Department of Justice

MONROE, La. - United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced that an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Operation dubbed “Operation Kutt Off” has resulted in the conviction of nine individuals, either by a plea of guilty or conviction at trial, for their involvement in drug trafficking in the Western District of Louisiana. Eight of the defendants have been sentenced by United States District Judge Terry A. Doughty. Those defendants and their sentences are as follows:

DeLewis Johnson, IV, 46, of West Covina, California, was convicted at trial of conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and distribution of methamphetamine and was sentenced to 405 months (33 years, 9 months) in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release.

Roy Lee Jones, Jr., 46, of Grambling, Louisiana, was convicted at trial of conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and was sentenced to 210 months (16 years, 6 months) in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release.

Willie Todd Harris, Jr., 47, of Ruston, Louisiana, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and was sentenced to 228 months (19 years) in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release.

Justin Randall Goss, 31, of Quitman, Louisiana, pleaded guilty to distribution of methamphetamine and was sentenced to 216 months (18 years) in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release.

Curavious Omarion Deshun Harrell, 30, of Jonesboro, Louisiana, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and was sentenced to 104 months (8 years, 8 months) in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release.

Rodney Ceasar, 53, of Jonesboro, Louisiana, pleaded guilty to maintaining a drug premises and was sentenced to 60 months (5 years) in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release.

Adriene Denise Ceasar, 57, of Jonesboro, Louisiana, pleaded guilty to maintaining a drug premises and was sentenced to 46 months in prison, followed by 1 year of supervised release.

Meshach Demontez Conley, 31, of Jonesboro, Louisiana, pleaded guilty to distribution of methamphetamine and was sentenced to 38 months in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release.

These defendants conspired together to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine in Winn Parish and Jackson Parish, Louisiana. In April 2019, agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) began investigating the illegal drug trafficking activities in this area and were able to obtain approval to wiretap the phones of Harris and Jones. Through their investigation, agents learned that Johnson, who lived in California, would obtain bulk quantities of methamphetamine from Mexican suppliers and would then send those drugs to Jones and Harris.  Harris would then distribute the methamphetamine to other individuals to sell and distribute, including Goss and Harrell.  Law enforcement officers conducted undercover purchases of methamphetamine from Johnson, Harris, Goss, and Harrell. The purchased narcotics were sent to the crime lab and analyzed and determined to in fact be methamphetamine. Agents were also able to intercept phone calls between Johnson, Jones and other co-conspirators wherein they communicated about the selling and purchasing of methamphetamine.

Rodney Ceasar and his wife, Adriene, stored distribution quantities of the methamphetamine for Harris at their home in Jonesboro.  Agents were able to intercept phone calls wherein Harris and both Ceasars discussed distributing or selling the narcotics.

In addition, on December 17, 2019, agents intercepted phone calls wherein Johnson discussed shipping a package containing one pound of methamphetamine via overnight mail. Johnson instructed the individual to wire money to him in exchange for the drugs but in another person’s name. Undercover agents sent the money via Western Union as instructed. After receiving payment, Johnson sent a text message containing the shipping information. On December 19, 2019, agents with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service located the package at a facility in Shreveport and executed a search warrant on the package. Inside was approximately one pound of methamphetamine.

Chadreck Carter, 34, of Jonesboro, Louisiana, pleaded guilty to distribution of methamphetamine and will be sentenced by United States District Judge Dee D. Drell at a later date.

This case was investigated by the FBI, ATF, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Louisiana State Police, Jackson Parish Sheriff's Office, Winn Parish Sheriff’s Office, Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office, Alexandria Police Department, and LPNet. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cytheria D. Jernigan and Jessica D. Cassidy prosecuted the case. 

OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

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