Georgia Man Sentenced for Transporting a Minor for Illegal Sexual Activity

/PRNewswire/ -- Mack Gordon Harris Sr., 67, was sentenced today to 121 months in prison for transporting a minor for illegal sexual activity, announced Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division Lanny A. Breuer and U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Neil H. MacBride.

Harris, formerly of Social Circle, Ga., was also ordered today by U.S. District Court Judge James R. Spencer to serve 10 years of supervised release following his prison term, and to register as a sex offender.

Harris pleaded guilty on Nov. 30, 2009, to one count of transporting a minor for illegal sexual activity. According to court documents, in June 2005, Harris began communicating with a girl in Maryland, then 15 years old, through a Christian online chat room. Harris admitted that as he continued chatting with the victim during the next few months, he suggested they engage in sexual intercourse. He exposed himself on a computer webcam, urged her to send naked pictures, and engaged in "phone sex." Harris eventually visited the victim around the time that she turned 16, which is the age of sexual consent in Maryland. Harris admitted that several times during his visit and after the victim's 16th birthday, the two engaged in sexual intercourse.

Shortly afterward, Harris decided that he would take the victim to live with him in Georgia. Harris admitted that he instructed the victim to pack her belongings and leave farewell notes for her family. According to court documents, Harris picked up the victim in Maryland in December 2005 and began driving her to his home in Georgia. Harris admitted he told the victim that while traveling, she was not to speak with anybody, but if asked her age, she should respond that she was 25. During the journey, they stopped overnight at a hotel in Skippers, Va., where the age of consent is 18, and engaged in sexual intercourse.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth C. Wu of the Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorney Barak Cohen of the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section. The case was investigated by U.S. Postal Inspection Service and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page
Follow us on Twitter: @GAFrontPage

Final Defendant Sentenced in Interstate Bank Robbery Scheme Touching Eight States

Zarqurous Lequis Sanders, 25 of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced October 30 to 137 months’ imprisonment for his role in a conspiracy to commit numerous bank robberies in Virginia and several other states. In imposing the sentence, United States District Judge Henry E. Hudson also ordered Sanders to pay restitution to the various victims in the amount of $151,342. Sanders is the third of three men sentenced for the conspiracy. On May 15, 2009, Judge Hudson sentenced Sylvester Fred Mullins, age 35, of McDonough, Georgia, to 71 months’ confinement and ordered Mullins to pay $37,122 in restitution. On July 7, 2009, Judge Hudson sentenced Malik Rahmel Dillard, age 26, of Atlanta Georgia, the ringleader of this group, to 288 months’ confinement and ordered him to pay $178,425 in restitution. The sentencings were announced by Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Jennifer Love, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Richmond Division.

According to the documents filed in connection with the case, Dillard, Sanders, and Mullins admitted to their respective roles in a string of armed robberies that began on May 5, 2008 and continued until July 21, 2008, at various banks located in Virginia, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, and Tennessee. Dillard admitted that he was the common participant in each of the robberies as the scheme progressed, with others, such as Mullins and Sanders, joining him at various times to commit different robberies. Although no firearms were used in these robberies, the conspirators threatened to injure the victim bank employees in each robbery if those employees did not comply with the demands of the robbers. In connection with their guilty pleas, Dillard, Sanders, and Mullins stipulated to their joint roles in the following robberies, which collectively resulted in actual losses of $178,425.00 to the victim banks:

a. May 5, 2008 – Dillard and another person robbed the Suntrust Bank, located at 760 W. Peachtree Street, Atlanta, Georgia and stole approximately $1,999.00.

b. May 5, 2008 – Dillard and another person robbed the BB&T Bank, located at 991 Eagles Landing Parkway, Stockbridge, Georgia and stole approximately $5,680.00.

c. May 5, 2008 – Dillard and another person attempted to rob the Georgia Federal Credit Union, located at 2695 Panola Road, Lithonia, Georgia.

