U.S. Marshals Task Force Tracks Down Toledo Rape Suspect

Toledo, OH – Today, the U.S. Marshal led Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force (NOVFTF) arrested Levelle Booth. Booth, age 43, was wanted by the Toledo Police Department and the Lucas County Sheriff’s Office after being indicted for Rape and Gross Sexual Imposition. The NOVFTF, with the assistance of the Toledo Police Department and Lucas County Sheriff’s Office, was able to locate and arrest Booth at a home located on the 1300 block of Yates in Toledo, OH. After Booth’s apprehension he was taken to the Lucas County Jail.

NOVFTF members were involved in a three-week manhunt for Booth. Investigators received information on the possible location of Booth and set up surveillance at the residence in question. Task Force members observed a man fitting the description of Booth looking out a window and they then converged on the house. Booth was located inside the home and placed under arrest. Booth was previously placed in the Toledo Blade under the Toledo’s Most Wanted section and featured on several Toledo area newscasts in an attempt to locate him.

U.S. Marshal Pete Elliott, stated, “The apprehension of sexual offenders remains a high priority for the Marshals Service and due to the hard work of the NOVFTF, the Toledo Police and the Lucas County Sheriff’s Office, another sexual offender has been taken off the streets.”

Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of a known fugitive is encouraged to contact the U.S. Marshals Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force at: 1-866-4-WANTED or text keyword WANTED and the tip to TIP411 (847411). Tipsters may remain anonymous and a cash reward may be available. The Task Force’s “Dangerous Dozen” fugitives can be viewed at http://www.usmarshals.gov/district/oh-n/fugitives/pdf/dangerous_dozen.pdf, which is updated monthly.

The Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force – Toledo Division is composed of the following federal, state and local agencies: Fremont Police Department, Holland Police Department, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Lucas County Sheriff’s Office, Ohio Adult Parole Authority, Ottawa Hills Police Department, Toledo Police Department, U.S. Customs and Border Protections, U.S. Marshals Service and Wood County Sheriff’s Office.

Southcom Reaffirms Partnerships in Transnational Crime Fight

By Michael Wimbish

U.S. Southern Command

MIAMI, Nov. 24, 2014 – The commander of U.S. Southern Command visited Belize, Guatemala and Honduras last week to reaffirm the U.S. military’s commitment to helping Central American nations combat transnational criminal organizations.

At each stop in Belize, Guatemala and Honduras, Marine Corps Gen. John F. Kelly held high-level meetings with top leaders and security officials to review their security situations, address current collaborative efforts to counter transnational criminal organizations and discuss future U.S. military support to bolster security capabilities.

The governments of Belize, Guatemala and Honduras have committed to taking on transnational crime syndicates and disrupting illicit networks that move drugs, weapons, money and people through the region and into the United States. Southcom officials said the nations are critical allies in the international fight against transnational organized crime, which threatens regional and U.S. security.

Illicit Trafficking Destabilizes Central America

The destabilizing effects of transnational criminal organizations’ illicit trafficking activities have produced security challenges in Central America, officials said. The organized crime groups use their immense resources and power to intimidate communities and corrupt local governments to enable the flow of their lucrative illicit networks, they explained.

U.S. military support falls under the U.S. government's comprehensive assistance to the region known as the Central American Regional Security Initiative. The support includes training and assistance to improve maritime, aerial and land security efforts, information sharing, and the provision of equipment and technology.

The United States also provides operational and detection and monitoring support in the form of Operation Martillo, a joint U.S., European, and Western Hemisphere partner-nation effort to disrupt transnational criminal activity in the coastal waters of Central America.

The U.S. military also works with other nations, most notably Colombia, which has vast experience in successfully combating narcoterrorists and reinstituting governance and the rule of law.

As Southcom’s commander, Kelly oversees all U.S. military operations and engagements in Central and South America and the Caribbean.

Visit to Belize

During his Nov. 18 visit to Belize, Kelly met with Brig. Gen. David N. Jones, commander of the Belize Defense Force, and Rear Adm. John A. Borland, commander of the nation’s coast guard, and discussed security challenges and future U.S. engagement. Kelly also met with U.S. Ambassador Carlos R. Moreno.

Current Southcom engagements with Belize focus on improving its capabilities to counter transnational organized crime, participating in joint and multinational training exercises, and increasing capacity to conduct humanitarian and disaster relief missions. Kelly most recently visited Belize in September 2013.

Visit to Guatemala

Kelly arrived in Guatemala Nov. 19 and met with Defense Minister Maj. Gen. Manuel Augusto Lopez Ambrocio and Chief of Defense Carlos Eduardo Estrada Perez. The general also met with U.S. Ambassador Todd D. Robinson. Discussions focused on continued support and training for Guatemala’s interagency task force, human rights efforts and future U.S. military engagement activities.

Recent focus areas for Southcom’s engagement with Guatemala include joint operations and planning, maritime security, information sharing, human rights, communications, logistics and peacekeeping. Kelly previously visited Guatemala in July.

Visit to Honduras

Honduras was Kelly’s last stop in Central America. He met with Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, Chief of Defense Maj. Gen. Fredy Diaz, and U.S. Ambassador James Nealon. The leaders discussed continued U.S. support to Honduran counterdrug efforts, long-term security assistance and human rights issues.

