New Orleans Man Sentenced to Ten Years in Prison in St. Charles Parish-Based Narcotics Conspiracy

U.S. Attorney Peter G. Strasser announces the sentencing on Wednesday, October 24, 2018 of KIRK BALLARD, age 37, of New Orleans, by U.S. District Judge Mary Ann Vial Lemmon.

According to court documents, BALLARD was a member of a narcotics distribution conspiracy based in St. Charles Parish that sold narcotics in St. Charles, St. John the Baptist, and other parishes near New Orleans.  On August 23, 2015, BALLARD was pulled over by a Louisiana State Police (LSP) trooper for a traffic violation while travelling east on Interstate 10 in St. John the Baptist Parish.  BALLARD said that he was returning home to New Orleans from Houston.  An LSP K-9 positively alerted to the presence of narcotics in BALLARD’s car.  Officers then searched the vehicle and found 9.8 pounds of marijuana (approximately 4.45 kilograms) and 1,956 tablets of methamphetamine (weighing approximately 473 grams).

BALLARD previously pleaded guilty to two counts of the Second Superseding Indictment: conspiracy to distribute marijuana and possession with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.  Judge Lemmon sentenced BALLARD to a total of 10 years in prison.  He also was sentenced to eight years of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Strasser praised the conviction as the product of a coordinated effort between federal and state law enforcement authorities within the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Gulf Coast High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Program.  The DEA’s HIDTA Group #11, operating out of the New Orleans Field Division, includes members of the Louisiana State Police, Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, and other local agencies.

The prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew R. Payne, Brittany L. Reed, and David Howard Sinkman.  Also assisting in the prosecution is Special Assistant United States Attorney Andre Gaudin, who is assigned from the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office to the DEA HIDTA Group.