New Orleans Man Pleads Guilty to Murder, and Drug, Firearm, and Hobbs Act Robbery Conspiracies

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced today that on December 4, 2023 LARRY ROWEL, a/k/a “Lah, a/k/a “Lah Hood,” pled guilty to murder, as well as to various violations of the Federal Controlled Substances Act, the Federal Gun Control Act, and Hobbs Act robbery. Specifically, ROWEL pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo to Counts 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the superseding bill of information pending against him.

Count 1 charged ROWEL with conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute, a quantity of cocaine hydrochloride and marijuana, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 84l(a)(l), (b)(l )(C), (b)(1)(D), and 846. For this charge, ROWEL faces up to 20 years imprisonment, a fine of up to $1,000,000.00, at least three years of supervised release, and a mandatory $100.00 special assessment fee. Count 2  charged ROWEL with conspiracy to possess firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and crime of violence, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(o). For this charge, ROWEL faces up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000.00, up to three years of supervised release, and a mandatory $100.00 special assessment fee .

Count 3  charged ROWEL with causing death through the use of a firearm, stemming from his role in a December 2019 murder, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(j)(1). For this charge, ROWEL faces up to life in prison, a fine of up to $250,000.00, up to five years of supervised release, and a mandatory $100.00 special assessment fee.   

Count 4 charged ROWEL with conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act Robberies, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1951. For this charge, ROWEL faces up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000.00, up to three years of supervised release, and a mandatory $100.00 special assessment fee. 

According to court documents, in 2019, the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated a group for committing various violent crimes and illegal drug trafficking, primarily in New Orleans East and the Ninth Ward section of New Orleans. Thereafter, ROWEL, and nine others, were indicted, for conspiring to possess firearms, traffic drugs and commit armed robberies of drug dealers. ROWEL’S plea documents reveal he was a drug dealer who  possessed firearms,  robbed other  drug dealers, and participated in a December 2019, murder.

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, the New Orleans Police Department, and the St. Bernard Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorneys Maurice Landrieu of the Narcotics Unit and Elizabeth Privitera, Chief of the Violent Crime Unit, are in charge of the prosecution.