Louisiana Drug Trafficker Sentenced to More than 5 Years in Federal Prison

Published May 12, 2021

From the Department of Justice U.S. Attorney’s Office Western District of Louisiana – Derrick Dwayne Thomas, 46, of Alexandria, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Dee D. Drell to 63 months in prison, followed by 4 years of supervised release, on drug trafficking charges, announced Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook.

On May 6, 2020, a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Thomas with possession with intent to distribute heroin and distribution of controlled substances. Thomas appeared in United States District Court on January 8, 2021, and pleaded guilty to the charge of possession with intent to distribute heroin. Evidence at the guilty plea hearing revealed that on January 31, 2020, law enforcement officers in Alexandria, Louisiana executed a search warrant for a property on Brooks Boulevard in Alexandria where Thomas resided, as well as Thomas’s vehicle.

A search of Thomas’s vehicle revealed five cellular telephones located near the driver’s seat. During the search of the residence, officers found numerous prescription bottles, which were not prescribed to Thomas or any residents of the home, as well as large sums of cash. Officers also found a lockable Tupperware container inside a small ice chest in a closet and inside the container was a plastic bag containing a brown powder, suspected to be heroin. Thomas admitted to purchasing the heroin which was later tested by a laboratory and confirmed to be heroin with an approximate weight of 477.30 grams.

The FBI, Louisiana State Police, and Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney John W. Nickel prosecuted the case.