FORTY-SIX INDIVIDUALS CHARGED WITH FEDERAL CRIMES IN OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER

TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – United States Attorney John P. Heekin announced today that 46 individuals were indicted across three divisions of the Northern District of Florida during the lapse in appropriations.

The following indictments were filed in the Gainesville division:

• Peter Daniel Ring, of Bell, Florida, indicted for three counts of threatening communications.
• Deshawn Russ, of Jacksonville, Florida, indicted for a prohibited person in possession of firearm and ammunition.
• Khalil Keari Barnett, of Gainesville, Florida, indicted for one count of possession with intent to distribute marijuana, one count of possessing a firearm in connections with drug trafficking and one count of a prohibited person in possession of firearm and ammunition.

The following indictments were filed in the Pensacola division:

• Pedro Lopez Calderon, Jonathan Callejas-Callejas, Mateo Linares-Aparicio, Jose Del Carmen Perez-Gomez, and Eduardo Ramierez-Francisco, all citizens of Mexico, indicted separately for illegal reentry after deportation or removal.
• Nicholas Mencho-Lucas and Augustin Bello Rodriguez, both citizens of Mexico, indicted separately for illegal reentry after deportation or removal (with a prior aggravated felony conviction).
• Joel Nahum Sanchez Montoya and Selvin Ramos Vasquez, both citizens of Honduras, indicted for illegal reentry after deportation or removal.
• Abel Dejesus Ronquillo-Martinez, a citizen of El Salvador, indicted for illegal reentry after deportation or removal (with a prior aggravated felony conviction).
• Juan De La Cruz Mejia-Castro, a citizen of El Salvador, indicted for illegal alien in possession of a firearm.
• Belarmino Basilio Godinez, Miguel Angel Gomez-Ical, Luis Maldonado, Carlos Eulogio Mortero-Sipac, and Jose Julian Maldonado-Ramas, all citizens of Guatemala, indicted separately for one count of use of fraudulent immigration documents and one count of use of fraudulent social security number.
• Treivorn McLeod, 24, living in Mary Esther, Florida, indicted for conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, four counts of mail fraud, and four counts of wire fraud.
• Christopher Gene Summers, an inmate in a Florida State Prison, indicted for mailing threatening communications.
• Gustavo Ramirez-Guillen, a citizen of Honduras, indicted for one count of use of fraudulent immigration documents and one count of use of fraudulent social security number.
• Tamal Jenkins, of Pensacola, Florida, indicted for one count of interstate threatening communication with intent to extort and one count of interstate threatening communication.
• Damian Pressley, of Pensacola, Florida, indicted for three counts of distribution of 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and marijuana, and one count of possession of firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon.
• Logan Schoonmaker, of Gulf Breeze, Florida, indicted for one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense.
• Matthew Murillo and Tiffani Harris, both of Pensacola, Florida, indicted for one count of conspiracy to distribute/possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Murillo was also indicted on one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
• Marquis Dy’Monte Bethea, of Pensacola, Florida, indicted for distribution/possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, cocaine and fentanyl and one count of possession of a firearm during a drug tracking crime.
• Terrance Goodman, of Panama City, Florida, indicted for one count of Hobbs Act robbery, one count of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon (armed career criminal).
• Daniel Bookout, of Milton, Florida, indicted for mailing threatening communications.

The following indictments were filed in the Tallahassee division:

• Paul Hart, of Tallahassee, Florida, indicted for possession with intent to distribute over 50 grams of methamphetamine.
• Michael Duane Dyson, of Tallahassee, Florida, indicted for theft of government funds in the form of U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs benefits.
• Edward Cromartie, Timeka Griffin, and Robert Rundles, all of Tallahassee, Florida, indicted for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine, distribution of cocaine and methamphetamine, and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
• Justin Luis Ruiz, Jr., of Tallahassee, Florida, indicted for two counts of transferring obscene materials to a minor, enticement of a minor, attempted enticement of a minor, production of child pornography, receipt and distribution of child pornography, and possession of child pornography.
• Dalvert Encarnacion Francisco, of Dubuque, Iowa, indicted for distribution of child pornography.
• Theodore Robinson, of Tallahassee, Florida, indicted for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
• Johnny Robinson, of Orlando, Florida, indicted for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.
• Michael McDonald, of Tallahassee, Florida, indicted for attempted enticement of a minor.
• Dani Cordoba Munoz, of Geneva, Alabama, indicted for one count of attempted enticement of a minor and one count of travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct.
• Howard Martin, of Sopchoppy, Florida, indicted for one count of possession of 50 grams or more of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute, one count of carrying a firearm during a drug trafficking offense, and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
• Jose Vasquez-Martinez, a citizen of Mexico, indicted for illegal reentry of a removed alien.
• Cordelle Collier, a federal inmate in the Bureau of Prisons, indicted for assault with a deadly weapon.
• Miguel Hatcher, of Albany, Georgia, indicted for possession with intent to distribute cocaine.
• Jose Neftali Monge-Guevara, a citizen of El Salvador, charged with illegal reentry of a removed alien.

Law enforcement agencies conducting the investigations included the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation with assistance from the Bay County Sheriff’s Office, the Panama City Beach Police Department, the Leon County Sheriff’s Office, Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office, the Tallahassee Police Department and the Rapid City (Iowa) Police Department.

The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Brooke A. DiSalvo, Christopher C. Patterson, Ward Narramore, James A. McCain, Eric K. Mountin, Harley W. Ferguson, Joseph Ravelo, Jeffrey M. Tharp, Meredith L. Steer, Christie S. Utt, Alicia Forbes, Jessica Etherton, Jason Coody, David L. Goldberg, Justin M. Keen, and Eric W. Welch.

An indictment is merely an allegation by a grand jury that a defendant has committed a violation of federal criminal law and is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

Thirty-four cases are part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline ) a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

Four cases are brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice and led by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Divisions Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), it marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General.  To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.