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NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – WAYNE HANDY, age 29, a resident of New Orleans, Louisiana, pleaded guilty today before United States District Judge Carl J. Barbier to violations of the Federal Gun Control Act and the Federal Controlled Substances Act, announced U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans.

According to court records, HANDY made a series of sales of heroin/fentanyl to an FBI confidential source.  Those controlled purchases, along with other evidence, led to a federal complaint charging HANDY, as well as a search of residences and vehicles associated with HANDY in the spring of 2021.  During the searches, agents located about $120,000 in cash, two guns, and approximately a kilogram of fentanyl.  HANDY pleaded guilty to possession with  intent to distribute 400 grams or more of a substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(A) and to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 922(g)(1).

Judge Barbier set sentencing for May 25, 2023.  On the drug count, HANDY faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years imprisonment up to life, up to a $10,000,000 fine, and at least five years of supervised release.  On the gun count, HANDY faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years, up to a $250,000 fine, and up to 3 years of supervised release.  For both counts, HANDY will have to pay a mandatory special assessment fee of $100.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigations.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David Haller of the Violent Crime Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.