Williamson County Man Charged With Bank Robbery

Steven D. Weinhoeft, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced that today, Arthur W. Bays, 82, of Marion, Illinois, was charged by the United States Attorney in a criminal complaint in United States District Court with one count of bank robbery.

Count 1 of the Complaint charges that on July 26, 2018, in Franklin County, Bays did by force and violence, and by intimidation, take money from the person of another which was in the possession and the care, custody, and control of State Bank of Whittington, located in Benton, Illinois, a financial institution which at the time was insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, all in violation of federal law.

Bays had an initial appearance in United States District Court in Benton, Illinois, on July 27, 2018. The Magistrate Judge released Bays on bond pending further proceedings in this matter.

A Criminal Complaint is a charge filed against a defendant. Under the law, a defendant is presumed to be innocent of a charge until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

If convicted of Count 1, Bays faces up to 20 years of imprisonment and up to a $250,000 fine.

The investigation in this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation,

Benton Police Department, West City Police Department, West Frankfort Police Department, Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, and the Marion Police Department.

Former Virginia High School Science Teacher Sentenced to 23 Years in Prison for Producing Child Pornography

A Charlottesville, Virginia man was sentenced today to 276 months in prison for production of child pornography, announced Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Thomas T. Cullen of the Western District of Virginia and Special Agent in Charge Patrick J. Lechleitner of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations Washington, D.C. field office.

Richard Wellbeloved-Stone, 57, pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia to one count of production of child pornography.  Senior U.S. District Judge Norman K. Moon presided over the sentencing and ordered him to serve a lifetime of supervised release following his prison sentence. 

Wellbeloved-Stone, a high school teacher in Charlottesville, was discovered by law enforcement after chatting online with an undercover agent from the United Kingdom about sexually abusing a young child.  A search warrant executed at Wellbeloved-Stone’s home recovered several images of child pornography produced by Wellbeloved-Stone of at least two young minor victims.

“As a high school science teacher, the defendant held a position of great trust in our society – a trust he abused when he produced horrific images of young children,” said Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski.  “Today’s sentence reflects the unwavering commitment of our prosecutors and law enforcement partners to combat child pornography and to hold offenders accountable for their deplorable crimes.”

“This defendant, through his heinous acts, betrayed the trust of the Charlottesville community,” said U.S. Attorney Cullen. “We are grateful for the hard work of our federal, state, and local law-enforcement partners in bringing him to justice and making our community safer.”

“Child predators are the worst type of criminals,” said HSI Special Agent in Charge Lechleitner.  “They prey on innocent children for their own self-gratification.  While we can’t undo Wellbeloved-Stone’s actions, today’s sentence ensures he can’t victimize anyone else.”

This case was investigated by HSI Washington, D.C., the Charlottesville Police Department, the Virginia State Police, the Albemarle County Police Department and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section’s (CEOS) High Technology Investigative Unit.

This case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Leslie Williams Fisher of the Criminal Division’s CEOS and Assistant U.S. Attorney Nancy Healey.

Essex County Man Gets 12 Years In Prison For Possessing Firearm As Previously Convicted Felon

CAMDEN, N.J. – A Newark man was sentenced today to 144 months in prison for possessing a firearm as a previously convicted felon for a second time and violating his supervised release, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

John Cottle, 47, previously pleaded guilty to an information charging him with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and one count of violation of supervised release from his first felon in possession of a firearm conviction from 2010. U.S. District Judge Noel L. Hillman imposed the sentence today in Camden federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

In December 2016, investigators from the Newark and Hillside police departments responded to reports of a robbery in the area of South 13th Street, near Avon Avenue, in Newark. Officers encountered Cottle in the area and upon investigation found him to be in possession of a loaded .40 caliber Glock semi-automatic handgun.

Cottle has numerous prior felony convictions, including a 2010 felon in possession of a firearm conviction in the District of New Jersey – from which he was still on supervised release at the time of the 2016 arrest – and is prohibited from possessing a firearm under federal law.

Judge Hillman also sentenced Cottle to three years of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie in Newark, with the investigation. He also thanked the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Acting Prosecutor Robert D. Laurino; the Newark Police Division, under the direction of Public Safety Director Anthony F. Ambrose; the Union County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Acting Prosecutor Michael A. Monahan; and the Hillside Police Department, under the direction of Chief of Police Vincent Ricciardi, for their assistance.

The government is represented by Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney Zach Intrater.

Defense counsel: Thomas Young Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender, Camden