During the federal government shutdown in 2025, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Alabama continued to prosecute cases involving a range of federal offenses, including immigration violations, violent crime, and drug trafficking.
U.S. Attorney Prim Escalona stated, “During the shutdown, the mission of my office remained the same: to pursue justice for the citizens of the Northern District of Alabama. Our prosecutors’ efforts never stopped. Every day, they were in the office, in the courtroom, and working with our law enforcement partners to pursue justice and keep our communities safe.”
Several significant prosecutions took place during this period:
– Juan Francisco Castaneda (“Pariente”), 44, pleaded guilty to charges including conspiracy to traffic fentanyl, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and distribution of fentanyl.
– Juan Martin Sanchez-Suarez, 24, a Mexican citizen, received a sentence of 360 months in prison followed by lifetime supervised release for producing child pornography.
– Wayne Carnell Brown, 74, from Birmingham was sentenced to 130 months for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine as well as possession of a firearm related to drug trafficking.
– Michael Kilgore, 40, from Centre was sentenced to 48 months for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
– Raymone Eugene Tabb, 33, from Tuscaloosa received a sentence of 22 months for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
– Joel Wesley Dillard, 47, from Morris was sentenced to 189 months plus life supervised release for possessing child pornography.
– Addison Lee Cook (“Adihsun”), 34, from Nashville was sentenced to 360 months plus life supervised release for production of child pornography and coercion and enticement of a minor.
– Elmer David Hernandez-Garcia, 29, a Honduran citizen received a sentence of 20 months for possession of a firearm by an illegal alien.
– Jamarion Carmaine Walker, 23 from Tuscaloosa was sentenced to two years for illegal possession of a machine gun after advertising and selling conversion devices known as “Glock switches,” referring to himself as “Switch God.”
– Gary Forrest Edwards, 65 from Maylene was sentenced to six-and-a-half years for tax evasion and interfering with federal tax laws; he pleaded guilty during his trial.
– Daymon Maurice Collins (52) from Birmingham received over thirteen years in prison on multiple counts related to methamphetamine and fentanyl distribution.
– Jacob Edward Daugherty (34) from Steele was sentenced to twenty months for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
These cases were investigated by agencies including ATF (Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives), FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation), DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration), IRS-CI (Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation), and Homeland Security Investigations.