Ongoing U.S. military support to Honduras includes logistical support to Honduran counter trafficking operations, information sharing, training and multinational exercises and increasing capacity to conduct humanitarian and disaster relief missions.

This was Kelly’s third visit to Honduras in 2014. He previously visited Honduras in February and June. The Honduran president also visited Southcom headquarters in August.

Twenty-Five Alleged Aryan Brotherhood Members and Associates Indicted on Federal Racketeering Charges in Mississippi and Oklahoma

Fourteen alleged members of the Aryan Brotherhood of Mississippi, including four of its most senior leaders, have been indicted by a federal grand jury in the Northern District of Mississippi for conspiring to participate in a racketeering enterprise.  In a separate indictment, 11 alleged members and associates of the Universal Aryan Brotherhood of Oklahoma have been charged by a federal grand jury in the Northern District of Oklahoma for conspiring to participate in a racketeering enterprise, among other charges.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Felicia C. Adams of the Northern District of Mississippi and U.S. Attorney Danny C. Williams of the Northern District of Oklahoma made the announcement.

In the Northern District of Mississippi, the 10-count indictment was returned on Oct. 23, 2014, and unsealed today.  Thirteen individuals were taken into custody today.  In the Northern District of Oklahoma, the four-count indictment was returned on Nov. 5, 2014, and unsealed on Nov. 10, 2014.  All of the charged defendants are in custody.

“The Aryan Brotherhood is a violent gang that has seeped from behind prison walls into communities throughout this nation,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell.  “Working in lockstep with our law enforcement partners and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices throughout the country, we are targeting and dismantling these gangs from the top general to the foot soldier so they can no longer terrorize our communities.”

“These charges resulted from an unprecedented collaboration of federal, state, and local law enforcement officers targeting a large scale prison gang involved in violent organized crime throughout the state of Mississippi,” said U.S. Attorney Adams.  “This indictment represents a critical first step toward dismantling this violent organization and clearly signals that the United States Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners have an unwavering commitment to hold those individuals accountable who insist on creating an atmosphere of violence and fear in our communities.”

“My office remains steadfast in its commitment to work in collaboration with law enforcement to disrupt and dismantle violent crime and gang activities,” said U.S. Attorney Williams.

According to the indictments, the Aryan Brotherhood of Mississippi (ABM) and Universal Aryan Brotherhood of Oklahoma (UAB) are violent, “whites only,” prison-based gangs with members operating inside and outside of state penal institutions in their respective states.  The gangs allegedly modeled themselves after and adopted many of the precepts and writings of the Aryan Brotherhood, a California-based prison gang that was formed in the California prison system during the 1960s.  The ABM was allegedly founded in 1984, and in early 2013, pursued unification with the Aryan Brotherhood of California in order to achieve national recognition.

The UAB was allegedly founded in 1993.  According to the Oklahoma indictment, the UAB has a militaristic structure comprised of a Main Council, Yard Captains and Soldiers.  The Main Council has ultimate authority in all gang matters.

The indictment alleges that both gangs enforced their rules and promoted discipline among members, prospects and associates through violence and threats against those who violated the rules or posed a threat to the gangs.  Members, and oftentimes associates, were required to follow the orders of higher-ranking members.

According to the Mississippi indictment, in order to be considered for ABM membership, a person must be sponsored by another ABM member.  Once sponsored, a prospective member must serve a probationary term of not less than six months, during which he is referred to as a prospect, and his conduct is observed by the members of the ABM.  The prospect is required to sign a “prospect compact,” swear to an oath of secrecy and declare a life-time commitment to the ABM.

The ABM allegedly has a detailed and uniform organizational structure divided into three separate geographic areas of control.  The state is overseen and directed by a three-member “wheel” commonly referred to as “spokes.”  The wheel has ultimate authority in all gang matters.  The indictment charges four alleged wheel members: Frank Owens, Jr, 44, aka “State Raised,” of D’Iberville, Mississippi; Perry Mask, 46, of Corinth, Mississippi; Stephen Hubanks, 45, of Rienzi, Mississippi; and Brandon Creel, 46, aka “Oak,” of Ellisville, Mississippi, with conspiracy to participate in the racketeering activities of the ABM, among other charges.  The indictment also charges 10 other alleged members of the ABM.  All 14 alleged members of the ABM are charged with conspiracy to participate in the racketeering activities of the gang and with involvement in murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, assault, money laundering, firearms trafficking and conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

The charges contained in an indictment are merely accusations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The Mississippi case is being investigated by a multi-agency task force consisting of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); Drug Enforcement Administration; FBI; U.S. Marshals Service; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations; Mississippi Highway Patrol; Mississippi Bureau of Investigation; Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics; Harrison County Sheriff’s Office; South Mississippi Metro Enforcement Team; Tupelo Mississippi Police Department; North Mississippi Narcotics Unit; Tishomingo County Sheriff’s Office; Lee County Sheriff’s Office; Forrest County District Attorney’s Office; Prentiss County Sheriff’s Office; Jones County Sheriff’s Office; Harrison County Sheriff’s Office; and South Mississippi Metro Enforcement Team.

The Oklahoma case is being investigated by a multi-agency task force consisting of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations; Tulsa Police Department; ATF; Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division; Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office; and Oklahoma Department of Corrections.

The cases are being prosecuted by the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the Northern District of Mississippi and the Northern District of Oklahoma.