A drug dealer who sold heroin in Dubuque, Iowa, was sentenced today to 38 months in federal prison. 

John Andrew Pruitt, age 39, of Pueblo West, Colorado, received the prison sentence after a March 30, 2023 guilty plea to one count of distribution of a controlled substance.

Evidence at the sentencing hearing established that Pruitt supplied heroin users in the Dubuque area with controlled substances from at least 2017 until 2022.  In March 2020, Pruitt supplied an individual with purported heroin, and that individual subsequently overdosed.  Despite learning about this overdose, Pruitt nonetheless continued to sell drugs in the Dubuque area.

Pruitt was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams.  He was sentenced to 38 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Pruitt is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Nicole L. Nagin and Assistant United States Attorney Jason D. Norwood and investigated by the Dubuque Drug Task Force as part of the Northern Iowa Heroin Initiative.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 22-CR-1030.

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A Jamaican man was sentenced yesterday, in federal court in Cedar Rapids, to 41 months’ imprisonment for participating in a mail fraud scheme that defrauded an elderly and sick Illinois couple. Ricardo Fredrick Smith a/k/a “Rickey Ricardo Smith” a/k/a “Ricky” a/k/a “Stinger”, 39, from St. James Parish, Jamaica, received the prison term after his guilty plea in October 2016 to one count of Mail Fraud. Smith admitted he participated in the scheme beginning no later than September 2015, and continuing through at least December 2015. As a part of the scheme, an elderly Illinois woman was falsely told she had won a lottery and was entitled to large sums of money. She was also told the winnings or funds could be claimed only if she first mailed money for purported taxes or fees. In truth, no such winnings existed and the calls were designed only to steal from the victim and her husband, a U.S. Navy veteran who was the resident of a long-term care facility and suffering from dementia. Like many senior citizens in the United States, the couple received unsolicited telephone calls; they even changed their telephone number to avoid unsolicited calls, but such calls nonetheless resumed after they changed their phone number.

 

Smith lived in the United States during the growing seasons of 2015 and 2016 under an H2B visa, which allowed him to work at two Cedar Rapids area lawn-care companies. At his plea hearing and the sentencing hearing, Smith admitted that he recruited his girlfriend, Tea Ware, into the scheme in 2015 and instructed Ware to communicate with him by means of a popular encrypted instant messaging application to evade detection by law enforcement. Before leaving the United States in 2015, Smith opened a second, “shadow” banking account at a local financial institution at which he was a patron and added Ware as a joint account owner to the “shadow” account to facilitate the fraud. Then, while in Jamaica in December 2015, defendant used the encrypted messaging system to instruct Ware how to structure withdrawals of the victims’ funds from the “shadow” account in a way that would evade law enforcement scrutiny. Smith was arrested in 2016 just before leaving the United States for a second time.

 

The prosecution is part of the Elder Justice Initiative of the Department of Justice. In June 2016, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa was selected as one of 10 districts in the nation to form an Elder Justice Task Force (http://go.usa.gov/cSngj). The task force was assembled to foster a collaborative working relationship among all levels of government officials, advocacy groups for the elderly and the disabled, and others charged with the care and protection for these vulnerable groups. The goals include ensuring the integrity of all government expenditures by eliminating fraud, waste, and abuse in health programs, and protecting some of the state’s most vulnerable citizens from harm, whether it occurs in nursing homes or other institutions or involves financial fraud schemes. To learn more about the Department of Justice’s Elder Justice Initiative, visit: https://www.justice.gov/elderjustice/

 

Smith was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge Linda R. Reade. Judge Reade found Smith crime an “outrageous victimization of elderly and sick people”, noting that the elderly Illinois couple consisted of a woman with memory problems and a U.S. Navy veteran suffering from dementia who lives in a long-term care facility. When Smith asked for leniency because he was likely to be deported to Jamaica following his prison term and would live a life of poverty there, Judge Reade responded, “so be it.” Judge Reade sentenced Smith to 41 months’ imprisonment. A special assessment of $100 was imposed, and he was ordered to make $108,100 in restitution his elderly victims. Smith must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system. Smith is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

 

