Press Release
New Orleans Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Drug Trafficking and Firearms Charges
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Louisiana
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that on October 31, 2024 JOHNNIE HAGANS (“HAGANS”), age 31, pled guilty to Counts 1 through 4 of an indictment charging him with possession with intent to distribute cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(C) (Count 1); possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1(a)(i) (Count 2); and being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(8) (Counts 3 and 4).
As to Count 1, HAGANS faces up to twenty years imprisonment, up to a $1,000,000 fine, and at least 3 years of supervised release. As to Count 2, HAGANS faces from five years up to life imprisonment, which must run consecutive to any other sentence, up to a $250,000 fine, and up to 5 years of supervised release. As to Counts 3 and 4, HAGANS faces up to fifteen years imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000, and up to three years of supervised release. As to each of Counts 1-4, HAGANS also faces payment of a mandatory special assessment fee of $100.00.
HAGANS is set for sentencing on January 30, 2025.
According to court documents, on January 23, 2024, a New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) officer conducting surveillance of a Valero gas station on South Claiborne Avenue in New Orleans saw HAGANS making multiple hand-to-hand drug sales. NOPD patrol officers attempted to detain HAGANS,one officer was able to feel and detected an object in HAGANS’s waistband recognizable as a firearm. HAGANS fled from the officers and discarded an object in an open lot. After HAGANS’s subsequent detention, officers recovered a Ruger Model LCPII, .380 caliber pistol from the open lot. Officers also obtained a search warrant for a Nissan Rogue SUV located in the Valero gas station parking lot that HAGANS had previously been seen accessing. Inside the SUV, officers found a Kahr Arms Model CW40, .40 caliber pistol, and a plastic bag containing cocaine.
After HAGANS’s arrest, officers began monitoring his jail phone calls. Based on these calls and the belief that additional firearms might be found at HAGANS’s residence, officers obtained a search warrant for HAGANS’s residence. Pursuant to the warrant, they recovered a Romarm/Cugir Model Micro Draco, 7.62-millimeter pistol and an Anderson Arms Model AM-15, .223 caliber /5.56-millimeter pistol.
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.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New Orleans Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Sarah Dawkins of the Violent Crime Unit is in charge of the prosecution.
Contact
Shane M. Jones
Public Information Officer
United States Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Louisiana
United States Department of Justice
Updated November 5, 2024
Topic
Project Safe Neighborhoods