NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - SEAN BRIGGS, a resident of New Orleans, was sentenced on Feb. 28, 2023 by U.S. District Court Judge Wendy B. Vitter to fifty-one (51) months of incarceration after pleading guilty as charged to a one-count indictment, announced United States Attorney Duane A. Evans. Judge Vitter ordered that BRIGGS be placed on supervised release for three (3) years following his release from imprisonment. BRIGGS was also ordered to pay a $100 mandatory special assessment fee.
Count 1 charged BRIGGS with possession with the intent to distribute controlled substances, including fentanyl, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(C), and 841(b)(1)(D).
According to court records, on May 4, 2022, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents were conducting surveillance near the intersection of Reverend John Raphael and Josephine Streets, in New Orleans, LA. Agents observed BRIGGS engaging in suspected hand-to-hand drug transactions. A New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) Real Time Crime Camera (RTCC) was also operational in the area and surveilled BRIGGS. The RTCC camera captured BRIGGS holding a bag of narcotics and dealing fentanyl to a passenger of a vehicle.
BRIGGS had previously plead guilty to possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime at the same intersection in 2018 and received an eighty (80) month federal sentence. BRIGGS was dealing drugs in 2022 only months after his release while under supervision by Federal Probation and Parole Agents.
As agents began driving towards BRIGGS, he noticed them and walked away briskly. Agents saw BRIGGS tuck a bag with a white substance under his arm and run. As agents approached BRIGGS, they saw him throw a baseball sized bag of drugs from his person.
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.
U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New Orleans Police Department in this matter. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mike Trummel of the Violent Crime Unit.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys