Category: Law Enforcement

10,800 Assault Weapons Parts Seized by CBP in Louisville

At the Express Consignment Operations hubs in Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers seized a shipment from China that contained over 10,000 Assault Weapons parts being smuggled into the country.


At the Express Consignment Operations hubs in Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers seized a shipment from China that contained over 10,000 Assault Weapons parts being smuggled into the country. 

The shipment was seized on May 22. Officers inspected the item, which was arriving from Shenzhen, China, destined for a residence in Melbourne, Florida. The parcel was manifested as containing 100 Steel Pin Samples.

This is a common practice of smugglers manifesting the contraband as a harmless or a legitimate commodity in hopes of eluding further examination.

“The importing of any type of munitions is regulated by the ATF,” said Thomas Mahn, Port Director, Louisville.  “This smuggler was knowingly trying to avoid detection. However, our officers remain vigilant, ensuring our community is safe.”  

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) regulates and restricts firearms and ammunition. Importation of weapons or ammunition must be made by a licensed importer, dealer or manufacturer.

Officers referred the shipment to the CBP Center of Excellence and Expertise, Machinery team who appraised the shipment with a domestic value of $129,600.

CBP’s border security mission is led at ports of entry by CBP officers from the Office of Field Operations. 

CBP officers use a variety of techniques to intercept narcotics, unreported currency, weapons, prohibited agriculture, and other illicit products, and to assure that global tourism remains safe and strong. 

Please visit CBP Ports of Entry to learn more about how CBP’s Office of Field Operations secures our nation’s borders.

Blogs to Follow:

CBP.gov (June 2020) 10,800 Assault Weapons Parts Seized by CBP in Louisville

Chinese Citizen Convicted of Economic Espionage, Theft of Trade Secrets, and Conspiracy

Hao Zhang, 41, of China, was found guilty of economic espionage, theft of trade secrets, and conspiring to commit both offenses on Friday, announced the Department of Justice. The ruling was handed down by the Honorable Edward J. Davila, U.S. District Judge, following a four-day bench trial.


Defendant Stole from U.S. Companies to Benefit Instrumentality of the Chinese Government

Hao Zhang, 41, of China, was found guilty of economic espionage, theft of trade secrets, and conspiring to commit both offenses on Friday, announced the Department of Justice.  The ruling was handed down by the Honorable Edward J. Davila, U.S. District Judge, following a four-day bench trial.

Evidence submitted during the course of the trial demonstrated that from 2010 to 2015, Zhang conspired to and did steal trade secrets from two companies: Avago, a designer, developer, and global supplier of a broad range of analog, digital, mixed signal and optoelectronics components and subsystems with a focus in semiconductor design and processing, headquartered in San Jose, California, and Singapore; and Skyworks, an innovator of high performance analog semiconductors headquartered in Woburn, Massachusetts.  Judge Davila found that Zhang intended to steal the trade secrets for the benefit of the People’s Republic of China

“The defendant plotted with Tianjin University to take trade secrets from two U.S. companies, including his own employer, to China for the benefit of the Chinese Government,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers.  “Today’s guilty verdict on all counts is an important step in holding accountable an individual who robbed his U.S. employer of trade secrets and sought to replicate the company’s technology and replace its market share.  The Department of Justice’s commitment to prosecuting these cases should serve as a cautionary tale to anyone considering doing the same.”        

“A free nation is naturally innovative.  No nation is more innovative than the United States.  Countries without freedom cannot match our innovation, and inevitably must resort to theft.  Theft is not innovation.  By combatting theft, we protect innovation and freedom,” said U.S. Attorney David L. Anderson for the Northern District of California.

“Economic Espionage is a pervasive threat throughout the United States, particularly to the San Francisco Bay Area and Silicon Valley which is the center of innovation and technology,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge John F. Bennett.  “While this case exemplifies how easily a few motivated employees can conspire to misappropriate intellectual property for the benefit of the People’s Republic of China, Zhang’s conviction should serve as a warning to our adversaries that the FBI and our partners remain committed to aggressively investigating and prosecuting these crimes.”

