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Defendant Sentenced To Life Imprisonment For 1997 Kidnapping, Traveling With Intent To Engage In Sexual Act With A Juvenile

Henri Michelle Piette, who had been found guilty by a federal jury on June 6, 2019, was sentenced on February 20, 2020, to life imprisonment for Kidnapping, and 360 months for Traveling With Intent to Engage in Sexual Acts With a Juvenile.

Sentencing Includes Life For Kidnapping, 360 Months For Traveling With Intent To Engage In Sexual Acts With Juvenile, $50,000 Fine, And $50,067 Restitution

During the trial, prosecutors presented evidence that the defendant had kidnapped the victim, who was 12 at the time, from Poteau, Oklahoma, in 1997 where she had been living with her mother, who had been in a relationship with the defendant.

Over the course of the nearly 20 years that followed, the defendant repeatedly raped and inflicted additional physical and emotional abuse upon the victim. The victim gave birth to nine children, the first being born in 2000 when she was 15 years old. In July 2016 the victim was able to escape with her children to the United States Consular General Offices in Nogales, Mexico. The Federal Bureau of Investigation was notified and the investigation began.

The investigation revealed, and the victim testified at trial, that the defendant had moved her and their children dozens of times within the United States and Mexico. The Defendant used numerous aliases and forced the victim to use aliases, dye her hair, and wear glasses to change her appearance. He controlled the victim by extreme violence, threats of violence, and sexual abuse against her and her children.

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Assistant United States Attorneys Sarah McAmis and Edward Snow represented the United States during the trial. The investigation was led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the United States Department of State Diplomatic Security Service, and the District Attorney’s Office for Oklahoma’s 27th Prosecutorial District.

“Life in prison is a sentence the law reserves for the most serious offenders – offenders like Henri Michelle Piette. For 20 years he inflicted extreme physical and emotional abuse on the victim and her children. For 20 years she feared for her and her children’s lives,” said United States Attorney Brian J. Kuester. “The victim’s courage ended the defendant’s reign of terror. Unfortunately, the horrific memories may very well last a life time. It is fitting that the defendant’s sentence will also.”

“For over 20 years Henri Piette inflicted immeasurable harm upon his victims. We hope today’s sentencing provides closure to the victims and an opportunity to heal,” said Melissa Godbold, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Oklahoma City Division. “The FBI would like to thank our law enforcement partners for their dedication and efforts on this investigation.

The Honorable Ronald A. White, District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, presided over the sentencing hearing. The defendant will remain in custody pending transportation to the designated federal facility at which the non-paroleable sentence will be served.

ICE.gov (February, 2020) Defendant Sentenced To Life Imprisonment For 1997 Kidnapping, Traveling With Intent To Engage In Sexual Act With A Juvenile

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Georgia man sentenced for transporting drugs disguised as children’s candy

A Georgia man was sentenced to 151 months in federal prison Tuesday, followed by five years of supervised release, for illegally transporting 41.97 kilograms of 100% pure methamphetamine and 4.5 kilograms of heroin that had been smuggled into the United States from Mexico.

The sentencing was announced by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New Orleans Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Jere T. Miles and U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst.

“By concealing dangerous narcotics as children’s candy, the defendant targeted our most vulnerable population, our youth,” said HSI New Orleans SAC Jere T. Miles. “Thanks to HSI special agents, and our partners at the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics and the Rankin County Sheriff’s Office, our communities will be safer with this criminal behind bars.”

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“This criminal endangered not just our citizens but our children, stooping so low as to disguise this poison as candy just so he could make a quick buck, caring not that it would cause damage, destruction and death in our communities. Because of the great work of our federal, state and local law enforcement, as well as our prosecutors, this criminal will not be peddling these toxins to our kids or anyone else anymore,” said U.S. Attorney Hurst.

On April 16, 2018, Cleveland James McKinney, 30, of Atlanta, traveled to Brandon, Mississippi from Atlanta, to retrieve a drug shipment that originated in Mexico and entered the United States through Brownsville, Texas. The drugs were concealed in what appeared to be shrink-wrapped, bulk packaged children’s candy. McKinney was to transport the drugs to Atlanta and deliver them to his co-conspirator, Evelyn Michelle Hernandez.