Acting United States Attorney Sean R. Berry stated, “Protecting the elderly and sick from financial abuse is a priority of this Office. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to hold these predators accountable. I thank the diligent agents of the FBI and USPIS for their hard work on this case.” FBI SAC Randall Thysse praised the cooperative efforts of the FBI, the US Postal Inspection Service and the United States Attorney’s Office to bring the perpetrator of this crime against a vulnerable victim to justice. “The US Postal Inspection Service is committed to ensuring that these types of predatory schemes are investigated aggressively,” said U.S. Postal Inspector in Charge Craig Goldberg of the Denver Division, which covers multiple states including Iowa. “The stiff sentence issued in this case highlights the efforts of Postal Inspectors who ensure those who conduct these schemes are brought to justice, especially when foreign nationals bring their schemes to U.S. soil.”

 

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Tim Vavricek and was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.

The case file number is 16-CR-92-LRR.

 

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On November 30, 2017, five members of the team that investigated the May, 2011 killing of Tony Canfield will be recognized for their efforts with the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA) national group achievement award. The award ceremony will take place at the Sioux City Police Department at 4:30 p.m., and will be followed by a press conference.

 

The FLEOA was founded in 1977, and is a non-profit organization that represents federal law enforcement agents across the nation, and currently represents more than 25,000 federal law enforcement agents from over 65 different agencies.

 

The recipients of the FLEOA award are FBI Special Agent Jonathan Moeller, Northern District of Iowa Assistant United States Attorney Forde Fairchild, Sioux City Police Department Detectives Heather Albrecht and Mike Simons and Minnehaha County Sheriff’s Office Captain Mike Walsh. The national award stems from the recipients’ group efforts in the investigation of Sioux City resident Tony Canfield’s murder. The case began on May 1, 2011, when Mr. Canfield and his wife were robbed at gunpoint by three men. One of the robbers held and brutalized the wife, while the other two physically robbed Mr. Canfield of marijuana and cash. Mr. Canfield resisted his attackers and attempted to escape the robbery by fleeing his home. While fleeing, Mr. Canfield was shot and killed on his front porch. The crime went unsolved for five years, owing to the fact there was no forensic evidence identifying the perpetrators, and neither the murder weapon, nor any shell casings were recovered at the scene. In addition, the wife could not identify the robbers as they were wearing masks. Nonetheless, through dogged investigative work, which included numerous interviews conducted in a number of different states, the perpetrators were arrested and prosecuted. In 2016, all three defendants were convicted, and sentenced. The sentences ranged from 20 to 35 years’ imprisonment. 

 

Press releases and interview opportunities will be available. 

 

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A convicted felon who unlawfully possessed a gun he fired at a group of teenagers and who had another individual buy two guns for him less than a week later was sentenced today to ten years in federal prison.

Dmontrey Rayshawn Redmond, age 24, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after a July 7, 2021 guilty plea to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Information from the sentencing hearing showed that, on November 29, 2020, Redmond exited a house into an alley in Cedar Rapids.  A group of five teenagers was walking in the alley.  They began to run as Redmond exited the house.  Redmond pointed a handgun towards the group and fired in their direction.  None of the teenagers were hit, but a nearby parked car was struck.  Redmond went back into the house while tucking the gun into his pants.

Law enforcement responded to the scene of the shooting.  During the investigation of the shooting, officers searched Redmond’s home and found a loaded Glock handgun.  Officers also found nine spent shell casings in the alley that matched the rounds found in the Glock handgun.  The spent shell casings were compared to the Glock handgun using the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN).  The NIBIN comparison showed that the nine rounds were shot from the Glock handgun.

On December 4, 2020, Redmond went to a gun store in Waterloo, Iowa, with another individual named Jamie Marie Graham.  Redmond instructed Graham to choose two Glock handguns and a box of .40 caliber ammunition.  She did so and began working with a store employee to fill out the paperwork necessary to purchase the guns.  Graham lied on the forms, indicating she was the purchaser of the guns.  Redmond paid for the guns using a cash card that was in his name.  After leaving the store, Redmond took the guns and ammunition.

On December 23, 2020, one of the two Glock handguns that Redmond had obtained on December 4 was located in a house in Cedar Rapids.  A friend of Redmond’s was living in the house with another adult and a four-year old child.  The Glock handgun was left unsecured in the house.  The child got the gun and accidently discharged it.  The fired round struck the child in the chin and head causing significant injuries.  The child survived the injuries.

