Plaquemines Parish Men Plead Guilty to Fentanyl, Heroin and Cocaine Conspiracy

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – DWAN RILEY, age 37, and RODERICK PARKER, age 53, both Plaquemines Parish, residents, pleaded guilty on January 25, 2024, before U.S. District Judge Eldon E. Fallon, announced U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans. RILEY pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute quantities of fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(C), and 846. PARKER pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute quantities of fentanyl and heroin, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(C), and 846.

According to court documents, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents began investigating RILEY, PARKER, and others in October 2019 for narcotics distribution in the metro New Orleans area. The investigation revealed HERBERT RICHARDSON and RAY MARSHALL to be RILEY’s primary sources of supply for counterfeit oxycodone pills, which also contained heroin and fentanyl. On numerous occasions, RICHARDSON and MARSHALL supplied RILEY with 100 to 250 pills containing heroin and fentanyl. Further, MARSHALL regularly supplied RILEY with cocaine as well as supplying PARKER with 25 - 50 heroin and fentanyl pills. RILEY and PARKER would, in turn, distribute the narcotics to their own customers.

RILEY and PARKER each face up to twenty years imprisonment, a fine of up to $1,000,000, at least three years of supervised release following any term of imprisonment, and a $100 mandatory special assessment fee.

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

The Drug Enforcement Administration and Plaquemines Parish Sheriff’s Office led the investigation. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney J. Benjamin Myers of the Financial Crimes Unit.