Unbeknownst to McKinney, HSI already had intercepted the narcotics shipment and had replaced the drugs with a false substance in packaging almost identical to the children’s candy packaging that had concealed the illegal methamphetamine and heroin.

McKinney drove to the designated location and retrieved the packages that he believed contained the illegal drugs. He then began his return trip to Atlanta. He was arrested shortly thereafter. McKinney was charged in a federal criminal indictment and pled guilty Nov. 21, 2019.

At the Tuesday sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge David Bramlette III, McKinney was also ordered to pay a $1,500 fine.

Hernandez was also indicted and sentenced Nov, 19, 2019 to 168 months in federal prison.

This case was investigated by HSI, the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, and the Rankin County Sheriff’s Office Interdiction Task Force. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Carla J. Clark.

ICE.gov (February, 2020) Georgia man sentenced for transporting drugs disguised as children’s candy

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UPDATE: AMBER Alert: Evelyn Mae Boswell

The Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office charged Boswell with one count of False Reporting. She is being held in the Sullivan County Jail on a $25,000 bond.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation continues to work alongside the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to locate and recover 15-month-old Evelyn Mae Boswell, who became the subject of a statewide AMBER Alert issued by the TBI on Wednesday, February 19th.

UPDATE: The Bristol Herald Courier reported that Megan Boswell, who has said the toddler’s grandmother took the little girl to Mendota, Virginia, was charged with one count of filing a false police report, according to the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office. She is being held on $25,000 bond.

On Friday, February 20th, ongoing investigative efforts led authorities to ask for assistance in locating a gray BMW. Two individuals believed to have information regarding Evelyn’s whereabouts were traveling in the car. On Friday afternoon, the vehicle and the individuals were located in Wilkes County, North Carolina. Agents and detectives questioned the couple as part of the ongoing investigation. They are currently being held on charges unrelated to the disappearance of Evelyn Boswell.

Since issuing the AMBER Alert just before 8:00 EST Wednesday, authorities have received more than 500 leads. None, however, has produced any credible sightings regarding the whereabouts of Evelyn Boswell.

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During the investigation, authorities have received a number of conflicting statements. That, combined with the fact that Evelyn was not immediately reported missing, makes this a complicated case.

TBI.com (February, 2020) UPDATE: AMBER Alert: Evelyn Mae Boswell

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Man Arrested for Attempting to Blow Up Vehicle at Pentagon

An Arkansas man will make his initial appearance in federal court at 2 p.m. today on charges relating to his alleged attempt at blowing up a vehicle at the Pentagon yesterday.

According to court documents, Matthew Dmitri Richardson, 19, of Fayetteville, was discovered in the Pentagon North Parking lot yesterday morning by a Pentagon Police Officer on patrol. The officer allegedly observed Richardson standing next to a vehicle striking a cigarette lighter to a piece of fabric that was inserted into the vehicle’s gas tank.

After the officer approached Richardson, the defendant allegedly told the officer he was going to “blow this vehicle up” and “himself”. When the officer attempted to detain Richardson, Richardson pulled away and ran across the parking lot towards Virginia State Route 110 and onto Virginia State Route 27.

A subsequent review of surveillance camera footage showed that Richardson jumped over a fence into Arlington National Cemetery. Richardson was later found by the Pentagon Force Protection Agency Police Emergency Response Team near Arlington House.

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According to court documents, after a search of Richardson, officers allegedly discovered a cigarette lighter, gloves, and court documents related to Richardson’s arrest on or about February 22 for two counts of felony assault on a law enforcement officer in Arlington County.

According to court documents, the owner of the vehicle is an active duty servicemember and does not know Richardson.

Richardson is charged with maliciously attempting to damage and destroy by means of fire, a vehicle used in and affecting interstate and foreign commerce.

If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum of five years in prison and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Woodrow G. Kusse, Chief of Pentagon Police, made the announcement. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Embroski and Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc J. Birnbaum are prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:20-mj-86.

Justice.gov (February, 2020) Man Arrested for Attempting to Blow Up Vehicle at Pentagon

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Coronavirus Update: FDA steps to ensure quality of foreign products

We are providing updated and more detailed information about the status of FDA inspections in China and the agency’s oversight of imported products from China, which have been impacted by this outbreak.

