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Louisiana Man Sentenced to More than Six Years for Drug and Gun Charges

Louisiana – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that Reynaud Kendrell Variste (“Variste ”), age 32, a resident of New Orleans, Louisiana, was sentenced to 81 months imprisonment and a $200.00 mandatory special assessment fee after pleading guilty in federal court to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c)(1)(A) and possession with intent to distribute heroin, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(C). Upon release from imprisonment, Variste will be placed on supervised release for 3 years.

Variste was charged by a federal grand jury on July 12, 2018, with possessing heroin with the intent to distribute, using a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and being a felon in possession of a firearm in a three-count indictment.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has historically been successful in bringing all levels of law enforcement together to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. PSN is the focal point of the Department of Justice’s efforts to reduce violent crime. PSN is an evidence-based program that has been shown to reduce violent crime. PSN brings together a diverse range of stakeholders to identify the most pressing violent crime issues in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and collaborates with community-based prevention and reentry programs to achieve long-term crime reductions.

U.S. Attorney Evans praised the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s work in investigating this case. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kathryn M. McHugh.

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