Terrebonne Man Sentenced for Trafficking Fentanyl and Firearms Violation

NEW ORLEANS, LA – United States District Judge Barry W. Ashe sentenced JOSHUA PICOU, age 30, of Houma, Louisiana, to 78 months imprisonment for violating the Federal Gun Control and Federal Controlled Substances Acts, announced United States Attorney Duane A. Evans.

According to court documents, PICOU distributed a substance containing fentanyl and cocaine on May 27, June 2, and June 22, 2021.  Later, on June 24, 2021, he  possessed  forty (40) grams or more of fentanyl, twenty-eight (28) grams or more of cocaine base, and a quantity of cocaine, with the intent to distribute those  substances.  On that same date, he was in possession of two firearms, a Glock Model 17 handgun and a Springfield Armory Model XDM-9, which he was prohibited from possessing due to his criminal history.

Judge Ashe sentenced PICOU to 78 months on each of the five counts to which he pleaded guilty, with the time to run concurrently, to be followed by four years of supervised release.  PICOU was also ordered to pay a mandatory special assessment fee of $100 per count for a total of $500.

U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of the Homeland Securities Investigations and the Terrebonne Parish Sherriff’s Office in investigating this matter.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David Haller of the Violent Crime Unit.