Two Sentenced in Federal Court in Louisiana for Conspiring to Distribute Ketamine to Aid in Kidnapping of Louisiana Teenager, Resulting in His Death

Louisiana – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that, on November 9, 2022, U.S. District Court Judge Jane Triche Milazzo sentenced William Harrison Farris (“Farris”), age 43, of New Orleans, Louisiana, and Kacie Doucet (“Doucet”), age 41, of Larose, Louisiana, for their involvement in a conspiracy to drug and kidnap an 18-year-old Slidell resident, which resulted in the teen’s death Farris was sentenced to 87 months (7 years, 3 months) in prison, two years of supervised release, and a $100 obligatory special assessment charge. Doucet was sentenced to 88 months (7 years, 4 months) in prison, two years of supervised release, and a $100 obligatory special assessment charge.

Both defendants previously pleaded guilty to one count of Conspiracy to Distribute Ketamine in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(E), and 846.

According to court documents, Farris and Doucet colluded with co-defendant Leilani Aspuria, as well as Carlos Mario Cantu-Cox and Christopher Cantu-Cox (who were charged in a different case) to kidnap the teenage victim and take him to Texas against his will. The Cantu-Coxes were a married couple from Houston that distributed methamphetamine in New Orleans, Louisiana. The victim owed money to the Cantu-Coxes and was attempting to evade the two men at the time of his kidnapping.

Farris, a Cantu-Coxes drug customer who was aware that the Cantu-Coxes were looking for the victim, was aware that Doucet was connected to the victim on Facebook. Doucet contacted the victim over Facebook on many occasions at the behest of Farris and recommended that they meet for a sexual encounter.

Farris and Doucet were well aware that Doucet’s offer of a sexual encounter with the teenage victim was a ruse, and that the real reason for picking up the victim was to administer a cocktail of powerful drugs to render him incapacitated, allowing him to be delivered to the Cantu-Coxes, who were staying at a downtown New Orleans hotel. The Cantu-Coxes provided the drug cocktail as well as advice on how to combine the substances with alcohol so that the victim would not know what he was consuming.

Farris and Doucet enlisted the assistance of Aspuria, the only one of the three possessing a car, to carry out the plan. Doucet and Aspuria picked up the victim from his grandfather’s home in Slidell, Louisiana on February 23, 2016. Doucet administered the Cantu-Coxes’ drug combination, which the pair referred to as an “elixir” to the victim. Doucet, Aspuria, and the victim then drove about New Orleans for many hours, hoping the victim would pass out. Farris, who was not in the automobile, acted as a go-between for Doucet, who was texting updates about the victim’s condition, and the Cantu-Coxes, who were waiting at the hotel.

Doucet and Aspuria drove to the back of the hotel at one time and attempted to bring the victim to the Cantu-Coxes and Farris, who were waiting outside with a wheelchair. The victim was barely conscious but not unconscious. Farris attempted to take the victim out of the car when the car arrived, but the victim awoke and became aggressive. Doucet and Aspuria then drove away with the victim and waited for him to go unconscious.

Later, Doucet and Aspuria returned to the hotel with the victim, who was unconscious in the back seat at the time. The Cantu-Coxes produced two needles that contained ketamine. Doucet and Farris stood by as Aspuria injected one of the needles into the victim’s body. When the victim was injected, he did not move, and no one checked to see if he was still breathing following the injection.

The teenager’s body was transported to the Cantu-Coxes’ car at that point, and the Cantu-Coxes began driving back to Texas. The Cantu-Coxes recognized the victim was no longer breathing somewhere near the Louisiana-Texas border. The Cantu-Coxes drove to their Pasadena, Texas, home and parked in their driveway. They left the victim’s body in the car because it was still daylight. The Cantu-Coxes drove to a bridge over Sims Bayou in the Houston region around nightfall on February 24, 2016, and dumped the victim’s body into the bayou. A week later, the victim’s body washed up on the beach. The Cantu-Coxes then compensated Farris with methamphetamine for his assistance in capturing the victim.

Leilani Aspuria was sentenced to ten years in prison by Judge Milazzo on February 5, 2020. Carlos Mario Cantu-Cox and Christopher Cantu-Cox were sentenced to twenty years in prison by U.S. District Court Judge Wendy Vitter on June 29, 2021.

US Attorney Duane A. Evans complimented the efforts of the US Postal Inspection Service, the Louisiana State Police, the Houston Police Department, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. The prosecution is led by Assistant United States Attorney Brandon S. Long.