27-Year-Old Louisiana Man Faces Up to 40 Years in Prison and $1.75 Million in Fines After Pleading Guilty to Drug Trafficking and Firearms Charges
New Orleans, Louisiana – A 27-year-old Louisiana man now faces up to 40 years in prison and $1.75 million in fines after pleading guilty to drug trafficking and firearms charges.
On April 21, 2023, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Louisiana announced that Lance Stevens, age 27, a resident of Gretna, Louisiana, pleaded guilty on April 20, 2023, before Chief U.S. District Judge Nannette Jolivette Brown to a six-count indictment charging him with violations of the Federal Gun Control Act and the Federal Controlled Substances Act. Stevens was charged with two counts of drug trafficking in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), two counts of possessing a firearm in furtherance of those drug trafficking offenses in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A), and two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1).
According to court filings, Stevens was arrested twice by Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office detectives in 2021. Stevens, a convicted felon, was found with illegal narcotics he reportedly intended to sell and firearms used in drug trafficking at the time of each arrest.
Stevens faces a maximum term of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, at least two years of supervised release for marijuana trafficking, and at least one year of supervised release for tramadol trafficking for Count 1. Stevens faces a potential term of 20 years in prison, a $1,000,000 fine, and at least three years of supervised release on Count 4, possession with intent to distribute tapentadol. Stevens faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years to life in prison on each count, which must run consecutively to each other and to any other count, a maximum $250,000 fine, and up to three years of supervised release for Counts 2 and 5, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense. Stevens faces a maximum term of ten years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release on Counts 3 and 6, criminal in possession of a firearm. Stevens must also pay a $100 special assessment fee for each offense.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that brings all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve together to minimize violent crime and gun violence and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy to strengthen PSN on May 26, 2021, based on the following core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office investigated this case. Assistant United States Attorney David Berman of the Violent Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.