A New Orleans man has been given a 24-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to distributing fentanyl, as confirmed by the U.S. Department of Justice. The sentencing, carried out by U.S. District Judge Barry W. Ashe last Thursday, also included three years of supervised release for 27-year-old Charvan Morris, along with a payment of a $200 mandatory special assessment fee.
Documents from the court reveal that, in February 2024, Morris was involved in three drug transactions, selling over nine ounces of fentanyl to an undercover informant working with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). These exchanges took place at a motel situated on Airline Highway. During one of those sales, Morris conducted the deal from the driver's seat of a vehicle, while an armed front seat passenger brandished an AR-style pistol, as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
The conviction is part of the larger Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) initiative, a collaborative effort focused on reducing violent crime and gun violence, enhancing safety in communities across the nation. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2021, anchoring it on principles of fostering trust within communities, backing organizations that work to prevent violence, setting strategic enforcement priorities, and maintaining a measurement system for results.
Enforcement actions leading up to the sentencing were carried out by the ATF, with Assistant United States Attorney David Berman of the Violent Crime Unit in charge of the prosecution. The effectiveness of PSN and its strategies is seen in cases such as Morris's, where multi-level law enforcement cooperation and community engagement are essential to tackling the issue of violent crime and drug distribution.
