Last defendant in St. Mary Parish cocaine conspiracy sentenced to 8 years in prison

LAFAYETTE, La. – United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that a Houston man was sentenced Thursday to 96 months in prison for his role in a cocaine distribution conspiracy operated in St. Mary Parish.

Omar Mascorro, 42, of Houston, Texas, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Elizabeth E. Foote on one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine.  He was also sentenced to five years of supervised release. According to the guilty plea, Mascorro was the source of the cocaine provided to Artey D. Foulcard, 39, of Franklin, La., who then provided to others to distribute. The drugs were distributed in St. Mary Parish, Ascension Parish and Baton Rouge from January 2000 to June 2015.

The other members of the conspiracy are:

Barry Druilhet, 44, of Baldwin, La., was found guilty after a three-day trial that ended on August 2, 2017 of  conspiracy and use of a communication facility in facilitating a drug trafficking crime.  He was sentenced on December 21, 2017 to 240 months in prison and three years of supervised release.

Duanyell Williams, 43, of Franklin, La., pleaded guilty on June 19, 2017 to conspiracy, and he was sentenced on December 15, 2017 to 55 months in prison and three years of supervised release.

Michael McDaniel, 44, of Missouri City, Texas, pleaded guilty to conspiracy on April 25, 2017, and he was sentenced on October 19, 2017 to 110 months in prison and five years of supervised release.

Cordell Johnson, 40, of Jeanerette, La., pleaded guilty on June 26, 2017 to conspiracy, and he was sentenced on October 19, 2017 to 120 months in prison and five years of supervised release.

Calvin Burrell, 50, of Franklin, pleaded guilty on April 25, 2017 to conspiracy, and he was sentenced on October 19, 2017 to 60 months in prison and three years of supervised release.

D’Arnold T. Deville, 49, of Bourg, La., was transferred to the Eastern District of Louisiana in New Orleans on July 12, 2017 where he pleaded guilty to conspiracy and additional charges.

Foulcard previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute a Schedule II controlled dangerous substance in a bill of information in January 2016 in the Western District of Louisiana. The case was transferred to the Middle District of Louisiana in Baton Rouge in February 2016, and he was sentenced on March 2, 2017 to 85 months in prison and five years of supervised release.

The defendants were arrested as part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Operation named “Hater Hurterz.” The FBI and the Texas Department of Public Safety conducted the investigation. The OCDETF program is a joint federal, state and local cooperative approach to combat drug trafficking and is the nation’s primary tool for disrupting and dismantling major drug trafficking organizations, targeting national and regional level drug trafficking organizations, and coordinating the necessary law enforcement entities and resources to disrupt or dismantle the targeted criminal organization and seize their assets.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert F. Moore and Kelly P. Uebinger prosecuted the case.