A St. Bernard Parish man has been handed down a federal sentence for gun and drug offenses, marking a continuation of the district's enforcement against violent crimes. Abe Jyles, 44, was sentenced to over a decade in prison following a guilty plea entered earlier this year. According to a U.S. Justice Department release, Jyles pled guilty on February 4 to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, possession with intent to distribute various illegal drugs, and being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.
Last tuesday, U.S. District Judge Wendy Vitter laid down the sentence - 130 months of imprisonment, five years of supervised release, and a mandatory special assessment fee of $300. Jyles, who was already under federal supervised release from a 2006 conviction, saw that release revoked by Judge Jay Zainey. Jyles was subsequently sentenced to an additional 27 months to run consecutive to Judge Vitter's sentence.
The charges stem from an incident in February 2024 when St. Bernard Sheriff’s deputies conducted a traffic stop where Jyles was found to be the driver and sole occupant. The search that followed revealed multiple illegal narcotics, a scale, drug paraphernalia, and four firearms, prompting the federal charges. This case falls under the auspices of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program established to curb violent crime through collaboration among all levels of law enforcement and community organizations.
Project Safe Neighborhoods, revitalized in 2021 with a focus on fostering trust in communities, is part of a coordinated attempt to strategically reduce violent crime rates. The case against Jyles was investigated jointly by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office, as noted by an assistant U.S. Attorney, Maurice E. Landrieu, Jr., who handled the prosecution.
