Fitchburg Latin Kings member pleads guilty to federal drug charges
BOSTON A woman who conspired with a member of the Fitchburg Chapter of the Massachusetts Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation (Latin Kings) could face 20 years in prison after pleading guilty Thursday to drug distribution charges.
Sophia Velasquez, 28, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl after being charged following a multi-agency task force through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, a partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies..
Velasquez admitted to conspiring with Dairon Rivera, who uses the alias King Mafia, to sell 17 grams of fentanyl to a witness who was cooperating with investigators. That transaction that was recorded on audio and video.
Member of White Supremacist Prison Gang Guilty of Violent Crime in Aid of Racketeering Published: 30 January 2021 30 January 2021
Houston, Texas - A Texas man pleaded guilty Tuesday to violent gang-related activities in the Eastern District of Texas.
According to information presented in court and contained in court filings, Glynnwood Derrick, 46, of Texarkana, joined the Aryan Circle (AC) while in state prison in Texas in 2000, and received his “patch,” or gang tattoo, in 2004 while serving a sentence in federal prison. Derrick held various ranks within the organization over the years, including the ranks of Captain and Major. Derrick attended “church,” or gang meetings, on numerous occasions at the homes of other AC members.
USCG offloads $8.5 million of cocaine in San Juan
The Coast Guard Cutters Mohawk and Charles David Jr. transferred custody of two suspected smugglers and $8.5 million in seized cocaine to federal agents at Coast Guard Base San Juan Thursday, following the interdiction of a drug smuggling go-fast vessel in the Caribbean Sea.
The interdiction was the result of multi-agency efforts in support of U.S. Southern Command’s enhanced counter-narcotics operations in the Western Hemisphere, the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) and High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) programs, and the Caribbean Corridor Strike Force (CCSF). The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico is leading the prosecution for this case.