United States Attorney Ronald C. Gathe, Jr. announced the sentencing of three individuals as the result of an extensive federal, state, and local investigation by the Middle District Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) aimed at a drug trafficking network based and operating in Baton Rouge.
Quentin Mabin, age 31, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was sentenced to 144 months imprisonment in federal prison following his conviction for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. The Court further sentenced Mabin to serve five years of supervised release following his term of imprisonment.
Jabari Williams, age 38, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was sentenced to144 months imprisonment in federal prison following his conviction for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a mixture of substance containing methamphetamine. The Court further sentenced Williams to serve three years of supervised release following his term of imprisonment.
Charles Andre, age 40, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was sentenced to 84 months imprisonment in federal prison following his conviction for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a mixture or substance containing methamphetamine. The Court further sentenced Andre to serve three years of supervised release following his term of imprisonment.
As the charging documents explain, and the defendants admitted, on February 6, 2019, a confidential informant (CI) arranged for the purchase of four ounces of methamphetamine from Charles Andre for $1,500. The CI stated that they had previously purchased 4 ounces of methamphetamine directly from Quentin Mabin and Jabari Williams. Andre directed the CI to meet at a park near the intersection of Antioch and Tiger Bend Roads in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The CI was provided with the agreed-upon purchase price of $1,500 and an audio/video recording device. The recording captured Andre as the apparent coordinator of this drug transaction. Mabin was also seen video and heard stating that Williams would be arriving in the parking lot shortly. At that time, Mabin was aware that the CI, Andre, and Williams, and himself had negotiated a drug deal involving four ounces of methamphetamine for a purchase price of $1,500. Mabin then departed the area. Williams subsequently entered the parking lot of the location where Andre and the CI were located. Williams handed a packet to Andre who then placed the packet in the CI’s vehicle.
On February 20, 2019, the CI again arranged for the purchase of four ounces of methamphetamine. On this occasion, Andre directed the CI to come to his residence on Woodlawn Acres Avenue in Baton Rouge. At the designated time, law enforcement agents maintained surveillance at Mabin’s residence on Elva Drive in Baton Rouge. At approximately 7:20 p.m., Mabin was identified as he exited the residence and drove to a location in Denham Springs, Louisiana, where he engaged in what appeared to be a hand-to-hand drug transaction. At approximately the same time, separate law enforcement provided the CI with $1,500 and an audio/video recording device. The CI drove to, and entered, Andre’s Woodlawn Acres residence. After his meeting in Denham Springs, Louisiana, Mabin returned to the Elva Drive residence, entered the residence for a short period of time, and then drove to Andre’s Woodlawn Acres residence. The CI’s video captured Andre’s absence from the kitchen area of the residence for a brief period of time. Agents conducting surveillance outside of the residence identified Mabin as he pulled into the driveway of Andre, met with Andre, and then drove off. Andre then entered the residence and handed the CI a packet containing methamphetamine.
On February 23, 2019, EBRSO Narcotics agents obtained a search warrant for Mabin’s Elva Drive residence. A search of said residence was conducted and methamphetamine was seized. Mabin shared possession of this methamphetamine with Williams, knew that it was methamphetamine, and, along with Williams, possessed the methamphetamine with the intent to distribute it.
On February 28, 2020, law enforcement identified that a residence in Denham Springs, Louisiana, was likely receiving shipments of illegal narcotics. On March 2, 2020, a police canine conducted a free air sniff of a FedEx package addressed to said residence. The canine returned a positive alert for the presence of illegal controlled substances. A search warrant for the package was then obtained, and the package was opened and searched. Among items found in the package were 6 vacuum-sealed bags containing over 3 kilograms of suspected methamphetamine. A small amount of the substance was placed back into the Federal Express package, which was then delivered under surveillance of law enforcement to the suspect Denham Springs residence. Upon delivery of the package, the resident at the address on the FedEx package looked at it, to include the name on the package, and advised that it was not his. The resident stated that he had recently moved into the residence, and that a man advised him that he had recently moved from the residence, and that a package addressed to him was still being delivered to the residence. The man requested that, upon receipt, the resident place the package on the front steps of the residence so that he could pick it up. After the delivery was completed, the resident placed the package on the front steps of the residence and then departed the area.
Approximately one hour after the package was left on the front steps of the residence, during which time surveillance was maintained, Mabin approached the residence on foot and took possession of the package. The male then ran down the street and entered a gray Toyota Camry. A computer inquiry of the license place on the vehicle identified that it was registered to a female with an outstanding warrant for her address. Law enforcement then conducted a traffic stop of the Camry. After being advised of her Miranda rights, the female driver (who was also the registered owner of the Camry) advised that she had given Mabin, the sole passenger in the vehicle, a ride the area near the aforementioned delivery address so he could pick up a package. The driver gave consent to a search of her vehicle and, among other items, law enforcement located and seized the Federal Express package that had been the subject of this ongoing investigation. The package was located on the front passenger floorboard where Mabin was sitting.
After being advised of his Miranda rights, Mabin admitted that the methamphetamine belonged to him, and that he had ordered approximately seven pounds of methamphetamine for a price of $14,000 from a source in California. He stated that he used the address of the suspect Denham Springs residence because it had been vacant.
This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
This investigation was led by the Drug Enforcement Administration with invaluable assistance from the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office and was prosecuted Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul L. Pugliese.
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