Redmond has prior convictions for assault, disorderly conduct – fighting or violent behavior, possession of drugs, theft, providing false identification, robbery, reckless use of a firearm resulting in bodily injury, and trafficking in stolen weapons.  During the robbery, Redmond shot the victim of the robbery three times, once in the arm and twice in the legs. 

Redmond was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams.  Redmond was sentenced to 120 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.  He was also ordered to pay approximately $1,000 in restitution to the owner of the car he shot.

On December 17, 2021, Graham was sentenced to five years of federal probation after previously pleading guilty to making a false statement during the purchase of the two Glock handguns on December 4, 2020.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).  PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.  Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

This case was made possible by investigative leads generated from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN).  NIBIN is the only national network that allows for the capture and comparison of ballistic evidence to aid in solving and preventing violent crimes involving firearms.  NIBIN is a proven investigative and intelligence tool that can link firearms from multiple crime scenes, allowing law enforcement to quickly disrupt shooting cycles.  For more information on NIBIN, visit https://www.atf.gov/firearms/national-integrated-ballistic-information-network-nibin.

Redmond is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was investigated by the Cedar Rapids Safe Streets Task Force, the Waterloo Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.  The task force is composed of representatives from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Cedar Rapids Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dan Chatham.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 21-CR-115.

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On November 30, 2017, five members of the team that investigated the May, 2011 killing of Tony Canfield were recognized for their efforts with the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA) national group achievement award. The award ceremony took place at the Sioux City Police Department.

 

The FLEOA was founded in 1977, and is a non-profit organization that represents federal law enforcement agents across the nation, and currently represents more than 25,000 federal law enforcement agents from over 65 different agencies.

 

The recipients of the FLEOA award were FBI Special Agent Jonathan Moeller, Northern District of Iowa Assistant United States Attorney Forde Fairchild, Sioux City Police Department Detectives Heather Albrecht and Mike Simons and Minnehaha County Sheriff’s Office Captain Mike Walsh.

 

The national award stems from the recipients’ group efforts in the investigation of Sioux City resident Tony Canfield’s murder. The case began on May 1, 2011, when Mr. Canfield and his wife were robbed at gunpoint by three men. One of the robbers held and brutalized the wife, while the other two physically robbed Mr. Canfield of marijuana and cash. Mr. Canfield resisted his attackers and attempted to escape the robbery by fleeing his home. While fleeing, Mr. Canfield was shot and killed on his front porch. The crime went unsolved for five years, owing to the fact there was no forensic evidence identifying the perpetrators, and neither the murder weapon, nor any shell casings were recovered at the scene. In addition, the wife could not identify the robbers as they were wearing masks. Nonetheless, through dogged investigative work, which included numerous interviews conducted in a number of different states, the perpetrators were arrested and prosecuted. In 2016, all three defendants were convicted, and sentenced. The sentences ranged from 20 to 35 years’ imprisonment.

 

United States Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa Peter Deegan stated: “Our office is proud to count Assistant United States Attorney Forde Fairchild among those who helped bring Canfield’s ruthless killers to justice.  The investigative team represents the very best in cooperative law enforcement and is most deserving of this prestigious award.”

 

Sioux City Police Chief Rex Muller added: “We are extremely proud of the working relationship we have with the local FBI Office and United States Attorney’s Office. This was a particularly challenging case that required the resources of multiple agencies to lead to a successful prosecution. These criminals presented a significant danger to the general public if not identified and arrested. The efforts of the investigators and prosecutors in this case over a five year period are a testament to their dedication to bring justice to this case, as well as bring some closure to the family of Tony Canfield. It is a fine example of the strong cooperation and capability that exists within Northwestern Iowa law enforcement community.”

 

In praising the investigative team, Minnehaha County Sheriff Mike Milstead said: “I’m proud that Captain Mike Walsh was able to provide valuable assistance to this joint investigation and help bring those responsible to justice. The team’s dedication, thoroughness and persistence paid off in ways far beyond the award they received today.”

