Louisiana Man Sentenced to 18+ Years for Trafficking More Than 5 lbs of Methamphetamine

Louisiana - United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced that Joshua Cade Labit, 37, of Rayne, Louisiana was sentenced on November 3, 2022, by United States District Judge David C. Joseph to 220 months (18 years, 4 months) in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, for his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy.

On January 13, 2022, Labit pled guilty to the charge of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine after being indicted by a federal grand jury in Lafayette.

According to evidence presented in court, law enforcement officers stopped a vehicle near Crowley, Louisiana, in the early morning hours of March 10, 2021. Labit was a passenger in the vehicle, which was being driven by one of his co-defendants, William Tarleton. Agents searched the vehicle and discovered various parcels containing a considerable amount of crystal methamphetamine, a box containing 12 bottles of promethazine/codeine syrup, and a small bag containing roughly 5 grams of marijuana. Methamphetamine was discovered in a duffel bag on the floorboard. The methamphetamine weighed around 2.65 kilos.

Labit admitted at the guilty plea hearing on June 2, 2022, that he plotted with Tarleton and others to obtain methamphetamine for future distribution.

The US Drug Enforcement Administration and the Department of Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case, which was prosecuted by Assistant US Attorney John W. Nickel.