Two LaPlace-Area Men Plead Guilty to Federal Drug Charges

NEW ORLEANS—CLIFTON MATTHEW NICHOLSON, age 23, and JARVIS QUINN JACKSON, age 50, both from the LaPlace, Louisiana area, pleaded guilty before United States District Court Judge Lance M. Africk, to violations of the Federal Controlled Substances Act involving conspiracy to distribute and to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine hydrochloride, announced U.S. Attorney Jim Letten.

According to court documents, on or about March 31, 2010, NICHOLSON and JACKSON conspired with co-defendant DERRICK JOHNSON, who has already pleaded guilty, to retrieve a kilogram of cocaine hydrochloride from a hidden location in Lacombe, Louisiana. Unbeknownst to them, a confidential source had tipped off law enforcement authorities to the plan and both men were arrested shortly after taking possession of the kilogram of cocaine. NICHOLSON and JACKSON plead guilty to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine hydrochloride, pursuant to a plea agreement.

Sentencing is scheduled for November 17, 2011, and each defendant faces a maximum sentence of 40 years, a maximum fine of $5,000,000, and a minimum term of four years of supervised release.

This investigation was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Edward J. Rivera.