Slidell Resident Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Distribute Heroin, Cocaine, And Crack Drugs After Heroin Found in a Safe Being Moved from His Stash House
Published 8:31 am Friday, November 5, 2021
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NEW ORLEANS, LA – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced today that KENDRICK DEMOURELLE, age 40, a resident of Slidell, Louisiana, pled guilty on November 2, 2021 to conspiring to distribute a kilogram or more of heroin, five kilograms or more of cocaine, and 280 grams or more of crack cocaine. DEMOURELLE is facing a mandatory minimum of ten years and up to life in prison, a fine of up to $10,000,000, at least five (5) years of supervised release upon his release from prison, and a $100 mandatory special assessment fee for each drug offense, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(A), and 846.
According to court records, DEMOURELLE and four others, Joseph Brown, Lionel Cooley, Blake Monroe, and Kevin Gray, conspired to sell illegal narcotics in New Orleans. A portable safe being moved from DEMOURELLE’s stash house during a court-approved search contained nearly one kilogram of heroin. A repossessed GMC Sierra pickup truck used by Cooley contained nearly two kilograms of cocaine and 430 grams of crack. More than 400 grams of heroin, 125 grams of cocaine, a kilo press, and other drug paraphernalia were seized in Gray’s home in Chalmette, Louisiana, during a court-authorized search.
The evidence against DEMOURELLE includes the seizure of more than $50,000 and firearms found in his Denali truck after he sold two kilograms of cocaine to Cooley.
U.S. District Judge Wendy Vitter will sentence DEMOURELLE on February 15, 2022. DEMOURELLE, Brown, Cooley, Gray, and Monroe were charged in February 2020 with conspiring to distribute cocaine, crack, and heroin in the New Orleans area. All five had pled guilty to drug offenses.
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.
U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, Hammond Police Department, New Orleans Police Department, and Slidell Police Department in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney David Howard Sinkman is in charge of the prosecution.
