January 2024 Federal Grand Jury B Indictments Announced

United States Attorney Clint Johnson today announced the results of the January 2024 Federal Grand Jury B Indictments.

The following individuals have been charged with violations of United States law in indictments returned by the Grand Jury. The return of an indictment is a method of informing a defendant of alleged violations of federal law, which must be proven in a court of law beyond a reasonable doubt to overcome a defendant’s presumption of innocence.

Miguel Acuna-Segura. Unlawful Reentry of a Removed Alien. Acuna-Segura, 40, a Mexican national, is charged with unlawfully reentering the United States after having been removed in May 2011, at or near Laredo, Texas. U.S. Immigration and Custom’s Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations is the investigative agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas E. Buscemi is prosecuting the case. 24-CR-020

Kenneth Alejandro Cruz-Bustillo. Alien Unlawfully in the United States in Possession of a Firearm. Cruz-Bustillo, 27, a Honduras national, is charged with knowing he was an illegal alien and unlawfully possessing a firearm and ammunition in Aug. 2023. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Tulsa Police Department are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Shakema M. Onias is prosecuting the case. 24-CR-019

Miguel Angel Del Rio-De La Torre. Unlawful Reentry of a Removed Alien. Rio-De La Torre, 29, a Mexican national, is charged with unlawfully reentering the United States after having been removed in Nov. 2018, at or near El Paso, Texas. U.S. Immigration and Custom’s Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations is the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elliot P. Anderson is prosecuting the case. 24-CR-018

Roque Gaytan-Gonzalez. Unlawful Reentry of a Removed Alien. Gaytan-Gonzalez, 54, a Mexican national, is charged with unlawfully reentering the United States after having been removed in Aug. 2023, at or near Laredo, Texas. U.S. Immigration and Custom’s Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations is the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas E. Buscemi is prosecuting the case. 24-CR-013

Jesus Alberto Monges Sanchez; Cassidy Stone. Drug Conspiracy; Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Distribute; Maintaining a Drug-Involved Premises. Monges Sanchez, 32, a Mexican national, is charged with conspiring to distribute and possession of methamphetamine from Oct. 2023 through Jan. 2024. Monges Sanchez, and Stone, 29, of Tulsa, are both charged with maintaining a residence for the purpose of distributing methamphetamine from Oct. 2023 through Jan. 2024. The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney David A. Nasar is prosecuting the case. 24-CR-024

Manuel Manrrique Oviedo-Ucles. Unlawful Reentry of a Removed Alien. Oviedo-Ucles, 39, a Mexican national, is charged with unlawfully reentering the United States after having been removed in Aug. 2014, at or near Houston, Texas. U.S. Immigration and Custom’s Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations is the investigative agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elliot P. Anderson is prosecuting the case. 24-CR-014

Rolando Palacios-Castorena. Unlawful Reentry of a Removed Alien. Palacios-Castorena, 36, a Mexican national, is charged with unlawfully reentering the United States after having been removed in Jul. 2017, at or near Del Rio, Texas. U.S. Immigration and Custom’s Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations is the investigative agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas E. Buscemi is prosecuting the case. 24-CR-015

Timothy Danel Ray Smeltzer. Assault of an Intimate/Dating Partner by Strangling and Suffocating in Indian Country;
Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury in Indian Country. Smeltzer, 35, of Nowata and member of Cherokee Nation Tribe,
is charged with assaulting a former dating partner by strangling in Dec. 2023. Smeltzer is further charged with assault that
resulted in serious bodily injury. The FBI is the investigative agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa Weems is prosecuting
the case. 24-CR-016

Megan Elizabeth Statum. Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Distribute; Possession of Fentanyl with Intent to Distribute; Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime. Statum, 32, of Tulsa, possessing methamphetamine and fentanyl with intent to distribute in Dec. 2023. She is further charged with possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. The Drug Enforcement Administration and Sand Springs Police Department are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam C. Bailey is prosecuting the case. 24-CR-017

Aaron Michael Thomas; Darren Doil Means. Introduction of a Misbranded Drug into Interstate Commerce (Counts 1 through 3); Drug Conspiracy (Count 4); Possession of Pregabalin with Intent to Distribute (Count 5); Maintaining a Drug-Involved Premises (Count 6); Smuggling Goods into the United States (Count 7) (superseding). Thomas, 41, and Means, 58, of Tulsa, are charged with the introduction of the misbranded drugs, gabapentin, xylazine and pregabalin into interstate commerce. The indictment charges that from 2021 through 2023, Thomas and Means conspired to distribute pregabalin, a Schedule V controlled substance, and maintained a residence for the purpose of distribution. Further the indictment alleges that in Oct. 2023, they knowingly possessed pregabalin with intent to distribute.  They are both further charged with willfully importing pregabalin into the United States with false labeling in Aug. 2021. The Food & Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service are investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nathan E. Michel and Aaron M. Jolly are prosecuting
the case. 23-CR-333