Today, we are providing updated and more detailed information about the status of FDA inspections in China and the agency’s oversight of imported products from China, which have been impacted by this outbreak.

While we are not able to conduct inspections in China right now, this is not hindering our efforts to monitor medical products and food safety. We have additional tools we are utilizing to monitor the safety of products from China, and in the meantime, we continue monitoring the global drug supply chain by prioritizing risk-based inspections in other parts of the world.

The FDA is not currently conducting inspections in China in response to the U.S. Department of State’s Travel Advisory to not travel to China due to the novel coronavirus outbreak. We will continue to closely monitor the situation in China so that, when the travel advisory is changed, we will be prepared to resume routine inspections as soon as feasible.

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We already use other tools to help complement our inspections, including import screening, examinations, sampling, and import alerts, relying on a firm’s previous compliance history, and we use information from foreign governments as part of mutual recognition agreements. Thus, at this time, we can rely on these other tools to give us comprehensive oversight of FDA-regulated products entering this country. This is all part of our agency’s risk-based approach to ensuring quality, as well as compliance with applicable FDA requirements.

It is important to reiterate that inspections are one of many tools that the agency uses to inform our risk strategy for imported FDA-regulated products and to help prevent products that do not meet the FDA’s standards from entering the U.S. market. A wide variety of FDA-regulated products are imported from China, which makes it important to assure the public of the quality of these products. At this time, over 60% of FDA-regulated products imported from China are medical devices and 20% are housewares (like food packaging).

In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, the FDA will utilize, where appropriate, our authority to request records from firms “in advance or in lieu of” drug surveillance inspections in China. The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, as amended by the FDA Safety and Innovation Act (FDASIA) of 2012, gives the FDA authority to request records “in advance of or in lieu of” on-site drug inspections.

Congress enacted this provision to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of inspections, given the increasing globalization of drug production. Along with other FDASIA provisions, this inspection record request authority was viewed as a way to “level the playing field” between foreign and domestic drug inspections by allowing the FDA to review records ahead of time and take a more risk-based approach to conducting both domestic and foreign inspections. These records will help the agency when we resume drug inspections in China.

By applying the use of paper records in our risk-based inspection framework, we can prioritize our early inspections on those deemed most needed, based on the records . By doing so, we hope to rapidly assess what could become a backlog number of on-the-ground surveillance inspections this fiscal year if travel restrictions persist.

In addition to records requests, the FDA will continue working with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to target products intended for importation into the U.S. that violate applicable legal requirements for FDA-regulated products, which may come from a variety of sources, such as first time importers unfamiliar with regulatory requirements or repeat offenders trying to skirt the law. FDA has the ability through our risk-based import screening tool (PREDICT) to focus our examinations and sample collections based on heightened concerns of specific products being entered into U.S. commerce. The PREDICT screening continues to adjust risk scores as necessary throughout the COVID-19 outbreak.

We are keeping a close eye out for indications of port shopping or cargo diversion and will continue our oversight of shipments through potentially higher-risk venues such as International Mail Facilities. We can refuse admission of products that fail sample testing or may violate other applicable legal requirements.

Fortunately, currently, we are not seeing the impacts of this outbreak resulting in an increased public health risk for American consumers from imported products. There is no evidence to support transmission of COVID-19 associated with imported goods and there have not been any cases of COVID-19 in the United States associated with imported goods. As noted, this remains a dynamic situation and we will continue to assess, and update guidance as needed.

We also continue to aggressively monitor the market for any firms marketing products with fraudulent COVID-19 prevention and treatment claims. The FDA can and will use every authority at our disposal to protect consumers from bad actors who would take advantage of a crisis to deceive the public, including pursuing warning letters, seizures, or injunctions against products on the market that are not in compliance with the law, or against firms or individuals who violate the law.

We know the public may have questions or concerns for the FDA as a result of this outbreak, including you and your family’s risk of exposure, or whether your critical medical products are safe and will continue to be available in the future.

We assure you that the FDA is working around the clock to monitor and mitigate emerging coronavirus issues through collaborative efforts with U.S. regulators, international partners, and medical product developers and manufacturers to help advance response efforts to combat the COVID-19 outbreak.

FDA.gov (February, 2020) FDA steps to ensure quality of foreign products

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