Louisiana Man Sentenced to Over 6 Years for Drug Conspiracy and Providing an Ak-47 Used to Facilitate Crack Sales

Louisiana – On May 11, 2022, U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that U.S. District Court Judge Wendy B. Vitter sentenced Lionel Cooley, age 45, a resident of Slidell, Louisiana, on May, 10, 2022, to 78 months (6 years, 6 months) of imprisonment, four years of supervised release and a mandatory $200 special assessment fee for conspiring to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine and 28 grams or more of crack, and for providing an AK-47 firearm to codefendant Blake Monroe that was used to facilitate Monroe’s crack sales, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(B), and 846, and Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(o). Cooley plead guilty on October 27, 2021.

According to court documents, the US forfeited approximately $18,978.00, assorted jewelry, and a Smith & Wesson revolver seized as part of the investigation. Cooley and four others, including Joseph Brown, Kendrick Demourelle, Kevin Gray, and Blake Monroe, planned to sell illegal drugs in Orleans Parish, including using a broken-down yellow school bus as a stash house. A member of this drug conspiracy’s GMC Sierra pickup truck was seized with nearly two kilograms of cocaine and 430 grams of crack. In February 2020, all five defendants were indicted.

This prosecution is part of an investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). OCDETF uses a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that pose a threat to the United States.

The Drug Enforcement Administration, Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, Hammond Police Department, New Orleans Police Department, and Slidell Police Department all worked together to investigate this case, according to U.S. Attorney Evans. The prosecution is led by Assistant United States Attorneys David Howard Sinkman and Alexandra Giavotella, Asset Forfeiture.