United States Drug Enforcement Administration

BATON ROUGE, La. - Drug Enforcement (DEA) Assistant Special Agent in Charge Brad L. Byerley and United States Attorney Walt Green announced the results of another federal prosecution related to drug trafficking of heroin pills pressed to resemble Oxycodone. On Tuesday, July 12, 2016, a U.S. District Judge sentenced Brandon Kornbacher, a.k.a. “Meeko,” age 31, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to serve 46 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. The Judge also ordered that the 46-month prison sentence shall run consecutively to any sentence imposed by a Louisiana State Court for a separate drug-trafficking offense pending against Kornbacker.

On December 9, 2015, Kornbacher pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute heroin in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 841, and as contained in an Indictment filed in July 9, 2015. As part of his plea, Kornbacher admitted that on February 28, 2015, officers with the Baton Rouge Police (BRPD) discovered 554 pills during a traffic stop of a pickup truck operated by Kornbacher that had an inoperable headlamp. Kornbacher initially slowed down to indicate he was stopping, but then accelerated in an attempt to flee. Kornbacher ran several red lights near Cortana Mall, pulled over in a residential neighborhood to allow a passenger to flee on foot, and subsequently stopped his truck. After Kornbacher was placed in custody, the BRPD officers located two plastic bags containing 554 blue pills in the lower storage compartment of the truck. Kornbacher admitted that he knew that the pills contained heroin and that he intended to distribute the pills at a later time.

Brad L. Byerley stated: “Heroin has been poisoning our communities in the greater Baton Rouge area for many years. In this investigation, DEA and local law enforcement pursued this drug dealer who preyed on the weak and addicted through the distribution of heroin pills disguised as prescription pain medication. The resulting conviction and sentencing furthers our efforts to prevent heroin trafficking from taking hold in our community.”

U.S. Attorney Green stated: “This sentencing resulted from a line of cases prosecuted by my office relating to heroin pills pressed to resemble a prescription pain medication. Leaders in our community recognize the dangers placed on our citizens by drug traffickers who not only distribute heroin, but do so in a form that leads users to believe that they are pain killers prescribed by medical professionals. We, as a community, cannot allow such criminals to continue to profit from the extreme suffering of those addicted to heroin and other opiates. My office will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to ensure that those who deal controlled substances will inevitably face the justice that they deserve. The sentence imposed in this case forwards that effort. I truly appreciate the efforts of the BRPD in stopping this drug trafficker from continuing to distribute heroin and, with the diligent efforts of the DEA, helping to successfully prosecute this case.”

The investigation of this case was conducted by the DEA’s Baton Rouge Tactical Diversion Squad and the Baton Rouge Police Department, with assistance from the Iberville Sheriff’s Office, East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office , and Louisiana State Police.

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.