Independent coverage of crime, court cases, federal investigations, public corruption, trafficking cases, violent crime, cybercrime, civil rights matters, and law-enforcement developments. This archive brings source-based reporting, case updates, and public accountability stories into one place.
The FBI Detroit Field Office took part in Operation Coast‑to‑Coast, a two‑week multi‑agency push against violent crime and open‑air drug markets. Detroit officers seized fentanyl, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine as part of the national holiday‑season safety effort.
Two Reading residents entered guilty pleas in federal court to charges of conspiring to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine in the Western District of Pennsylvania. Angel Diaz-Gibson, 34, and Kayla Rickenbach, 24, face federal sentencing requirements prison sentences for their roles in a summer 2024 trafficking operation, with sentencing set for May 2026.
Federal prosecutors indicted 88 people in South Dakota for trafficking cocaine, fentanyl, and methamphetamine. The charges, which stem from months of multi-agency investigations, have already led to prison sentences of up to 36 years.
The FBI Richmond and Norfolk offices arrested 122 violent offenders during Operation Summer Heat, seizing drugs and weapons and identifying five child victims as part of a nationwide violent crime crackdown.
Tim Jackson, leader of New Orleans’ Byrd Gang, pleaded guilty to RICO conspiracy, drug trafficking, and firearms charges during his federal trial. The mid-trial plea includes a 30-year sentence agreement, highlighting the violent gang rivalry and drug operation that plagued the city.
David Scott, 22, of New Orleans, pleaded guilty to federal drug trafficking and firearm charges on December 4, 2025. He faces a federal sentencing requirements of five years for possessing a gun during a drug crime. Sentencing is March 12, 2026. The case stems from a 2023 arrest during which police found a handgun with a drum magazine, 148 Tapentadol pills, and cash.
A Fort Wayne man has been sentenced to 120 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to distributing 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, according to the FBI. The case was investigated by a multi-agency gang task force and prosecuted as part of an OCDETF investigation targeting high-level drug traffickers.
Two teenage gang members pleaded guilty to federal murder and attempted murder charges, admitting they were paid by the Sinaloa Cartel to kill a target in a pair of attacks that left one person dead and two wounded, according to court records.
Anthony Joseph Nieves, 32, of Pittston, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 105 months in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. The sentencing, on September 4, 2025, followed an investigation by the FBI and Pittston City Police involving controlled buys and a home search that seized fentanyl, cash, and body armor. This is Nieves's fifth drug trafficking conviction.
