Four Louisiana Drug Traffickers Sentenced to Lengthy Prison Sentences

Louisiana – United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced that four defendants were sentenced in three separate cases in U.S. District Court. The following are the defendants and their sentences:

Schyler Algernon Smith and Ladarrell Cortrell Washington, both of Shreveport, Louisiana, have been sentenced on drug trafficking charges by Chief United States District Judge S. Maurice Hicks, Jr. Smith, 33, was sentenced to 262 months in prison (21 years and 10 months), followed by 4 years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Washington, 41, was sentenced to 63 months in prison (5 years and 3 months), followed by three years of supervised release, for the distribution of methamphetamine.

On October 21, 2021, Smith pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Washington pled guilty to methamphetamine distribution on August 17, 2021. The charges in this case stem from an investigation conducted by US Drug Enforcement Administration agents (DEA). On February 7, 2019, agents followed Washington as he met his suspected source of narcotics, who was later identified as Smith. Agents were able to prove, through their investigation, that the package delivered to Washington by Smith and later sold to another individual contained 500 MDMA tablets. The DEA Criminalistics Laboratory determined that the tablets contained 102.9 grams of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine.

The case was investigated by the DEA and prosecuted by U.S. Attorney Brandon B. Brown and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Cassidy.

Billy Ray Murphy, Jr., 37, of Shreveport, Louisiana, was sentenced to 151 months in prison (12 years and 7 months), followed by 5 years of supervised release by United States District Judge Donald E. Walter. Murphy was indicted and pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine on December 2, 2021. On April 18, 2021, a Louisiana State Police trooper pulled over a vehicle driven by Murphy. The trooper discovered a handgun in Murphy’s glove box when he opened it to retrieve the vehicle paperwork.

Murphy informed the trooper that the firearm belonged to his girlfriend and consented to a vehicle search. Troopers discovered 2.37 pounds of cocaine, 19.9 pounds of MDMA (more than 60,000 pills), and 21.5 pounds of synthetic marijuana inside the trunk. Methamphetamine was discovered in the MDMA after it was tested. Murphy also had four cell phones, a scale, and a large amount of cash in his vehicle.

The DEA and Louisiana State Police investigated the case, which was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Aaron Crawford.

Jeremy Michael Davis, 37, of Monroe, Louisiana, was sentenced to 196 months (16 years, 4 months) in prison, followed by 5 years supervised release, by United States District Judge Terry A. Doughty for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) launched an investigation into Davis and his co-defendants’ drug trafficking activities. During their investigation, they discovered that Davis conspired with three other people to possess methamphetamine with the intent to distribute it beginning in October 2018 and continuing until March 2020. Agents were able to intercept a phone call with Davis on November 7, 2019, during which he discussed the purchase price and sale of methamphetamine.

After that, agents conducted surveillance and confirmed Davis’ involvement in the sale of methamphetamine. The narcotics were eventually seized by agents, and they were tested and confirmed to contain 88.6 grams of actual methamphetamine.

The DEA investigated the case, which was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian C. Flanagan.

This case is part of an operation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). OCDETF uses a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the highest-level criminal organizations that pose a threat to the United States. More information about the OCDETF Program is available at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.