 

Finally, FBI Special Agent Jon Moeller, a member of the award winning team, said: “Although this investigation took five years, it never really went ‘cold’.  Diligently and persistently a team of investigators and analysts - spread over five states - and from multiple agencies, never stopped working this case.  Together we brought three killers to justice, brought closure to the friends and family of Mr. Canfield, and a renewed sense of security to the whole community.  It is an honor and privilege to work with these folks on a daily basis.”

 

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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Two Decatur siblings, Ademeko Maclin-Carney, 26, and Ausarian Carney, 23, were sentenced on March 5, 2025, to thirty and twenty-four years in federal prison, respectively, to be followed by multi-year terms of supervised release, for kidnapping and seeking ransom for a Decatur businessman on March 24, 2022.During a five-day jury trial from October 7-11, 2024, the government presented evidence that Maclin-Carney lured a local businessman to an abandoned house in Decatur under the pretense of seeking a flooring estimate for the home. When the victim arrived to provide the flooring estimate, Maclin-Carney greeted him using an alias and led him inside, where she pepper-sprayed him in the eyes as he stood up from taking a measurement. As this was happening, her brother, Carney, entered from another room, pressed a firearm into the victim, and told him it was going to be a “very bad day” for him. After ordering the victim to the ground while holding him at gunpoint, Carney then zip-tied the victim’s hands, duct-taped his face, and put a bag over his head. The siblings instructed the victim that they wanted $400,000 for his release, otherwise they would kill him.The kidnappers moved the victim to various locations, at one point instructing him to make a ransom call to his wife at their family business. Though the victim instructed his wife not to call the police, she nonetheless called 911 and the Decatur Police Department responded and began their investigation. Maclin-Carney went to the victim’s business and saw members of the Decatur Police Department there, which spurred her and Carney to again move the victim and to eventually dump him, zip-tied with a bag over his head, in the back of an abandoned van. The victim, left alone on a bed of broken glass in the rain, eventually pried a hand free and escaped his zip ties. He ran to a local business, where the authorities were contacted and came to his aid.Meanwhile, the Decatur Police Department was conducting an extensive investigation and had located the victim’s car, which the defendants had dumped in an alleyway in Decatur. The defendants also had placed the victim’s belongings in the car, along with a notebook that listed the address of the home from which he had been abducted, the alias that had been used by Maclin-Carney, and traces of pepper spray that had been used against the victim. Ultimately, law enforcement discovered that the notebook contained the fingerprints of both defendants. Using this information, the Decatur Police were able to locate and search the home where the victim had been abducted and find more evidence implicating the two defendants.The victim identified Maclin-Carney before and during the trial as the kidnapper who lured him to the home for the flooring estimate. A variety of forensic evidence, including fingerprints, DNA, business video footage, trace fiber evidence, and cellular location data all demonstrated that the siblings perpetrated the kidnapping. The jury convicted both siblings of kidnapping on October 11, 2024.At the sentencing hearings before U.S. District Judge Stephen McGlynn on March 5, 2025, Judge McGlynn noted that the victim and his family would suffer long-lasting psychological trauma from the incident. Judge McGlynn also noted that neither defendant expressed remorse for the crime.In imposing the thirty-year sentence for Maclin-Carney, Judge McGlynn highlighted that she was the leader of the kidnapping, specifically noting her research about the victim, his family, and his business before the crime. The court also noted that Maclin-Carney had researched the penalty for “third-degree murder” in the leadup to the kidnapping. After her arrest, Maclin-Carney also took steps while in pretrial detention both to prevent the victims from testifying against her, and to manufacture an alibi through false testimony about her own and her brother’s whereabouts during the kidnapping. Maclin-Carney had two prior violent felony convictions, both for aggravated battery, prior to committing this kidnapping.In imposing the twenty-four-year sentence for Carney, Judge McGlynn noted that although Maclin-Carney was the mastermind of the operation and had a more serious criminal history, Carney was still the gunman and the muscle. Carney had been, in every way, a partner to his sister’s crime, had pressed the firearm into the victim multiple times to force his compliance, and like his sister, never expressed regret or remorse for his actions.“The defendants’ violent kidnapping of the victim in this case shows their avarice for ill-gotten gains at any cost, including the terror they inflicted on the victim and his family,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Gregory M. Gilmore. “The significant sentences here reflect the gravity of the defendants’ crimes. I want to thank our law enforcement partners – the Decatur Police Department, the FBI, and the U.S. Marshal’s Service – who all did excellent work investigating this crime.”“Kidnapping cases are incredibly traumatic, and this one was no different,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan D. Freres. “The husband and wife victims of this offense showed immense courage throughout this ordeal, including testifying at the trial. Throughout, I was deeply moved by their strength and faith. I am also deeply appreciative for all the hard work of law enforcement in investigating this case.”“This case is a testament to the outstanding dedication and collaboration between the Decatur Police Department, the FBI, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in bringing these suspects to justice,” said Decatur Police Chief Shane Brandel. “The investigators worked tirelessly on this complex case, demonstrating exceptional skill and commitment to ensuring public safety. We are grateful for our strong partnerships and the unwavering pursuit of justice by the prosecutors who brought this case to a successful conclusion. Most importantly, our thoughts remain with the victim, and we hope this resolution brings them a measure of healing and justice.”“Quite often, successful investigative outcomes require resources from a variety of law enforcement partners,” said FBI Springfield Field Office Acting Special Agent in Charge Karen Marinos. “The Decatur Police Department, the U.S. Marshals Service, and FBI Springfield brought their best to the table. Those efforts held the offenders accountable and led to justice for the victim.”The statutory penalty for kidnapping is up to life imprisonment, followed by up to five years of supervised release.The Decatur Police Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation, Springfield Field Office, investigated the case, with assistance from the U.S. Marshal’s Service. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bryan D. Freres and Douglas F. McMeyer represented the United States in the prosecution.

