Federal Grand Jury Criminal Indictments Announced

TULSA, Okla. – United States Attorney Trent Shores announced today the results of the July 2019 Federal Grand Jury B.

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 Angel Benitez. Unlawful Reentry of Removed Alien.  Benitez, 51, of Tulsa, is charged with reentry of a removed alien, having returned to the United States unlawfully after being deported Aug. 13, 2010, at Del Rio, Texas. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI) and ICE- Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE- ERO) are the investigative agencies.

Ricardo Bra-Torres and Jamie Lee Hughes. Methamphetamine with Intent to Distribute; Interstate Travel in Aid of Racketeering. Bra-Torres, 30, and Hughes, 33, both of Tulsa, are charged with possessing with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. They are also charged with traveling from Oklahoma to Texas while possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute and with distributing the drug. The Tulsa Police Department and Drug Enforcement Administration are the investigative agencies

­Christopher Michael Cervantes. Attempted Coercion and Enticement of a Minor. Cervantes, 48, of Sperry, is charged with using the internet to attempt to coerce and entice a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity. The Tulsa Police Department and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations are the investigative agencies..

Levi Owen Handle.  Fugitive in Possession of Firearms and Ammunition. Handle, 30, of Gravette, Arkansas, is charged with being a fugitive from justice and possessing a Mossberg 12-guage shotgun, a Ruger .22 caliber pistol, and ammunition. The Delaware County Sheriff’s Office and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are the investigative agencies.

Tyler Aaron Holmes. Felon in Possession of Firearm and Ammunition; Possession of Methamphetamine With Intent to Distribute; Possession of Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime. Holmes, 21, of Miami, is charged with being a felon in possession of a Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc., .357 Magnum caliber revolver and associated ammunition. He is further charged with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and with possessing the .357 Magnum in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. The Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs; Delaware County Sheriff’s Office, Delaware County District Attorney’s Office, Drug Enforcement Administration and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are the investigative Agencies.

Jimmy Gene Kelly, Jr. Felon in Possession of Firearm. Kelly, Jr., 49, of Miami, is charged with being a felon in possession of a Savage 12-guage shotgun after having previously been convicted in federal court of second degree murder in 1992. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and U.S. Marshals Service are the investigative agencies.

Patricia Lee Kendall and Peggy Lee Larue. Concealment of Government Property (Two Counts). Kendall, 66, and Larue, 63, both of Sapulpa, are charged with aiding and abetting each other to illegally take and conceal government property in the form of money from the Social Security Administration in the aggregate value of $224,237 in Social Security income. They are also charged with aiding and abetting each other to illegally take and conceal government property in the form of money from the Department of Defense Military Retirement Fund in the aggregate value of $129,765 in military retirement funds. The Social Security Administration- Office of Inspector General and Department of Defense Criminal Investigative Service are the investigative agencies.

Johnny Xavier Mendez. Failure to Register as a Sex Offender. Mendez, 42, of Tulsa, is charged with failure to register as a sex offender. He allegedly did not register nor update his registration when he moved to Oklahoma in February 2015. The Tulsa Police Department and U.S. Marshals Service are the investigative agencies.

Alexander Payne. Drug Conspiracy. Payne, age unavailable, of Hemet, California, is charged with conspiring with others to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine and with distributing 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. The Tulsa Police Department and Drug Enforcement Administration are the investigative agencies.

Rogelio Hernandez Rodriguez. Sexual Exploitation of a Child; Possession of Child Pornography. Rodriguez, 30, of Wagoner, is charged with sexually exploiting a child and inducing the minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing visual depictions of the conduct. Rodriguez is further charged with knowingly possessing and accessing with intent to view child pornography in one or more graphic image files and video files. The sexually graphic images were stored on hard drives and multiple SD cards and allegedly involved the use of at least one prepubescent minor and a minor that had not attained 12 years of age. The Wagoner Police Department and FBI are the investigative agencies.  

Deandre Marcel Simon. Felon in Possession of Firearms. Simon, 28, of    Tulsa, is charged with being a felon in possession of a Forjas Taurus S.A. .25 ACP caliber semi-automatic pistol and associated ammunition. The Tulsa Police Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are the investigative agencies. 

David Jason Thomas. Felon in Possession of Firearm and Ammunition. Thomas, 46, of Vinita, is charged with being a felon in possession of a Glock, 9 x 19 caliber pistol and ammunition. The Delaware County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are the investigative agencies.

Corey Daniel Vessar. Attempted Coercion and Enticement of a Minor. Vessar, 30, of Skiatook, is charged with using the internet to attempt to coerce and entice a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity. The Tulsa Police Department and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations are the investigative agencies.

Thomas Kyle Williams. Attempted Coercion and Enticement of a Minor; Receipt of Child Pornography; Possession of Child Pornography. Williams, 40, of Sand Springs, is charged with knowingly attempting to persuade a minor to engage in sexual activity. He is further charged with knowingly receiving child pornography and is also charged with possessing child pornography on one or more image files and video files. The Tulsa Police Department and FBI are the investigative agencies.

Shelvon Williams.  Felon in Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition.  Williams, 25, of Tulsa, is charged with being a felon in possession of Glock 21 pistol and ammunition. The Tulsa Police Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are the investigative agencies.