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Louisiana Organized Crime Case Results in 58+ Years in Combined Prison Time for 6 Individuals

Published January 7, 2022

Louisiana – United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced the completion of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force investigation in the Western District of Louisiana that resulted in sentences totaling more than 58 years in prison for six individuals.

Robert Edward Simpson, 49, of Benton, Louisiana, was sentenced by Chief Judge S. Maurice Hicks, Jr. to 292 months (24 years, 4 months) in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Simpson was also ordered to pay a fine in the amount of $25,000.

Simpson and five others were indicted by a federal grand jury on drug trafficking charges in October 2020. On June 24, 2021, Simpson pleaded guilty and admitted to conspiring with Thomas Shane Benefield, Tania Cedillo, Rosa Palacios a/k/a “Mama,” Casey Head, and Tanya Simpson-Procell, to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

The drug trafficking activities of Simpson and his co-defendants were investigated by FBI agents from the Northwest Louisiana Violent Crime Task Force. Agents were able to acquire an order allowing them to wiretap Simpson’s phone, which allowed them to discover that Simpson’s drug suppliers were Cedillo and Palacios, both from the Dallas/Fort Worth region. Simpson made visits to the Dallas area at least once a week to pick up large amounts of methamphetamine from several suppliers, according to intercepted phone conversations. Both Benefield and Simpson-Procell assisted Simpson in the distribution of methamphetamine to a variety of buyers, with Head being a regular multi-ounce buyer. Agents discovered evidence that Simpson sold 55.7 grams of methamphetamine to a Shreveport resident on March 11, 2020. On June 18, 2020, he was arrested and acknowledged purchasing methamphetamine in Dallas and distributing it in the Shreveport/Bossier City area.

The following co-defendants have each previously pleaded guilty and been sentenced in this case:

Thomas Shane Benefield, 46, of Bossier City, Louisiana, was previously sentenced to 168 months (14 years) in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

Casey Head, 39, of Bossier City, Louisiana, was previously sentenced to 60 months in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

Tanya Simpson-Procell, 48, of Bossier City, Louisiana, was previously sentenced to 110 months (9 years, 2 months) in prison, followed by 2 years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

Tania Cedillo, 35, of Dallas, Texas, was previously sentenced to 57 months in prison, followed by 2 years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

Rosa Palacios a/k/a “Mama,” 52, of Dallas, Texas, was previously sentenced to 24 months in prison, followed by 2 years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

The case was investigated by the FBI’s Northwest Louisiana Violent Crime Task Force, Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Office, and Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys J. Aaron Crawford and Mike Shannon.

This effort is part of an ongoing 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. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.