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2 Louisiana Men Have been Sentenced to More than 5 Years Each on Firearm and Drug Crimes

Published January 25, 2022

One Louisiana man has been sentenced to 10 years and 10 months, and another sentenced to 5 years in prison for firearms and drug crimes

Louisiana – United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced the resolution of two cases in the Western District of Louisiana. Sentencing hearings were held January 24, 2022, in Alexandria and United States District Judge David C. Joseph sentenced the following individuals:

On firearms charges, Cortez Dayshon Duncantel, 27, of Alexandria, Louisiana, was sentenced to 130 months in prison (10 years and 10 months), followed by 5 years of supervised release. The charges stem from a traffic stop conducted by a Pineville Police Department officer on June 4, 2019. Duncantel was a passenger in the vehicle when it was stopped, and he was detained. Officers patted down Duncantel and discovered a loaded Glock pistol and a bag of suspected cocaine in his groin area. Officers also discovered a digital scale in Duncantel’s waist pack, which he was wearing over his shoulder. The suspected narcotics were sent to a crime lab for testing and were found to be cocaine. Duncantel is a convicted felon who was previously convicted in 2014 of Possession of a Schedule I Controlled Dangerous Substance and was barred from possessing a firearm or ammunition.

Alfred James Kirk, 40, of Lecompte, Louisiana, received a 60-month (5 years) prison sentence, followed by three years of supervised release. Kirk was indicted by a federal grand jury in June 2021, and he pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime on October 4, 2021. On October 3, 2020, a Rapides Parish Sheriff’s deputy pulled Kirk over for a traffic violation. When the deputy approached the car, he detected the odor of marijuana emanating from it.

Deputies searched the vehicle and discovered small amounts of illegal drugs packaged for distribution, as well as a loaded pistol between the vehicle’s front driver and middle seat. Kirk has a lengthy criminal record of felony convictions and was previously barred from owning a firearm or ammunition. Prior convictions included illegal use of a weapon (2002), forgery (2004 and 2006), possession of stolen goods (2013), simple escape (2013), cocaine possession (2018), and possession with intent to distribute heroin, alprazolam, and methamphetamine (2018).

These cases were investigated by the ATF, Pineville Police Department, and Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office, and were prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jessica D. Cassidy and Brian C. Flanagan.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. PSN is part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime. To learn more about Project Safe Neighborhoods, go to www.justice.gov/psn.