Press Release
New Orleans Man Sentenced to 45 Months for Federal Gun Control and Controlled Substances Acts Violations
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Louisiana
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – LOUIS HANDY (“HANDY”), age 34, a resident of New Orleans, was sentenced on January 16, 2025, by United States District Judge Eldon E. Fallon after previously pleading guilty to possessing fentanyl with the intent to distribute and being a felon in possession of a firearm, violations of the Federal Gun Control and Federal Controlled Substances Acts, announced U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans.
According to court records, the FBI’s New Orleans Violent Crime Task Force, in conjunction with the New Orleans Police Department, observed HANDY carrying a concealed handgun. When uniformed officers approached him to conduct an investigatory stop, HANDY discarded the gun under a nearby vehicle, ran but was caught after a brief chase. After seizing the handgun HANDY discarded, officers searched HANDY’s person and vehicle, finding fentanyl, marijuana, oxycodone, suboxone films, a digital scale, latex gloves, and several hundred dollars in cash. HANDY had several prior felony convictions, that prohibited him from possessing a firearm.
Judge Fallon sentenced HANDY to 45 months imprisonment on both the drug trafficking count and the felon in possession of a firearm count, to run concurrently, and ordered that HANDY be placed on supervised release for three years after his release from prison. The Court also ordered HANDY to pay a mandatory special assessment fee of $200.
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. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David Haller, Senior Litigation Counsel and PSN Coordinator.
Contact
Shane M. Jones
Public Information Officer
United States Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Louisiana
United States Department of Justice
Updated January 30, 2025
Topic
Project Safe Neighborhoods