By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – A LaPlace man was sentenced in federal court last week to 10 years in prison for multiple drug and weapons charges stemming from a 2010 arrest by undercover narcotics agents.

Deshon Signal, 34, was recently found guilty of distribution of crack cocaine, felon-in-possession of a firearm, and possession of firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, according to a release from U.S. Attorney Jim Letten. U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier imposed the sentence at federal court in New Orleans Thursday.

According to court documents, Signal was arrested Jan. 11, 2010, after Dug Enforcement Administration agents made multiple undercover purchases of crack cocaine from him.

Following his arrest, DEA agents obtained a search warrant for an apartment that Signal maintained in Metairie, where a .45-caliber revolver, a semiautomatic machine pistol and additional crack cocaine were recovered. Having been previously convicted of a felony in 1996, Signal was prohibited from possessing or owning any firearms.

In addition to the prison term, Barbier imposed five years of supervised release following the term of imprisonment, during which time the defendant will be under federal supervision and risks an additional term of imprisonment should he violate any terms of his supervised release.