New Orleans Man Pleads Guilty to Hobbs Act Robbery Charges

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that on October 27, 2023, COREY LEWIS, a/k/a “Co,” pled guilty to robbery in Counts 1, 2, and 3 of the superseding bill of information pending against him before U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo.

Count 1 charged LEWIS with  conspiring to interfere with commerce through robbery, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1951.  Count 2 charged LEWIS with  Hobbs Act Robbery, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1951.  Count 3 charged LEWIS with possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 924(c)(1)(A)(i) and 2.

As to Counts 1 and 2, LEWIS faces up to 20 years in prison, a fine of  up to $250,000.00, and up to three years of supervised release.  As to Count 3, LEWIS faces a mandatory minimum term of five years imprisonment up to life in prison, a fine of up to $250,000.00, and up to five years of supervised release. Count 3 must be served consecutively to any other sentence. LEWIS also faces a $100 mandatory special assessment fee for each count.  His sentencing is scheduled for February 21, 2024.

According to public documents, in 2019, the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated a group for committing various violent crimes and illegal drug trafficking, primarily in New Orleans East and the Ninth Ward section of New Orleans.  Thereafter, LEWIS, along with nine others, were indicted, for conspiring to possess firearms, traffic drugs and commit armed robberies of drug dealers.  LEWIS’s charges specifically stemmed from his participation in the robbery of a drug dealer’s home on September 25, 2019, in St. Bernard Parish. 

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 Federal Bureau of Investigation, the New Orleans Police Department, and the St. Bernard Sheriff’s Office.  Assistant United States Attorneys Maurice Landrieu of the Narcotics Unit and Elizabeth Privitera, Chief of the Violent Crime Unit, are in charge of the prosecution.