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MONROE, La. – United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced that United States District Judge Terry A. Doughty has sentenced two men to federal prison for illegal possession of narcotics.

Antoyn A. Wordlaw, 43, of Delhi, Louisiana, was sentenced to 234 months in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.  On July 6, 2021, Louisiana State Police (LSP) received a call from a company in Delhi, stating there were narcotics found in an employee locker room. The company found a soft-side cooler bag with a large amount of narcotics inside a locker belonging to Wordlaw. Law enforcement agents with the LSP and Richland Parish Sheriff’s Office responded to the call and were able to review surveillance cameras for the day and identified Wordlaw walking into the plant and locker room with the same cooler bag. Wordlaw was arrested and a search of the cooler bag revealed that it contained a clear bag with methamphetamine, four bags with marijuana, numerous baggies for distribution and several other controlled substances. Agents with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) conducted a chemical analysis and determined that the substance was in fact methamphetamine with a net weight of 88.9 grams and a 95% purity level.

The case was investigated by the DEA, LSP and Richland Parish Sheriff’s Office, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cytheria D. Jernigan.

In an unrelated case, Preston Ryan Eckard, 23, of Fort Necessity, Louisiana, was sentenced to 48 months in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, for distribution of methamphetamine. Deputies with the Franklin Parish Sheriff’s Office began an investigation into the drug trafficking activities of Eckard in December 2020. Law enforcement agents were able to obtain video evidence of Eckard selling methamphetamine for cash on two occasions in January and February of 2021. The narcotics were seized and sent to the lab for analysis. The North Louisiana Criminalistics Laboratory determined the narcotics seized on January 28, 2021 to be 28.01 grams of methamphetamine. The DEA Laboratory determined that narcotics seized on February 2, 2021 had a net weight of 44.92 grams of pure methamphetamine.

The case was investigated by the DEA and Franklin Parish Sheriff’s Office and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert F. Moody.

“Our office has a heightened interest in conducting parallel drug trafficking investigations with state law enforcement in the more rural areas of our district, where there is a violation of federal law,” stated U.S. Attorney Brandon B. Brown. “There are instances where local law enforcement, through no fault of their own, may have limited resources to conduct such investigations. We look forward to strengthening our relationship with these jurisdictions and communities so that these residents can live in a safe environment.”