LAWFUEL – Law, legal, prosecution, attorney, crime news Marcos Daniel Jiménez, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; Ken Jenne, Sheriff, Broward County Sheriff’s Office (BSO); Michael S. Clemens, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation; Jesus Torres, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement; and Julie Torres, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, announced today that defendant, Kenneth Paul Wilk, was indicted by a federal grand jury sitting in Fort Lauderdale, Florida for the murder of BSO Deputy Sheriff Todd M. Fatta and the attempted murder of BSO Deputy Sheriff Sergeant Angelo Cedeno and that co-defendant, Kelly Ray Jones, pleaded guilty before United States District Court Judge James I. Cohn in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, to two (2) counts of the initial Indictment.
On August 19, 2004, Deputy Fatta and Sergeant Cedeno were working as part the Law Enforcement Against Child Harm (LEACH) Task Force that attempted to execute a federal arrest and search warrant at the Ft. Lauderdale residence of Wilk. The criminal complaint for which the law enforcement agents and officers were executing the federal warrants charged Wilk with conspiracy to possess child pornography and conspiracy to obstruct justice. Deputy Fatta was shot and killed, and Sergeant Cedeno was seriously wounded when Wilk, as alleged in the Superseding Indictment, opened fire with a Winchester 30-30 rifle, as the law enforcement personnel entered his residence.
The six (6) count Superseding Indictment charges Wilk with murder in the first degree for the murder of Deputy Fatta, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1114 and 1111(a); the attempted murder of Sergeant Cedeno, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1114 and 1113; use of a firearm in the commission of crimes of violence, that is, the murder of Deputy Fatta and the attempted murder of Sergeant Cedeno, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(j)(1); obstruction of justice in connection with the prosecution of Kelly Ray Jones in a prior federal case, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1503(a); possession of child pornography, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2252A(a)(5)(B) and 2; and conspiracy to obstruct justice, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, 1512.
If convicted, Wilk faces a statutory maximum term of life imprisonment or death as to the murder and firearm counts, life imprisonment as to the attempted murder count, ten (10) years’ imprisonment as to the child pornography count, and ten (10) years’ imprisonment as to each of the obstruction of justice related counts.
This morning co-defendant Jones pleaded guilty to counts 1 and 5 of the initial Indictment. These counts charged Jones with conspiracy to possess child pornography, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2252(a)(4)(B) and (b)(2), and conspiracy to obstruct justice, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1512, respectively. Jones’ sentencing hearing is scheduled for January 14, 2005, at 9:00 a.m., before Judge Cohn. Jones faces on the conspiracy count a statutory minimum term of imprisonment of ten (10) years and a statutory maximum term of imprisonment of twenty (20) years and a fine of up to $250,000. As to the obstruction count, Jones faces a statutory maximum term of imprisonment of up to twenty (20) years and a fine of up to $250,000.
Mr. Jiménez commended the investigative efforts of the Broward Sheriff’s Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, as well as the Broward State Attorney’s Office and the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office. This prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorneys John Kastrenakes and Bruce O. Brown.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls
