Press Releases - all

SAN DIEGO – Jeffrey Alden Blair was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Battaglia to 188-months in prison for supplying the fentanyl that led to the fatal overdose of 45-year old Derrick Hotchkiss, a long-time rugby player for the San Diego Old Aztecs Rugby Football Club. Through his plea agreement, Blair admitted that the fentanyl he dealt caused Hotchkiss’ death and that he knowingly sold in excess of 400 grams of fentanyl.

PORTLAND, ME – The New England Field Division’s (NEFD) DEA 360 Maine program has partnered with Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA), Somerset Public Health and Healthy Sebasticook Valley Drug Free Coalition to address some local concerns and facilitate discussions surrounding those topics. This FREE Virtual Adult Town Hall Summit will be held April 13th and 14th from 3:30pm – 5:00pm and is open to all parents, educators, community members and anyone who wishes to learn more about how to become more involved in constructing a healthy safer community. 

WILMINGTON, N.C. – Jason Hyland, 39, of Duplin County, was sentenced yesterday to 134 months in prison for Conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute and distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine.

ST. LOUIS – On Wednesday, a jury convicted Oscar Dillon, 47, of St. Charles County, Missouri, guilty of drug conspiracy, attempted obstruction of justice and money laundering.

The same jury also convicted Michael Grady, 65, of St. Louis, guilty of drug conspiracy, attempted obstruction of justice and money laundering. The jury found Grady not guilty on an additional charge of witness tampering.

U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey presided over the trial, which lasted more than two weeks.

HARTFORD, CONN. – DEA New England Division Special Agent in Charge Brian D.

ORLANDO, Fla. - Irving Cepeda-Chico (39, Kissimmee) was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison for 12 counts of distribution of controlled substances and 1 count of conspiracy to distribute such substances. Cepeda-Chico had pleaded guilty on November 20, 2020.  

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) saw a jump in drug seizures across South Dakota in 2020, as compared to 2019, with methamphetamine topping the list of most commonly seized drugs at 150 pounds. By comparison, in 2019, DEA investigators seized 29 pounds of methamphetamine, half the weight of South Dakota’s largest 2020 single seizure weighing 59 pounds.

BOSTON –  DEA New England Division Special Agent in Charge Brian D. Boyle and Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell announcement today that Alexsander Padro, 28, of Methuen, MA was sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV to eight years in prison and four years of supervised release. 

Seattle –Twenty-one people were arrested today on indictments and criminal complaints charging an extensive drug dealing conspiracy by defendants who often illegally possessed firearms, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. Law enforcement teams from FBI, DEA, Seattle Police Department, and other public safety organizations executed about ninety search warrants across the Puget Sound region from as far north as Everett and as far south as Spanaway.