New Orleans Woman Sentenced for Violation of Federal Drug Control Act

NEW ORLEANS, LA – TONI JONES, age 33, of New Orleans, Louisiana, was sentenced on May 25, 2023, to time served (15 months imprisonment) by U.S. District Judge Carl J. Barbier for possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl, cocaine base, and methamphetamine, a violation of the Federal Controlled Substances Act, Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(C), announced United States Attorney Duane A. Evans.  JONES was additionally ordered to serve a three (3) year term of supervised release and to pay a $100 special assessment fee.

According to previously filed court documents, JONES was arrested on February 10, 2022 at the intersection of North Claiborne Avenue and Tupelo Street in the lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans, Louisiana after she had been observed conducting hand-to-hand drug transactions.  At the time of her arrest, JONES was in possession of controlled substances packaged for distribution. 

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.  It is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Rayburn of the Violent Crimes Unit.

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