According evidence presented during the bench trial, Zhang stole trade secrets relating the performance of wireless devices.  Specifically, Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) and Bulk Acoustic Wave (BAW) filters are used in wireless devices to eliminate interference and improve other aspects of device performance.  Film Bulk Acoustic Resonators (FBAR) are one type of BAW filter. 

The most common and most profitable application of FBAR technology is as a radio frequency (RF) filter for mobile phones and other wireless devices.  Technological advances in FBARs have played a substantial role in creating smaller, more efficient wireless devices for both consumer and military applications.  Avago, one of the victims of Zhang’s theft, was the leading company in the United States manufacturing and selling FBARs.  Zhang’s other victim, Skyworks, was developing its own BAW technology.

Evidence at trial further showed that in October 2006, Zhang and his co-conspirators started a business in China to compete with Avago and Skyworks.  One of Zhang’s co-conspirators, Wei Pang, started working at Avago at the same time.  Zhang and Pang illicitly shared trade secrets with each other and with co-conspirators in China while they worked for the U.S. companies.  

Zhang and Pang then connected their venture to Tianjin University (TJU) in China, an instrumentality of the Chinese government.  By 2009, they left their work in the United States to relocate to China, following a plan laid out by TJU officials to form another company, Novana, in the Cayman Islands.  Along the way, Zhang obtained patents in his own name using trade secret information he knew was stolen from Avago.  Zhang also worked with stolen trade secrets in a lab he founded at TJU while developing his new FBAR business. The FBAR processes that Zhang and his co-conspirators stole took Avago over twenty years of research and development to build.  Additional evidence during the bench trial demonstrated that Zhang engaged in economic espionage to help TJU and Zhang’s Chinese company unfairly compete in the multi-billion dollar global market for cell phone RF filters. 

Zhang was charged in a superseding indictment returned by a federal grand jury on April 1, 2015.

Zhang is currently released on a $500,000 secured bond. 

Zhang’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for Aug. 31, 2020, before Judge Davila in San San Jose.  The maximum statutory penalty for each count in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1831 is 15 years in custody and a fine of $250,000, plus restitution if appropriate.  The maximum statutory penalty for each count in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1832 is 10 years in custody and a fine of $250,000, plus restitution if appropriate.  However, any sentence will be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.

Michelle J. Kane and Susan Knight are the Assistant U.S. Attorneys who are prosecuting the case with the assistance of Rebecca Shelton, Susan Kreider, and Laurie Worthen.  The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI.

Blogs to Follow:

Justice.gov (June 2020) Chinese Citizen Convicted of Economic Espionage, Theft of Trade Secrets, and Conspiracy

Multiple Suspects wanted for Vandalization of Federal Property

The FBI Washington Field Office’s Violent Crimes Task Force, in conjunction with the United States Park Police, is interested in identifying several individuals who are responsible for vandalizing federal property at Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C.


The FBI Washington Field Office’s Violent Crimes Task Force, in conjunction with the United States Park Police, is interested in identifying several individuals who are responsible for vandalizing federal property at Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C.

On June 22, 2020, at approximately 7:15 p.m., a group of individuals vandalized the statue of President Andrew Jackson at Lafayette Square, located at Pennsylvania Ave NW and 16th Street NW.

The FBI and the United States Park Police are attempting to identify the individuals responsible for the violation of Destruction of Government Property.

Damage or attempted damage exceeding $1,000 to federal property is a felony offense.

If you have any information concerning these individuals or this incident, please contact the FBI’s Washington Field Office at (202) 278-2000.

You may also contact your local FBI office, the nearest American Embassy or Consulate, or you can submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov.

Blogs to Follow:

FBI.gov (June 2020) VANDALIZATION OF FEDERAL PROPERTY – WASHINGTON, D.C.