d. May 8, 2008 – Dillard and Mullins robbed the PNC Bank, located at 5436 Jefferson Davis Highway, Fredericksburg, Virginia and stole approximately $3,066.00.

e. May 15, 2008 – Dillard and Mullins robbed the SunTrust Bank, located at 118 Small Pine Drive, Raleigh, North Carolina and stole approximately $8,454.00.

f. May 28, 2008 – Dillard and Mullins robbed the SunTrust Bank, located at 9617 Holly Point Drive, Huntersville, North Carolina and stole approximately $7,884.00.

g. June 3, 2008 – Dillard, Mullins, and co-defendant Zarqurous Lequis Sanders robbed the SunTrust Bank, located at 7001 Lee Highway, Chattanooga, Tennessee and stole approximately $5,728.00.

h. June 6, 2008 – Dillard, Sanders, and another person robbed the SunTrust Bank, located at 950 North Harrison Avenue, Cary, North Carolina and stole approximately $18,979.00.

i. June 10, 2008 – Dillard, Sanders, and another person robbed the M & F Bank, located at 101 Riverchase Parkway, Hoover, Alabama and stole approximately $25,600.00.

j. June 13, 2008 – Dillard, Sanders, and another person robbed the SunTrust Bank, located at 4030 Glenside Drive, Richmond, Virginia and stole approximately $30,996.00.

k. June 24, 2008 – Dillard, Sanders, and another person robbed the First Citizens Bank, located at 8541 Concord Mills Boulevard, Concord, North Carolina and stole approximately $20,200.00.

l. July 3, 2008 – Dillard, Mullins, Sanders, and another person robbed the First Citizens Bank, located at 4801 Capital Boulevard, Raleigh, North Carolina and stole approximately $11,990.00.

m. July 10, 2008 – Dillard, Sanders, and another person robbed the National City Bank, located at 8306 Cincinnati Dayton Road, West Chester, Ohio and stole approximately $10,313.00.

n. July 10, 2008 – Dillard, Sanders, and another person robbed the PNC Bank, located at 939 Hempstead Drive, Cincinnati, Ohio and stole approximately $27,536.00.

o. July 21, 2008 – Dillard and another person robbed the PNC Bank, located at 1327 Riverside Parkway, Belcamp, Maryland, and stole approximately $11,216.00.

p. July 21, 2008 – Dillard and another person robbed the PNC Bank, located at 505 Thornall Street, Edison, New Jersey, and stole approximately $8,130.00.

As part of their plea agreements with the United Statest, Dillard, Sanders, and Mullins agreed that all of the robberies they participated in should be considered “relevant conduct” for calculating their sentences, resulting in each defendant being punished for his role in stealing money from the banks within and outside of Virginia.

-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page

Fugitive from Virginia State Prison System on the Run 27 Years—Living Most of Those 27 Years in North Georgia Community—Arrested this Week

Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Gregory Jones, FBI Atlanta, announces, on behalf of the Conasauga Safe Streets Task Force, the arrest May 13 of Richard Boucher, age 56, of Eton (Murray County), Georgia, on federal unlawful flight/fugitive charges stemming from his 1982 escape from a Virginia Department of Corrections Prison in Chesapeake, VA.

Boucher, utilizing the alias name of Eric Coleman, had been living in Murray County, Georgia for most of the last 27 years. He was serving a 10-year sentence for robbery at the time of his escape. Arrested with Boucher was his wife, Debbie Boucher, age 53, who was utilizing the alias name of Debbie Coleman. Both were arrested without incident at their residence at Eton, GA.

Boucher is currently being housed at the Whitfield County, Georgia Detention Facility where he is being held on Whitfield County and Murray County state charges, noting that Murray County officials have charged Boucher with “felon in possession of a firearm” in that a rifle was recovered from his residence incident to arrest. Boucher will await extradition proceedings in order to be returned to Virginia regarding escape related charges.

The Conasauga Safe Streets Task Force includes agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), officers of the Calhoun Police Department, Dalton Police Department, and the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office.

The public is reminded that all persons are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page