Former Huntsville, Alabama, Police Officer Sentenced for Excessive Use of Force and Obstruction of Justice

Former Huntsville, Alabama, Police Officer Brett Russell, 48, was sentenced today to 18 months in prison by U.S. District Court Judge Abdul K. Kallon of the Northern District of Alabama for violating the civil rights of a Huntsville man.

On July 30, 2015, a federal jury in Huntsville convicted Russell of deprivation of rights under color of law for assaulting and injuring G.H., a detainee in his custody, as well as obstruction of justice for filing a false police report regarding this incident.  According to evidence presented at trial, on Dec. 23, 2011, G.H. was detained in the rear of a police vehicle parked in a hotel parking lot.  After initially uttering profanity and kicking a rear window, G.H. had since been sitting handcuffed, compliant and non-resisting for approximately 30 minutes.  As officers attempted to remove G.H. from the vehicle to place shackles on him, Russell yanked G.H. from the vehicle.  While G.H. was lying handcuffed on the ground, Russell repeatedly punched and kneed G.H.  Other officers placed leg shackles on G.H. and Russell transported G.H. to the Madison County Jail.  When the jail refused to accept G.H. because of his injuries, Russell transported G.H. to the Huntsville Hospital.  Subsequently, Russell wrote and submitted a false incident report claiming that G.H. tried to kick and head butt the officers.  Further, Russell omitted from the false report any reference to the fact that he had used force on G.H.

“Law enforcement officers who abuse their power to willfully subject those in their custody to violence and pain will be held accountable,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.  “The Justice Department will continue to vigorously prosecute those who cross the line to engage in such acts of criminal misconduct.”

“The defendant’s abusive and dishonorable behavior is being punished and an errant officer brought to justice,” said U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance of the Northern District of Alabama.  “I thank the FBI and the Civil Rights Division for their work on this case.”

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Florence Resident Agency.  It was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Carroll McCabe of the Civil Rights Division and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel Fortune and Xavier O. Carter Sr. of the Northern District of Alabama.

U.S. Secret Service Officer Indicted for Attempting to Send Obscene Images to a Minor

A federal grand jury in Wilmington, Delaware, indicted a resident of Church Hill, Maryland, today on one count of attempting to transfer obscene materials to a minor, Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Charles M. Oberly III of the District of Delaware announced today.

Lee Robert Moore, 37, was employed by the U.S. Secret Service-Uniformed Division and was assigned to the White House at the time of his arrest.  Moore was arrested on Nov. 9, 2015, and has remained in custody since that time.

According to the indictment and court documents filed in the case, Moore allegedly maintained a profile on the social media application “Meet24,” which provides a mobile-based platform for exchanging digital images, as well as voice and text messages.  Delaware State Police Detectives with the Delaware Child Predator Task Force created a profile on this site, posing as a 14-year-old girl, with whom Moore allegedly engaged in a number of online chat sessions, via the “Meet24” and “Kik” mobile apps over a two-month period, including while Moore was at work.  A number of the online chats allegedly between Moore and the supposed female minor were sexual in nature and, on several occasions, Moore allegedly sent pictures of himself, including one depicting his penis.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Delaware Child Predator Task Force conducted the investigation.  Trial Attorney Amy E. Larson of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward J. McAndrew of the District of Delaware are prosecuting the case.

Suspect With Multiple Charges Arrested in Laundromat by U.S. Marshals Task Force

Greensboro, NC – Today, at approximately 11:00 AM, Bobby Lee Jones Jr., a 24 year old, was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Joint Fugitive Task Force (JFTF) out of Greensboro. Jones was wanted by the Greensboro Police Department for shooting into occupied property, possession of a firearm by felon, assault with a deadly weapon and discharging a firearm in city limits. Jones is no stranger to law enforcement as he was previously arrested by the JFTF on June 08, 2015, for conspiracy robbery with a dangerous weapon.

On November 17, 2015, at the 800 block of Pasadena Street in Greensboro, it is alleged that Jones and his ex-girlfriend were engaged in a verbal altercation that escalated. During the altercation Jones pulled out a handgun and fired multiple shots into a vehicle that was occupied by a relative of the ex-girlfriend. No one was injured during the incident and subsequently, Jones fled the scene.

This morning, investigative efforts led the JFTF to 1411 West Gate City Boulevard in Greensboro. Their efforts paid off when members of the JFTF positively identified Jones inside a laundromat. The JFTF surrounded the area and converged on Jones taking him into custody without incident. Jones was transported to the Guilford County Jail where he is currently being held.

The U.S. Marshals Joint Fugitive Task Force for the Middle District of North Carolina is comprised of investigators from the U.S. Marshals Service, Immigration Customs and Enforcement, Chapel Hill Police Department, Durham Police Department, Greensboro Police Department, High Point Police Department, Winston-Salem Police Department, Alamance County Sheriff’s Office, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, Orange County Sheriff’s Office and the North Carolina Department of Public

Safety, Department of Community Corrections – Probation & Parole.