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NEW ORLEANS, LA – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced today that ERIC METZ, age 38, JOSHUA MACKEY, age 35, FREDERICK TURNER, age 49, DARON WILLIAMS, age 46, LONNIE WILLIAMS, age 38, CALLEIGH AMOS, age 29, THEODORE HOLMES, JR., age 33, LESLIE PARKER, age 40, and KORAL WELLS, age 64, all from Plaquemines Parish, were charged in a sealed indictment on November 19, 2021 for conspiring to distribute a quantity of cocaine, crack, and methamphetamine, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(C), and 846. The indictment was unsealed on December 1, 2021.

 

Additionally, DARON WILLIAMS is charged in Count Two of the Indictment with possessing with intent to distribute a quantity of methamphetamine, WELLS is charged in Counts Three and Four with possessing with intent to distribute a quantity of crack and a quantity of methamphetamine, respectively, and LONNNIE WILLIAMS in charged in Count Five with possessing with intent to distribute a quantity of crack, all in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 841 (b)(1)(C). If convicted, each of the nine defendants face up to 20 years imprisonment, a fine up to $1,000,000, a period of at least 3 years supervised release, and a mandatory special assessment fee of $100 for each charged drug count.

 

METZ, HOLMES, PARKER, AMOS, TURNER, and MACKEY are also charged in Counts Six through Nine with the illegal use of a communications facility in facilitating the distribution of controlled substances, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1), 843(b), and Title 18, United States Code, Section 2. If convicted, the charged defendants face up to 4 years imprisonment, a fine up to $250,000, a period of one year of supervised release, and a mandatory special assessment fee of $100 for each of these counts.

 

METZ, a convicted felon, is also charged in Count Ten with possessing a firearm as a felon, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(g)(1) and 924(e). Given his criminal history, METZ faces up to fifteen years in prison, up to $250,000 in fines, up to 5 years of supervised release, and a $100 mandatory special assessment fee.

 

U.S. Attorney Evans reiterated that the Indictment is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendants must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

 

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

 

U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of the Plaquemines Parish Sheriff’s Office, the Drug Enforcement Administration, New Orleans Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorneys David Howard Sinkman and J. Benjamin Myers are in charge of the prosecution.