Bank Robbery Trio’s Missteps Led Investigators to Them

Three roommates planned out a profitable bank heist with a movie-worthy plot twist. Unfortunately for the criminals, the story’s ending was written by FBI agents and San Diego Police Department detectives.


An Inside Job

Three roommates planned out a profitable bank heist with a movie-worthy plot twist. Unfortunately for the criminals, the story’s ending was written by FBI agents and San Diego Police Department detectives.

Jesus Ramon Garcia-Lopez, 21, had been working at a San Diego branch of a major national bank for about 18 months when a man entered the bank and passed a note through his teller station. The note read: “Give me all the money in both top and bottom drawer or someone in the lobby dies give me 30 mins before alerting anyone or I will be back and shoot people right away.”

Garcia-Lopez handed over the $23,070 he had stacked in his drawers.

An FBI special agent and a San Diego Police Department officer were the first to respond to the bank’s call about that robbery on June 6, 2018. Following standard procedure, they interviewed the victim teller.

The FBI agent reported that several things about the robbery itself and the interview with Garcia-Lopez struck the investigators as odd. First, the robber made off with a lot of money—many times what a typical bank robbery nets. Second, the demand note, which the robber left behind, was incredibly specific with its mention of an upper and lower drawer at the teller station. Third, Garcia-Lopez, who had just experienced a robbery, had little to say about the incident.

“His statement was extremely short and lacked any details,” said the FBI San Diego Field Office agent. “All Garcia-Lopez said was, ‘The robber came in, asked for money, and gave a note.’”

“Usually this is a fairly traumatic experience for victim tellers,” the case agent explained. “It was strange how brief his description was.”

Their suspicions about Garcia-Lopez stayed with them as the FBI San Diego Violent Crimes Task Force began an investigation of the robbery with partners in the San Diego Police Department’s Robbery Unit.

“This robbery trio may have thought they had a solid plan, but they were out of their depth.” Davene Butler, spokesperson, FBI San Diego

Shortly after the robbery, the task force officers discovered a video posted on social media that showed Garcia-Lopez and his roommate, Joe Mares, 22, doing what looked like some high-priced partying in Central America. Later, the robbery demand note came back from the lab with a fingerprint that belonged to Mares.

The missing piece: Who had robbed the bank, and how was he connected to Garcia-Lopez and Mares?

Some months later, police got a real-time tip about a suspicious vehicle. Officers from the El Centro Police Department stopped the car and found Mares inside with a man named Aldo de Jesus Gomez, 22, along with other passengers and evidence of potential wrongdoing. Officers took the men back to the El Centro Police Department and called in the FBI case agent.

In an interview at the police station, Gomez confessed to being the robber in the June 6 crime. At the time of the robbery, Gomez was often staying with Mares and Garcia-Lopez, but his name was not on their lease—making it harder for investigators to connect the three.

He also confessed to committing two other bank robberies later in 2018 that didn’t involve his friends.

Mares confessed to writing the ransom note in the first robbery. He’d researched what a demand note needed to say to make sure a bank robber would walk out with the most cash from the teller.

Garcia-Lopez, the teller, later decided to turn himself in and admit the role he played in the heist.

“Gomez’s arrest was what allowed us to put the full picture together—that all three roommates had agreed to a plan,” the FBI case agent said. “Garcia-Lopez was to keep his teller drawer stacked with lots of cash, Mares wrote the note, and Gomez would walk in and give the note to Garcia-Lopez.”

In 2019, Mares and Garcia-Lopez were sentenced to serve time in prison, subject to three years of supervised release, and ordered to repay the stolen funds. Gomez was sentenced on May 11, 2020, and also received prison time and a three-year period of supervised release. His restitution order was for the total stolen from all three bank robberies he committed.

“This robbery trio may have thought they had a solid plan, but they were out of their depth,” said Special Agent Davene Butler, a spokesperson for the FBI’s San Diego Field Office. “In the end, our Violent Crimes Task Force closed this insider robbery heist and two other unsolved crimes.”

