Louisiana Man Sentenced to More than 14 Years for Drug Trafficking and Firearm Crimes

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Louisiana Man Sentenced to More than 14 Years for Drug Trafficking and Firearm Crimes

Published January 13, 2022

Louisiana – United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced that Antonio Lamont Ware, 44, of Shreveport, Louisiana, has been sentenced by Chief United States District Judge S. Maurice Hicks, Jr. to 170 months (14 years, 2 months) in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, on drug trafficking and firearms charges.

Ware pleaded guilty to counts of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of narcotics trafficking after being indicted by a federal grand jury in January 2021. The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) began a surveillance operation on Ware at his Shreveport home on November 6, 2020, according to evidence given in court. Ware was seen getting into his vehicle and driving down I-49 by agents. Ware refused to stop when deputies from the Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office attempted to stop him for a traffic violation. Ware was witnessed throwing a firearm out the passenger window while deputies were following him. The weapon ricocheted off the hood of the deputy’s car and landed on the roadside shoulder. Ware was eventually stopped and questioned by law enforcement. Agents discovered 1,037.8 grams of methamphetamine, 176.7 grams of cocaine, and nearly 600 ecstasy tablets after he admitted to carrying illegal narcotics. Agents also discovered three firearms in the same spot as the drugs.

Ware has prior felony convictions, including a state conviction for accessory after the fact of simple burglary in 2000, and a federal conviction for conspiracy to distribute cocaine in 2006.

The case was investigated by DEA and the ATF and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Aaron Crawford. This is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach.