United States Attorney David Capp

Northern District of Indiana

E. Ross Adair Federal Building & United States Courthouse

1300 South Harrison Street, Room 3128

Fort Wayne, Indiana 46802

Hammond South Bend Fort Wayne

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Mary Hatton

March 1, 2013 PHONE: (219) 937-5603

www.usdoj.gov/usao/inn/ FAX (219) 852-2770

WEEK IN REVIEW – FORT WAYNE

Fort Wayne, Indiana- The United States Attorney’s Office announced the following activity in Federal Court:

PLEA:

Ø Dashawn Jones, 23, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, pled guilty before Magistrate Judge Roger Cosbey to the felony offense of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Magistrate Cosbey is recommending that the district court accept the tendered guilty plea. Parties have 10 days in which to object to the magistrate judge’s recommendation. These charges were filed as a result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Allen County Community Corrections. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anthony Geller.

Ø Jose Soto, 30, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, a defendant in the case US v Buchanan et al., pled guilty before Magistrate Judge Roger Cosbey to the felony offense of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine and crack cocaine. Magistrate Cosbey is recommending that the district court accept the tendered guilty plea. Parties have 10 days in which to object to the magistrate judge’s recommendation. These charges were filed as a result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Indiana State Police, the Fort Wayne Police Department, the Allen County Police Department, the Allen County Drug Task Force and the New Haven Police Department. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Anthony Geller and Lesley Miller Lowery.

If convicted in court, any specific sentence to be imposed will be determined by the judge after a consideration of federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

DISPOSITIONS:

Ø Osiris Espinoza, 31, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, a defendant in the case US v Castaneda et al., was sentenced by District Judge Theresa Springmann to 168 months imprisonment and 5 years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute cocaine. According to documents filed by the government in this case Espinoza and others were involved in shipping drug proceeds in a package from Fort Wayne to California. As part of the conspiracy, Espinosa shipped a 49-pound package to California, with himself listed on the return address. The box was shipped overnight and was claimed to be frozen food. Based upon interceptions, Espinoza had been gathering money at his apartment, and based upon expert opinion, the Defendant was sending drug proceeds to California for eventual transport to the supplier in Mexico. This case was the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anthony Geller.