A total of 17 individuals were arrested this week in connection with firearms and drug crimes as part of the Justice Department’s Houston Violent Crime Initiative.
All 17 defendants have made initial appearances, with detention hearings scheduled for Sept. 3 and 4 before U.S. Magistrate Judges Christina Bryan and Yvonne Ho, respectively. Three additional defendants, already in custody on related charges, are expected to make initial appearances soon.
Court documents reveal that between July 31 and Aug. 22, a federal grand jury returned six separate but related indictments charging 16 people with drug distribution-related crimes. Two defendants were indicted for illegal possession of a machine gun, while one faces a charge of maintaining drug premises.
The charges involve over 30 firearms, more than 150 grams of methamphetamine, and over 15 kilograms of cocaine collectively. Law enforcement executed search warrants during the arrests, seizing ten firearms, $26,000 in cash, as well as cocaine and crack cocaine.
Sixteen defendants face conspiracy to distribute controlled substances charges along with multiple counts of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance. If convicted, they could receive up to life in prison. Sentencing will be determined by a federal district court judge considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Eight defendants are charged with being felons in possession of a firearm or possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Convictions could result in penalties ranging from up to 15 years for felon-in-possession offenses to mandatory minimums of five years and maximums of life imprisonment for firearm possession related to drug trafficking crimes.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri; U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani for the Southern District of Texas; Special Agent in Charge Douglas Williams of the FBI Houston Field Office; and Chief J. Noe Diaz of the Houston Police Department announced these developments.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI, Houston Police Department, Texas Department of Public Safety, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), Pearland Police Department along with assistance from various state law enforcement agencies across Texas, Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky including Texas Department Criminal Justice’s Office Inspector General.
Trial Attorneys Amy L. Schwartz; George Meggali; Shriram Harid from Criminal Division’s Violent Crime Racketeering Section alongside Assistant U.S Attorneys Anh-Khoa Tran & John Ganz Southern District Texas Trial Attorney Adam Tisdall Fraud Section prosecuted this case providing additional support
These indictments form part ongoing efforts under Criminal Division's Houston Violent Crime Initiative first launched September last year targeting gang members associates within southwest southeast areas city employing federal laws where applicable address root causes violent crime through dedicated prosecutorial resources intervention prevention reentry programs funded partly Office Justice Programs
An indictment is merely an allegation; all defendants remain presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt court law
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