Blogs to Follow:

FBI.gov (June 2020) An Inside Job

“Operation The Real McCoy” Yields 47 Arrests for Gang & Drugs Charges

As a result of a 9-month investigation known as “Operation The Real McCoy,” the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), the Cherokee Multi-Agency Narcotics Squad (CMANS), and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) served 47 arrest warrants for multiple charges including gang and drug related offenses.


As a result of a 9-month investigation known as “Operation The Real McCoy,” the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), the Cherokee Multi-Agency Narcotics Squad (CMANS), and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) served 47 arrest warrants for multiple charges including gang and drug related offenses.

In September 2019, Cherokee Multi-Agency Narcotics Squad (CMANS) agents began an investigation into a supply chain of methamphetamine into Cherokee County.  The initial investigations led CMANS agents to DeKalb and Gwinnett counties and members of the Ghostface Gangsters.

Based on the initial investigation, CMANS, the GBI Gang Task Force, and HSI conducted an intensive investigation into the drug trafficking and distribution organization involving Brannon McCoy, age 26, Michael  Hazelwood, age 45, and Tricia Setser, age 38, who are traffickers of methamphetamine operating within numerous counties in Georgia including Sumter, Effingham, Fulton, Clayton, DeKalb, Cobb, Cherokee, Gilmer, and Pickens. 

The investigation revealed a network involving members of the Ghostface Gangsters, the Gangster Disciples, and the Sureños.

“Operation The Real McCoy” Yields 47 Arrests for Gang & Drugs Charges

The following were charged with Violation of the Georgia Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act in Pickens County as part of “Operation The Real McCoy”:

  1. Tanner Burnell, 31, currently in custody at the Pickens County Jail
  2. Donnie Chastain, 47, currently in custody at the Pickens County Jail
  3. Cindy McCoy-Wilson, 49, currently in custody at the Pickens County Jail
  4. Christopher Morris, 34, currently in custody at the Pickens County Jail
  5. Allyson Moyer, 41, currently in custody at the Pickens County Jail
  6. Jesse Rodriguez, 22, currently in custody at the Pickens County Jail
  7. David Skinner, 46, currently in custody at the Pickens County Jail
  8. Amanda Vliek, 37, currently in custody at the Pickens County Jail
  9. Brandon Sanchez Laney, 32, also charged with Violation of Georgia Street Gang and Terrorism Act, currently in custody at the Cherokee County Jail
  10. Tyler Morris, 28, currently in custody at the Cherokee County Jail
  11. Carl Welchel, 49, currently in custody at the Cherokee County Jail
  12. Tricia Setser, 38, currently in custody at the Cherokee County Jail
  13. Casey Plumb, 31, currently in custody at the Cherokee County Jail
  14. Michael Hazelwood, 45, currently in custody at Cherokee County Jail
  15. Josh Phillips, 23, currently in custody at the Gwinnett County Jail
  16. Josh David Collins, 37, currently in custody of GDC
  17. William Jamie Fields, 27, currently in custody of GDC
  18. Brannon Chase McCoy, 26, currently in custody of GDC
  19. Terrell Jamar Owens, 38, currently in custody of GDC
  20. Bryan Thomas Pitt, 36, currently in custody of GDC
  21. Kevin Rodriguez, 24, currently in custody of GDC
  22. Joseph Seaborn III, 47, currently in custody of GDC
  23. Dewane Cook, 46, currently in custody in Monroe County, TN
  24. Orvelin Garcia Penaloza, 25, currently a fugitive from justice
  25. Evan Dannny Taylor Yancey, currently a fugitive from justice
  26. Dillon Thompson, 40, currently a fugitive from justice
  27. Savannah Newton, 22, currently a fugitive from justice
  28. Tracey Shirley, 47, currently a fugitive from justice
  29. Brittany Owen, 41, also charged with Violation of Georgia Street Gang and Terrorism Act, currently a fugitive from justice
  30. Dennis Debord, 39, currently a fugitive from justice
  31. Jessica Darby, 33, currently a fugitive from justice
  32. Derick Barker, 35, currently a fugitive from justice
  33. Justin Barker, 31, currently a fugitive from justice
  34. Mindy Skelton, 38, currently a fugitive from justice

These individuals conspired with one or more persons to participate, directly and indirectly, in an enterprise through a pattern of racketeering activity, and did commit at least one overt act and conspired to commit a felony with Brannon McCoy. 

