Additional Tangipahoa Parish Men Sentenced in Jungle Life Mafia Street Gang Prosecution

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – MICHAEL ALEXANDER, SR. age 41, a Ponchatoula, Louisiana resident, was sentenced on June 15, 2023, to 180 months imprisonment, 5 years of supervised release, and a $400 mandatory special assessment fee by U.S. District Judge Jay C. Zainey, announced U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans.  ALEXANDER previously pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl, 100 grams or more of heroin, and a quantity of cocaine, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine, possession of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes, and being a felon in possession of firearms.

According to court documents, Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) agents began investigating the drug trafficking activities of the Jungle Life Mafia street gang in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana in 2019.  On December 2, 2021, DEA agents executed a federal search warrant on ALEXANDER’s home in Ponchatoula.  During the search, agents discovered approximately eleven ounces of heroin mixed with fentanyl and five illegal guns.  Additionally, agents seized $289,224.70 in U.S. currency.  The investigation spanned two years.

JOSHUA PRINE, age 42, a Tangipahoa Parish resident, was sentenced on June 13, 2023, to 20 months imprisonment, 5 years of supervised release, and a $100 mandatory special assessment fee.  PRINE previously pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and 1 kilogram or more of heroin.

Pursuant to a traffic stop, PRINE was found to be in possession of four ounces of heroin mixed with fentanyl that he planned to deliver to a co-conspirator.

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation.  OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.  Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

This case was investigated by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Hammond Police Department, Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office, Twenty-First Judicial District Attorney’s Office, Twenty-Second Judicial District Attorney’s Office, Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, and the U.S. Marshals Service.  The prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney J. Benjamin Myers of the Narcotics Unit.