TOPEKA, KAN. – A federal grand jury has returned indictments against two men who are charged in connection with a raid last month on a marijuana farm along U.S. 75 North in Osage County, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today.

Macelo Parra-Ocmo, 42, a citizen of Mexico, and Ernesto Duenas-Aceon, 20, a citizen of Mexico, are charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute approximately 6,000 marijuana plants. The crime is alleged to have occurred June 16, 2011, in Osage County, Kan.

Parra-Ocmo and Duenas-Aceon were arrested when law enforcement officers from the Osage County Sheriff’s Office, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, the Kansas Highway Patrol and other agencies raided the marijuana growing operation.

If convicted, the defendants face a penalty of not less than 10 years and not more than life and a fine up to $4 million. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation, the Osage County Sheriff’s Office and the Kansas Highway Patrol investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy Hendershot is prosecuting.

OTHER INDICTMENTS

A grand jury meeting in Topeka, Kan., also returned the following indictments:

Melanie Morrison, 25, formerly a nurse at the Holiday Resort Nursing Facility in Salina, is charged with one count of tampering with consumer products and one count of adulterating a prescription drug. The crimes are alleged to have occurred in February 2010 in Saline County, Kan.

The indictment alleges that while she worked at Holiday Resort Nursing Facility Morrison took syringes from the medical room, removed morphine from vials and replaced the morphine with sodium chloride. Morrison, who was addicted to pain medications, took the syringes home and injected the morphine.

The indictment states in May 2009 Morrison lost her job at Wesley Medical Center for removing Percocet from the hospital’s drug supply without a physician’s order.

If convicted, she faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000 on the charge of tampering with a consumer product, and a maximum penalty of three years and a fine up to $10,000 on the charge of adulterating a prescription drug. The Food and Drug Administration investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tanya Treadway is prosecuting.

Devine Togba Pearson, 29, who is in federal custody, is charged with one count of visa fraud. The crime is alleged to have occurred June 20, 2011, in Chase County, Kan.

Pearson initially was charged in a criminal complaint filed July 19 in U.S. District Court in Topeka.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared Maag is prosecuting.

Gregory Leanard Canady, 43, Grandview, Mo., is charged with drug trafficking crimes. The crimes are alleged to have occurred in 2009, 2010 and 2011 in Shawnee County, Kan.

Charges include one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine within 1,000 feet of Highland Park High School in Topeka, one count of possession with intent to distribute hydrocodone within 1,000 feet of Highland Park High School, two counts of possession with intent to distribute cocaine, five counts of possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine, one count of possession with intent to distribute morphine, one count of possession with intent to distribute hydrocodone, one count of possession with intent to distribute oxycodone, and one count of possession with intent to distribute clonazepam,

Upon conviction, the crimes carry the following penalties:
Possession with intent to distribute cocaine within 1,000 feet of a school: A maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $1 million.
Possession with intent to distribute hydrocodone within 1,000 feet of a school: Not less than a year and not more than 20 years and a fine up to $1 million.
Possession with intent to distribute cocaine: A maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $1 million.
Possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine: A maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $1 million.
Possession with intent to distribute morphine: A maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $1 million.
Possession with intent to distribute hydrocodone: A maximum penalty of 10 years and a fine up to $500,000.
Possession with intent to distribute oxycodone: A maximum penalty of 10 years and a fine up to $500,000.
Possession with intent to distribute clonazepam: A maximum penalty of five years and a fine up to $250,000.

The Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy Hendershot is prosecuting.

Marcos Fidel Mojica-Cruz, 32, Topeka, Kan., Juan Angel Cruz, 32, Des Moines, Iowa, and Alfredo Burgoin, 32, Chula Vista, Calif., are charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and one count of distributing methamphetamine. The crimes are alleged to have occurred at various times from July 10 to July 25, 2011, in Shawnee County, Kan.

If convicted, they face a penalty of not less than 10 years and not more than life in federal prison and a fine up to $4 million. Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Hough is prosecuting.

James Emery Bradford, 26, Colorado Springs, Colo., is charged with failing to register under the Sex Offender Registration Notification Act. He was required to register because of a 2005 conviction for attempted aggravated indecent liberties with a child in Harper County, Kan. The crime occurred from May to July 2011 in Harper County, Kan.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. The U.S. Marshals Service investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Hart is prosecuting.

Joey Ronnell Lewis, 23, Topeka, Kan., is charged with unlawful possession of a firearm after a felony conviction. The crime is alleged to have occurred in January 2011 in Shawnee County, Kan.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Duston Slinkard is prosecuting.

Oscar Romero, 37, El Paso, Texas, is charged with failing to surrender to serve a federal sentence. A federal judge ordered him to surrender to the United States Bureau of Prisons’ facility in Big Springs, Texas.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years and a fine up to $250,000 on the charge. The U.S. Marshals Service investigated. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Duston Slinkard is prosecuting.

In all cases, defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. The indictments merely contain allegations of criminal conduct.

 

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