Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

Orlando, Florida – Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces the return of an indictment charging Oniel Christopher Russell, a/k/a OG Russell (39), a Jamaica national, with being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm and felony assault on a federal officer. If convicted on all counts, he faces a maximum penalty of 18 years in federal prison.

According to court documents, Russell last entered the United States on October 29, 2008, as a non-immigrant visitor for pleasure with subsequent authorization to remain within the United States until January 3, 2009. However, he failed to depart and remained in the country without any lawful immigration status. On August 24, 2013, deputies from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office found Russell in possession of a Ruger firearm. In October 2016, Russell threatened to kill an employee with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services over the telephone, after posting a video of himself called “cop killer” on YouTube. When officers with ICE subsequently attempted to execute an administrative warrant for his arrest, Russell attempted to flee back into a residence. As the deportation officer was attempting to handcuff him and place him under arrest, Russell pulled the officer into a wall and started dragging him towards the house. Russell was eventually taken into custody.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. It will be prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Christina R. Downes, who is on assignment from ICE’s Office of the Principal Legal Advisor.

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