Slidell Man Sentenced for Conspiring to Distribute Illegal Narcotics in New Orleans East
Published 6:27 am Thursday, February 3, 2022
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NEW ORLEANS, LA – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced today that U.S. District Court Judge Wendy B. Vitter sentenced KEVIN GRAY, age 48, a resident of Slidell, Louisiana, to 63 months of imprisonment, 4 years of supervised release, and $100 in a mandatory special assessment fee for conspiring to distribute cocaine and heroin in New Orleans, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(B), and 846. GRAY plead guilty on October 27, 2021.
According to court records, GRAY and four others, Joseph Brown, Lionel Cooley, Kendrick Demourelle, and Blake Monroe, conspired to sell illegal narcotics in New Orleans, including using a broken-down yellow school bus in the ‘Goose’ neighborhood in New Orleans East as a stash house. All five were indicted in February 2020. A seized GMC Sierra pickup truck used by Lionel Cooley contained nearly two kilograms of cocaine and 430 grams of crack.
The evidence against GRAY includes numerous intercepted communications and seized drugs. All five defendants in this case have plead guilty.
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 federal Drug Enforcement Administration, Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, Hammond Police Department, New Orleans Police Department, and Slidell Police Department in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney David Howard Sinkman is in charge of the prosecution.