13 sentenced after drug trafficking ring investigation in Angola

Trinity Velazquez
·4 min read

BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) – An investigation into a drug trafficking network in Angola led to the sentencing of 13 people including guards and inmates.

A press release from United States Attorney Ronald C. Gathe, Jr. said that the defendants admitted to conspiring to distribute cocaine, heroin, marijuana and methamphetamine. The conspiracy occurred from February 2017 to May 2019.

The press release said the defendants collaborated to get and distribute drugs in the Louisiana State Penitentiary and beyond. They worked with correctional officers and non-incarcerated individuals to profit from the drug distribution.

Officials stated that most drugs were shipped from California to Baton Rouge.

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Individuals sentenced by Chief Judge Shelly D. Dick, according to a press release from the Middle District of Louisiana

Michael Augustine, 44, from Erath, received a 51-month federal prison sentence. He was convicted of conspiring to distribute marijuana and methamphetamine. The court also sentenced Augustine to serve three years of supervised release following his term of imprisonment.

Arthur Basaldua, 44, from Angola, received a 192-month federal prison sentence. He was convicted of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine, heroin, marijuana and methamphetamine. The court sentenced Basaldua to five years of supervised release after his imprisonment.

Manuel Cadena, 44, from Hesperia, California, received a 48-month federal prison sentence. He was convicted of conspiring to distribute marijuana and methamphetamine. The court sentenced Cadena to four years of supervised release after his imprisonment.

Michael Cadena, 33, from Hesperia, California, received a 48-month federal prison sentence. He was convicted of conspiring to distribute marijuana and methamphetamine. The court sentenced Cadena to three years of supervised release after his imprisonment.

Jeffery Day, 38, from Centreville, Mississippi, got 57 months in federal prison for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine. The court sentenced Day to three years of supervised release after his imprisonment.

Deanthony Ford, 37, from Angola, received a 151-month federal prison sentence. He was convicted of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and methamphetamine. The court sentenced Ford to serve five years of supervised release after his imprisonment.

Joshua Gonzalez, 40, of Angola, received a 72-month federal prison sentence. He was convicted of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine, heroin, marijuana and methamphetamine. The court sentenced Gonzalez to five years of supervised release after his imprisonment.

Jared Graham, 34, of Angola, received a 126-month federal prison sentence after being convicted of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana and methamphetamine. The court sentenced Graham to four years of supervised release after his imprisonment.

Xavier Johnson, 39, from Baton Rouge, received an 80-month federal prison sentence. He was convicted of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and methamphetamine. The court sentenced Johnson to serve three years of supervised release after his imprisonment.

Dudley Melancon, 35, from Angola, received a 72-month federal prison sentence. He was convicted of conspiring to distribute marijuana and methamphetamine. The court also sentenced Melancon to serve three years of supervised release following his term of imprisonment.

Ismael Ochoa, 37, from Riverside, California, received a 90-month federal prison sentence. He was convicted of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine, heroin, marijuana and methamphetamine. Ochoa was also accused of unlawfully traveling to aid a racketeering enterprise. The court sentenced Ochoa to three years of supervised release after his imprisonment.

Kevin Narcisse, 38, from Angola, received a 60-month federal prison sentence. He was convicted of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine, heroin, marijuana and methamphetamine. The court sentenced Narcisse to serve five years of supervised release after his imprisonment.

Nelson Tippen, 44, of Angola, received a 48-month federal prison sentence. He was convicted of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine, heroin, marijuana and methamphetamine. The court sentenced Tippen to three years of supervised release after his imprisonment.

“The sentencing of these 13 defendants is evidence of our commitment to dismantling large-scale criminal conspiracies and drug trafficking networks. With the use of federal, state, and local partnerships we identified individuals from California to Louisiana and were able to hold them accountable for their narcotics distribution through Angola State Penitentiary. The collaborative efforts into OCDETF investigations reduces the availability of illegal narcotics in our communities, and we will continue this approach to fetter out organized crime in our district,” said Gathe.

“The FBI’s goal is to identify and target criminal enterprises and other groups engaged in drug trafficking. Today, justice was served to those who chose to traffic and distribute illicit narcotics in Angola State Penitentiary. I want to thank the efforts and collaboration of the United States Attorney’s Office, the United States Postal Inspection Service, The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, as well as the Louisiana Department of Corrections, the Louisiana State Police, and the St. Francisville Police Department who worked tirelessly to dismantle this criminal enterprise,” stated the FBI Special Agent in Charge Lyonel Myrthil. “I assure you, the FBI will continue to enforce the laws and intervene when drug traffickers distribute narcotics on the streets or in the prison system.”

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