Concord Man Held For Assault On DEA Agent, MDA Drug Conspiracy: Feds

CONCORD, CA — A Concord man is facing charges of extortion, conspiracy to manufacture MDA, and assaulting a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration officer, according to federal authorities with the U.S. Attorney's Office, DEA, FBI, IRS and Postal Inspector's Office.

Joel Dowen, 44, of Concord, was originally indicted Jan. 9 on one count of mailing threatening communications with intent to extort. However, a federal grand jury additionally charged Dowen March 26 with one count of assaulting a DEA agent with a deadly weapon and one count of conspiracy to manufacture, distribute or possess with intent to distribute 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine — commonly known as MDA or sass.

The indictment also charges Micah-Luc Almeida, 45, of San Francisco, with one count of possession with intent to distribute MDA and one count of conspiracy to manufacture, distribute, or possess with intent to distribute MDA.

Prosecutors said Dowen was arrested Jan. 17 but did not disclose the date of the assault for which he is accused.

In January, federal authorities carried out a raid of his home on Quiet Circle in Concord as part of an investigation by the DEA, FBI, CI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service, with help from the ATF; San Francisco Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Since his arrest — which was after the raid, according to a news report — Dowen has been ordered to remain in federal custody pending the outcome of court proceedings.

"We will protect our federal law enforcement partners when someone harms or threatens them merely for doing their jobs," U. S. Attorney Ismail Ramsey said. "The defendants here are charged with serious crimes, and I am proud of the work being done by this Office to bring them to justice and safeguard everyone in the Northern District of California, including those sworn to protect us all."

Dowen's next court appearance is May 3. If convicted, he faces a sentence of up to 60 years in federal prison, with 20 years being the maximum statutory sentence for each of the three charges against him.

Almeida made an initial court appearance Thursday and faces the same statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for each of the two charges in his indictment.

The prosecutions are part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force investigation. The task force leverages the strengths of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to identify, disrupt and dismantle networks of high-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs and transnational criminal organizations.