A man was sentenced on January 31, 2025, to 24 months imprisonment for contempt of court.Joel Perea-Duenas, age 24, from Sioux City, Iowa, received the prison term after a July 30, 2024, guilty plea to contempt of court.In the evening hours of June 23, 2020, Perea-Duenas was asked to serve as the getaway driver for a drive-by shooting.  He agreed, put on dark clothing, and joined three armed men in a waiting car.  The attackers drove to the home of their intended victim, but seeing law enforcement in the area, aborted their attack.  Perea-Duenas suggested a secondary target, drove to that new target and identified it to his conspirators.  It was a home, occupied by seven people including children.  One of the gunmen repeatedly fired upon the home hitting the house at least eight times.  Perea-Duenas was later caught by police and admitted he knew about the intended shooting before agreeing to drive, admitted knowing there were people, including children, in the targeted home, and he wanted the shooting to occur to in retaliation against a resident of the home and his family. On November 19, 2021, Perea-Duenas pled guilty to two counts of being a drug user in possession of a firearm and was sentenced to 4 years in federal prison.  On October 27, 2022, defendant was called as a witness at the federal sentencing of an accomplice.  He was sworn by the district court judge.  When he was questioned under oath, however, he refused to testify because he did not want to testify.  The district court advised him that he did not have a lawful right to refuse to answer the questions.  Nonetheless, Perera-Duenas persisted in his refusal to testify.  The district court continued the sentencing, in part, to give Perea-Duenas time to reconsider his refusal of the district court’s lawful order.  The sentencing resumed on December 8, 2022.  Perera-Duenas again, communicated his refusal to testify.  He was sent back to federal prison to complete his federal sentence for the firearms charge.On October 19, 2023, while he was still in federal prison, he was charged with contempt of court.  On November 20, 2023, he was released from federal prison on the gun charges, he was re-arrested and haled back into federal court to answer for his criminal contempt.  On July 30, 2024, he plead guilty.  He was sentenced on January 31, 2025, in Sioux City by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand to 24 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.Judge Strand indicated in sentencing Perea-Duenas that this was the only time in his career as a jurist that he had encountered a refusal to testify of this nature and that the crime had to be sanctioned stiffly to ensure others do not follow suit.  United States Attorney Timothy T. Duax said: “refusals to testify, like refusals of court orders generally, strike at the very heart of the American justice system and the rule of law.  As a result, those who disobey lawfully issued court orders risk prosecution and incarceration.”      Perea-Duenas is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.The case was investigated by the Sioux City Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Forde Fairchild.  Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.The case file number is 23-4026/20-4071.Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.