Suspect Cary Lee Ogborn

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

A Houston boat repairman accused of plotting to bomb an apartment building was charged in federal court Monday.

Cary Lee Ogborn’s alleged plot was thwarted by an undercover FBI agent, the Houston Chronicle reports. 

“With terrorism, you don’t want to be reactive,” said Shauna Dunlap, spokeswoman for the FBI in Houston. “Our goal is to detect and deter events before they occur. An effective way to do this is through an undercover operation.”

The 50-year-old’s arrest Friday came after he received a package online that he thought contained dynamite, a grenade and a remote detonator.

According to the FBI, Ogborn ordered the explosives online through an underground website, AlphaBay. An FBI agent posed as a vendor and was able to foil the plot.

Authorities arrested him shortly after he picked up the package.

Shauntay Lamar Craig, via FBI

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

An alleged leader of the Gangster Disciples was captured by the FBI and other law enforcement Sunday and is expected to be extradited to Atlanta to be charged with federal racketeering charges.

Shauntay Lamar Craig, 38, was arrested in Marrero, Louisiana, The Times-Picayune reports.

Authorities said Craig was a “board member” within the Gangster Disciples, who “are believed to be responsible for numerous murders and robberies, and are alleged to have engaged in extortion plots and drug/narcotics trafficking throughout the United States.”

Craig was indicted in April by a federal grand jury, along with 49 other suspected gang members, under the Racketeer Influenced and Corruption Organizations Act.

Craig was the only suspect to escape arrest at the time.

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

Ahmad Kham Rahami, the 28-year-old arrested in connection with the weekend bombings in New York City and New Jersey, does not appear to belong to a terror cell, authorities said.

Ahmad Khan Rahami (ABC photo)

Law Enforcement officials said Rahami appeared to be working alone and was not part of a lager network, the Washington Post reports. 

Rahami was arrested Monday after a shootout with police.

Rahami was born in Afghanistan but is a naturalized U.S. citizen.

The 28-year-old was charged with five counts of attempted murder of a law enforcement officer and two counts of second-degree counts for possessing a handgun.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, who said the bombs were “an act of terror,” said no one else was being sought at this time.

William Sweeney Jr., assistant director in charge of the FBI’s New York division, said authorities have found “no indication that there is a [terror] cell operating in the area.”

Fentanyl tablets

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

Fentanyl has been used as a powerful additive to heroin, and its use has been killing Americans.

Now the DEA is in China to help the government crack down on the manufacture of fentanyl, Chicago Sun Times reports.

While Mexico is the biggest heroin supplier, China is the leading supplier of fentanyl that is added to heroin to increase it strength, said Dennis Wichern, the special agent in charge of the DEA in Chicago and a five-state region.

“In the last three years we’ve seen an explosion of fentanyl,” Wichern said. “In Chicago, heroin- and fentanyl-related investigations have been priority No. 1.”

The DEA said the Chinese government is cooperating with U.S. drug agents.

“They recognize they have a problem with the synthetic drug explosion, as I call it,” Wichern said.

“The Chinese are all aboard. They’ve outlawed it. We’re working with them,” Wichern said. “We have agents on the ground every day in Beijing and Hong Kong working with the Chinese to stop this.”

Other Stories of Interest

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• FBI Establishes Presence in St. Cloud Public Schools
• After Nightclub Shooting, Rubio Asks FBI to Reform Victims’ Assistance Programs
• Libertarian Candidate Gary Johnson Calls for Ending Homeland Security Department
• Border Patrol Seize More than $1.5 Million of Fentanyl

Unarmed Terence Crutcher was fatally shot by Tulsa Police.

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

The Justice Department is investigating the police shooting of a black Oklahoma man who was unarmed and had his hands in the air after his SUV broke down.

The shooting occurred on the night of Sept. 16, when Tulsa police tased and then fatally shot 40-year-old Terence Crutcher, CNN reports. 

The Tulsa Police Department released dash cam and police helicopter video of the incident. Police Chief Chuck Jordan said the footage was “very disturbing and difficult to watch.”

Police were dispatched after a woman called 911 to report an abandoned vehicle blocking the road.

One police officer in the helicopter described Crutcher as a “bad dude,” although there was no evidence to suggest that was the case.

Moments later, an police officer shot Crutcher.

“I’m going to tell you right here now: There was no gun on the suspect or in the suspect’s vehicle,” Jordan said.