The people's voice of reason
The people's voice of reason
Sorted by date Results 1 - 15 of 15
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – An Indiana man has been indicted for allegedly travelling to meet a minor for the purpose of engaging in illegal sexual activity, announced U.S. Attorney Phillip W. Williams Jr. A one-count indictment charges Joel Duron Esparza, 21, of Middlebury, Indiana, with interstate travel with intent to engage in a sexual act with a minor. According to the indictment on May 2, 2026, Esparza travelled from Indiana to Marshall County, Alabama. Esparza was arrested by the FBI at his r...
August 26, 2026 - MONTGOMERY, Ala. - A Montgomery man was sentenced today to 300 months in federal prison for his role in a series of armed robberies targeting businesses throughout Montgomery. On August 26, 2026, a federal judge sentenced 21-year-old Najari Denarka Mitchell of Montgomery to 25 years in federal prison. Mitchell previously pleaded guilty to multiple federal robbery and firearm charges arising from armed robberies committed during the summer of 2025. Following his prison...
Wednesday, August 12, 2026 - MONTGOMERY, Ala. - On August 11, 2026, a federal grand jury in Montgomery returned a second superseding indictment adding a defendant and additional charges in the case involving the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). The second superseding indictment, which was unsealed today, charges Heidi L. Beirich, 59, of Palm Springs, California, along with the SPLC, with new charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to submit false statements to a federally...
August 19, 2026 - BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A federal grand jury has returned an indictment today charging a Jefferson County man with preparing false and fraudulent tax returns for others and filing false and fraudulent tax returns for himself. "As alleged, Mr. Shine orchestrated a sweeping tax fraud scheme that exploited federal energy‑credit programs and siphoned tens of millions of dollars from the U.S. Treasury," said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department's Nat...
August 11, 2026 - MOBILE, AL – Bradford Simmons, 51, was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of possession of child pornography. Simmons entered his guilty plea on April 27, 2026. According to court documents, from March 2023 through March 2024, law enforcement identified Simmons as a possible distributor of child pornography. Investigators obtained a search warrant for Simmons' residence and seized several electronic devices, which were subsequently examined. F...
Tuesday, August 11, 2026 - MOBILE, AL - Continental Aerospace Technologies Inc. has agreed to pay $11,772,680.14 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by submitting false claims to obtain a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan for which it was not eligible. "This settlement demonstrates our office's steadfast commitment to relentlessly investigating and resolving fraud against American taxpayers," said U.S. Attorney Sean P. Costello for the Southern District of Alabama....
August 24, 2026 - BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A Sumter County man has been sentenced for his role in a multi-state bank fraud scheme, announced U.S. Attorney Phillip W. Williams Jr. U.S. District Judge Anna M. Manasco sentenced Eddarrius Tyjuan Wallace, 37, of York, Alabama, to 60 months in prison and a $25,000 fine. In May, Wallace pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and bank fraud. "This type of fraud is a double problem: it steals money from the federal government and undermines the i...
August 4, 2026 - MONTGOMERY, Ala. - A federal judge in Montgomery has sentenced the final defendant in a drug‑trafficking conspiracy that funneled narcotics and other contraband into a correctional facility in Elmore, Alabama. In total, five defendants have now been sentenced for their roles in the scheme. On July 30, 2026, Lilbrian Rondarrius Ladd, 28, a former inmate at the Elmore Correctional Facility, was sentenced to 215 months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute c...
August 3, 2026 - MOBILE, AL – A Mobile man was sentenced to 30 months in prison for illegally possessing a firearm as a multi-convicted felon. According to court documents, Artez Martre Williams, 24, was arrested on November 20, 2025, by Mobile Police Department narcotics investigators who executed a search warrant at Williams's house in Mobile. During the search, police seized a loaded Glock 9mm pistol from Williams's bedroom closet. The pistol was lying near paperwork with Williams's name on i...
Monday, July 13, 2026 - MONTGOMERY, Ala. - United States Attorney Thomas Govan announced that a Montgomery, Alabama man has been sentenced to prison following convictions for methamphetamine distribution and the illegal possession of a firearm. On July 9, 2026, a United States District Court Judge sentenced 33-year-old Robert Marshall Jr. to 140 months in prison. Following his term of imprisonment, Marshall will serve four years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system....
August 3, 2026 - BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – U.S. Attorney Phillip W. Williams Jr. joined Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald of the Justice Department's National Fraud Enforcement Division, other Department of Justice leaders, and federal and state law enforcement partners for a press conference announcing a series of significant fraud enforcement actions across the Southeastern United States. The Northern District of Alabama was one of the few chosen to speak at the press event due to the recent...
MOBILE, AL – Natalia Mitchell of Fairhope, Alabama, was sentenced to 48 months in prison for tampering with evidence in a federal drug conspiracy. According to court documents, on the evening of October 8, 2025, a federal defendant called Mitchell on a recorded telephone line from the Baldwin County Corrections Center. During the call, the defendant instructed Mitchell to remove drugs and a firearm from the defendant's property and deliver them to another individual. Mitchell stated that she h...
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Two men have been charged in federal court for their alleged roles in a scheme to acquire and sell counterfeit United States postage stamps. On April 21, 2026, a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging John Patrick Best, 55, of Hoschton, Georgia, and Kevin Douglas Padgett, 48, of Phenix City, Alabama, with conspiracy to commit money laundering related to the purchase and distribution of large quantities of counterfeit postage stamps. The indictment further charges...
Thursday, July 16, 2026 - BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A Texas man has been sentenced for smuggling six kilograms of cocaine, announced U.S. Attorney Phillip W. Williams Jr. U.S. District Judge Annmarie C. Axon sentenced Brandon Azael Lopez, 30, of McAllen, Texas, to 46 months in prison. In October 2025, Lopez pleaded guilty to possession with the intent to distribute cocaine. "Those who use the interstate highways in the Northern District of Alabama to transport narcotics will be held accountable for t...
Tuesday, July 21, 2026 - MOBILE, AL – An Atlanta, Georgia man was sentenced to 420 months in prison for engaging in a yearslong methamphetamine-trafficking conspiracy, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime, and illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. According to court documents and evidence presented at a weeklong federal jury trial in October 2025, Kenyatta Lee Frazier, 45, manufactured and distributed tens of thousands of pressed methamphetamine pills t...
