Five Plead Guilty To Interstate Heroin Conspiracy And Money Laundering Indictment
NEW ORLEANS - Drug Enforcement (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Keith Brown and U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that Fred Douglas Brooks III, age 47, of Houston; David Humphries, age 46, of Baltimore; and Paul Lee, age 36, Marlon Barnes, age 38, and Garry Gentry, age 31, residents of New Orleans, pleaded guilty today to a Superseding Indictment charging conspiracy to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin. Brooks also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering.
According to court documents, DEA agents, after conducting a series of court-authorized wire intercepts on the cellular phones of New Orleans area heroin dealers, identified Brooks as a Houston-based heroin trafficker who was distributing multiple kilograms of heroin at a time to the New Orleans area, and further identified Humphries as one of Brooks’ couriers who was bringing heroin to, and picking up bulk currency drug debt payments from, New Orleans customers on behalf of Brooks. Lee, Barnes, and Gentry then purchased multi-ounce quantities of heroin from one of Brooks’ wholesale customers to sell it in New Orleans.
Brooks faces a sentence of twenty years to life, and Humphries, Lee, Barnes, and Gentry each face a sentence of ten years to life for their roles in the heroin conspiracy. Sentencing is set to commence on August 20, 2015. Trial as to the remaining defendants is scheduled for July 9, 2015.
This case was worked by DEA New Orleans Police Department High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area group, the FBI, and the ATF with the assistance of the St. Tammany Sheriff’s Office, the St. Bernard Sheriff’s Office, and the Louisiana State Police. Assistant United States Attorneys Michael B. Redmann and Mark A. Miller are in charge of the prosecution.
Parents and children are encouraged to educate themselves about the dangers of drugs by visiting DEA’s interactive websites at www.JustThinkTwice.com, www.GetSmartAboutDrugs.com and www.dea.gov.
