Devonte Skinner, age 34, of Albany, Louisiana, was sentenced to 92 months in federal prison following his conviction for distribution of fentanyl, announced United States Attorney Kurt L. Wall. U.S. Chief Judge Shelly D. Dick further sentenced Skinner to serve five years of supervised release following his term of imprisonment.
According to admissions made as part of his guilty plea, on February 21, 2024, the Department of Homeland Security – Homeland Security Investigations and the United States Drug Enforcement Administration conducted a controlled purchase of 3,792 pills pressed to resemble 30 mg oxycodone and containing 539.2 grams of fentanyl from Skinner and another individual using a confidential source (CS). The CS met Skinner in a restaurant parking lot on O’Neal Lane in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Skinner was in the front passenger seat of a vehicle and exchanged the pills and money with the CS.
U.S. Attorney Kurt L. Wall praised the work of the Department of Homeland Security – Homeland Security Investigations, Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Paul L. Pugliese led the prosecution.
“I am very pleased with the dedicated work of our prosecutors and our law enforcement partners,” said U.S. Attorney Wall. “Fentanyl continues to pose a grave threat to communities throughout Louisiana and distributing this substance in such quantities risks devastating harm. The Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account the criminal act and the defendant’s prior criminal history, called for a sentencing range of 262 to 327 months. Although we respect the Court’s role in sentencing, we have concerns that a sentence far below the guidelines range sends a harmful message. Unfortunately, our district has experienced hundreds of fentanyl overdoses over the past few years. Recently, we are beginning to see a reduction in those numbers, which gives us some optimism that the message of the dangerousness of fentanyl is finally gaining traction. The defendant’s conduct has to be viewed in the same light as if he had fired 3,972 rounds of ammunition on our public streets. A 92-month sentence is insufficient, and our office is reviewing the judgment closely and considering all options, including appeal.”
“Fentanyl traffickers endanger our communities with every pill they put on the street,” said HSI New Orleans Acting Special Agent in Charge Matt Wright. “This investigation and conviction reflect HSI’s continued commitment to working with our federal, state, and local partners to identify, investigate, and hold accountable those who distribute deadly narcotics in Louisiana. Through the Homeland Security Task Force, we will continue using every lawful tool available to disrupt criminal networks and protect the public from the devastation caused by fentanyl.”
This prosecution was part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF New Orleans comprises agents and officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), and the United States Marshals Service (USMS), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE-ERO), the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), the U.S. Coast Guard, Investigative Service (CGIS), U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Field Operations (CBP OFO), U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol (CBP BP) with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney's Office for Middle District of Louisiana.
Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office — Middle District of Louisiana — U.S. Department of Justice press release.