Dec. 16, 2010

TOPEKA MAN INDICTED ON CHARGE OF NOT REGISTERING AS SEX OFFENDER, POSSESSING A GUN

TOPEKA, KAN. – Howard Anderson Lee, 55, Topeka, Kan., has been indicted on a charge of failing to register as a sex offender, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today. He also is charged with one count of unlawful possession of a firearm after a felony conviction.

The indictment alleges Lee was convicted in 2005 in Chaves County, N.M., on a charge of criminal sexual contact of a minor. Since Jan. 26, 2010, he has resided in Kansas and has not registered as required by the federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000 on each count. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy Hendershot is prosecuting.

OTHER INDICTMENTS

A federal grand jury meeting in Topeka, Kan., also returned the following indictments:

David Silva-Gaviria, 30, Hespiria, Calif., is charged with possession with intent to distribute about 90 pounds of marijuana. The crime is alleged to have occurred Nov. 20, 2010, in Ellis County, Kan.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $1 million. The Kansas Highway Patrol and Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s Office of Homeland Security Investigations investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Anderson is prosecuting.

Michael Dean Rindt, 42, Emporia, Kan., is charged with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine within 1,000 feet of William Allen White Elementary School at 902 Exchange in Emporia. The crime is alleged to have occurred Aug. 16, 2010.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 40 years and a fine up to $4 million. The Emporia Police Department investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy Hendershot is prosecuting.

Christopher Anthony Wilaby, 26, Pensacola, Fla, is charged with concealing the body of Echo May Wiles in a vehicle and sinking the vehicle in Moon Lake on Fort Riley. The crime is alleged to have occurred in August 2005 in Riley County, Kan.

Wilaby initially was charged in a criminal complaint filed Dec. 8, 2010, in U.S. District Court in Topeka. The complaint alleged the victim’s decomposed body was found in April 2010 when a construction worker spotted the antenna of the vehicle after the lake was partially drained. Federal charges include: one count of concealing the body in the lake, one count of failing to report the theft of the car, one count of auto theft, one count of obtaining unauthorized control over the body, and one count of entering a military installation for an unlawful purpose.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000 on the charge of concealing the body, three years and a fine up to $250,000 on the charge of failure to report a crime, a maximum penalty of five years and a fine up to $250,000 on the charge of car theft, a maximum penalty of one year and a fine up to $250,000 for taking unauthorized control of the body and a maximum penalty of six months and a fine up to $5,000 for entering a military installation for an unlawful purpose.

The U.S. Army Criminal Investigative Division at Fort Riley and the FBI investigated. The Geary County Attorney’s Office and the Junction City Police Department are assisting in the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy Hendershot is prosecuting the federal charges.

Elliott L. Bennett, 47, Wichita, Kan., is charged with distributing child pornography. The crime is alleged to have occurred Oct. 26, 2010, in Sedgwick County, Kan.

Bennett initially was charged in a criminal complaint filed Dec. 8, 2010, in U.S. District Court in Wichita. The indictment alleged that an FBI agent in Rochester, N.Y., downloaded child pornography from Bennett’s computer via a peer-to-peer network.

If convicted, he faces a penalty of not less than five years and not more than 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. The FBI and the Wichita Police Department investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Hart is prosecuting.

Robert Alonzo Davis, 30, is charged with unlawful possession of a firearm after a felony conviction. The crime is alleged to have occurred Oct. 7, 2010, in Saline County, Kan.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. The Salina Police Department investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared Maag is prosecuting.

Matthew Douglas Thille, 21, Downs, Kan., is charged with unlawful possession of a firearm after a felony conviction. The crime is alleged to have occurred Oct. 21, 2010, in Mitchell County, Kan.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy Hendershot is prosecuting.

Jude T. Akins, 37, Topeka, Kan., is charged with unlawful possession of a firearm after a felony conviction. The crime is alleged to have occurred Sept. 7, 2010, in Shawnee County, Kan.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy Hendershot is prosecuting.

Gayland R. Taylor, 27, Topeka, Kan., is charged with assaulting a postal employee. The crime is alleged to have occurred Nov. 9, 2010, in Shawnee County, Kan.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of a year in federal prison and a fine up to $100,000. The U.S. Postal Service investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy Hendershot is prosecuting.

Jorge Sajaropulos-Heraldez, 34, a citizen of Mexico; Ireneo Gonzalez-Santos, 22, a citizen of Mexico; Miguel Navarro-Hernandez, 34, a citizen of Mexico; Amila Sanchez-Moya, 31, a citizen of Mexico; and Javier Santos-Cruz, 24, a citizen of Mexico, are charged with immigration crimes. The crimes are alleged to have occurred Nov. 29, 2010, in Seward County, Kan.

Sajaropulos-Heraldez is charged with one count of unlawfully transporting nine illegal aliens in the United States and one count of unlawfully re-entering the United States after being deported. Gonzalez-Santos, Navarro-Hernandez, Sanchez-Moya and Santos-Cruz are charged with unlawfully re-entering the United States after being deported.

Upon conviction, the penalties for the alleged crimes are:
Unlawfully transporting illegal aliens: A maximum penalty of five years in federal prison without parole and a fine up to $250,000.
Unlawfully re-entering the United States after being deported: A maximum penalty of two years in federal prison without parole and a fine up to $250,000.

The Kansas Highway Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Office of Homeland Security Investigations investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Anderson is prosecuting.

Luis Antonio Lopez-Lira, 30, a citizen of Mexico, is charged with unlawfully re-entering the United States after being convicted of an aggravated felony and deported. He was found Dec. 13, 2010, in Finney County, Kan.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Office of Homeland Security Investigations investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Anderson is prosecuting.

In all cases, defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. The indictments merely contain allegations of criminal conduct.