New Orleans Man Sentenced for Distributing Fentanyl and Illegally Possessing a Firearm

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA –KENTRELL HUBBARD (“HUBBARD”), age 25, of New Orleans, was sentenced on August 22, 2024 by U.S. District Judge Wendy B. Vitter to 70 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, and a $200 mandatory special assessment fee, after previously pleading guilty to distributing fentanyl, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(C) and, to being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(8).

According to court documents, on June 9, 2023, a confidential informant for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, purchased fentanyl from HUBBARD after meeting him near a supermarket that was a known hotspot for drug trafficking in the Iberville housing project.  The next week, special agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation saw HUBBARD with a handgun as they were executing an unrelated search warrant.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.  Assistant United States Attorney David Berman of the Violent Crime Unit is in charge of the prosecution.