Mr. McCoy acted as a broker from within the State Prison Camp in Sumter County, Georgia, for the distribution of methamphetamine from members of Drug Trafficking Organizations in Mexico to the streets of North Georgia, Tennessee, and West Virginia.

The following individuals were arrested on June 24, 2020:

  1. Erik Noe Fuentes Escobar, 26, charged in Barrow County, GA with conspiracy to traffic methamphetamine and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
  2. Kevin Vega-Santana, 18, charged with trafficking methamphetamine in Fulton County, GA.
  3. Artemio Maldonado Santana, 28, charged with trafficking methamphetamine in Fulton County, GA.
  4. Elvis Maldonado-Santana, 21, charged with trafficking methamphetamine in Fulton County, GA.
  5. Buford Smith, 68, charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute in Pickens County, GA.
  6. Leah Thompson, 31, charged with possession of methamphetamine in Pickens County, GA.
  7. Joseph Arp, 50, charged with possession of methamphetamine in Pickens County, GA.
  8. Wendy Kirby, 44, charged with obstruction in Pickens County, GA.
  9. Tracy Kirby, 42, charged with obstruction in Pickens County, GA.
  10. William Ryder, 45 charged with obstruction in Pickens County, GA.
  11. Ashley Foster, 31, charged with possession of methamphetamine and possession of a Schedule IV substance in Pickens County, GA.
  12. Christopher Mountain 47, charged with possession of methamphetamine and possession of a Schedule IV substance in Pickens County, GA.
  13. Marjorie Brown, 61, charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute in Pickens County, GA.

Agents seized over 136 kilograms of methamphetamine valued at $1.76 million and approximately $100,000.

Agencies involved in the investigation were the CMANS, the GBI Gang Task Force, Homeland Security Investigations, the Appalachian Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office, Pickens Sheriff’s Office, Cherokee Sheriff’s Office, Georgia Department of Corrections, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Barrow Sheriff’s Office, the Gordon County Drug Task Force, Gwinnett Gang Task Force and Special Investigation Section, DeKalb District Attorney’s Office, the Cobb PD and District Attorney’s Office, the Clayton SO and District Attorney’s Office, the Apex Unit from Atlanta PD, the West Metro Regional Drug Enforcement Office, the Appalachian Regional Drug Enforcement Office, the Georgia National Guard Counter Drug Task Force, and the Gilmer County Sheriff’s Office.

The GBI Gang Task Force is made up of GBI Agents, task force agents from the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office, the Atlanta Police Department, the Georgia Department of Community Supervision, the Georgia National Guard Counter Drug Task Force and the United States Department of Homeland Security/Homeland Security Investigations.

The Cherokee Multi-Agency Narcotics Squad is a joint task force working in Cherokee County and Pickens County to investigate drug related violations. Participating agencies include the Cherokee Sheriff’s Office, the Pickens Sheriff’s Office, the Canton Police Department, the Woodstock Police Department, the Holly Springs Police Department, the Ball Ground Police Department, the Cherokee County Marshal’s Office, the District Attorney’s Office for the Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit, the District Attorney’s Office for the Appalachian Judicial Circuit and the Georgia State Patrol. Citizens may call in tips anonymously to (770) 345-7920 or may speak to an agent by calling (678) 493-7625.

Blogs to Follow:

GBI.Georgia.gov (June 2020) “Operation The Real McCoy” Yields 47 Arrests for Gang & Drugs Charges