New Orleans Man Pleads Guilty to Firearm and Drug Violations

U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that KENZIE FAULK, age 58, of New Orleans, pled guilty yesterday to an Indictment charging him with possessing a firearm while being a convicted felon and conspiracy to possess marijuana with the intent to distribute. 

According to court documents, on October 16, 2016, FAULK, a convicted felon, attempted to board a Southwest Airlines flight, departing from Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, while he was in possession of a fully loaded revolver.  TSA personnel located the weapon in a bag that FAULK was attempting to carry aboard the plane, which was destined to Los Angeles.  TSA personnel became aware that a gun was inside of the bag when the TSA x-ray scan machine alerted to its presence. TSA agents confiscated the gun prior to FAULK boarding the plane.

In the days following his arrest, members of the FBI learned that FAULK was trafficking marijuana though the U.S. postal service.  FBI agents conducted a search of FAULK’s residence and located a wooden crate that had been shipped from Los Angeles to New Orleans.  After executing a search warrant, FBI agents located and confiscated three cellophane wrapped packages of high-grade marijuana inside of the crate, which was addressed to FAULK.

For the charge of possessing a firearm by a convicted felon, FAULK faced a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment.  For his participation in the drug conspiracy, FAULK faces a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment.  Judge Nannette Jolivette-Brown will sentence FAULK on April 5, 2018.

U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the TSA in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Brittany L. Reed is in charge of the prosecution.