Six People Indicted for Drug, Firearms, and Robbery Crimes Related to Robbery of Undercover ATF Agent

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – MICHAEL LOTT, DIANTA TROPEZ, VERNELL WOODARD, QUINDELE ADDISON, SHEENA RUDOLPH, and CORIS ADDISON, all of New Orleans, Louisiana, were charged in an eleven-count superseding indictment by a federal grand jury on September 22, 2023, announced U.S. Attorney Duane Evans. 

According to the superseding indictment, DIANTA TROPEZ, VERNELL WOODARD, QUINDELE ADDISON, SHEENA RUDOLPH, and CORIS ADDISON conspired to and, in fact, distributed methamphetamine to an undercover Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) agent and another individual on August 29, 2023 at a Westbank, New Orleans apartment. 

After this methamphetamine distribution deal was completed, VERNELL WOODARD arranged to sell an ounce of fentanyl to the undercover ATF agent on the following day.  When the undercover ATF agent and the other individual arrived at the apartment complex the next day, WOODARD called and told them to come up to the same apartment.  As they were coming upstairs, MICHAEL LOTT, armed with an AR-15 style weapon hid in an interior closet inside the apartment.  Once the undercover ATF agent and the other individual were in the apartment, DIANTA TROPEZ arrived.  TROPEZ entered the apartment, took a Glock pistol from the front pouch of his hoodie, and pointed the pistol at the undercover ATF agent and the other individual, demanding that they get down and hand over their possessions.  Simultaneously, MICHAEL LOTT emerged from the closet and pointed the AR-15 style weapon at them, also  , demanding that they turn over their possessions.

As a result of this criminal conduct, MICHAEL LOTT, DIANTA TROPEZ, VERNELL WOODARD, QUINDELE ADDISON, SHEENA RUDOLPH, and CORIS ADDISON are charged in an eleven-count superseding indictment. 

Count One charges DIANTA TROPEZ, VERNELL WOODARD, QUINDELE ADDISON, SHEENA RUDOLPH, and CORIS ADDISON with conspiring to distribute and to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine.  Count Two charges DIANTA TROPEZ, VERNELL WOODARD, and QUINDELE ADDISON with distributing more than five grams of pure methamphetamine.  The penalties for Counts One and Two are at least five years and up to forty years in prison, a fine of up to $5,000,000, and at least four years of supervised release.

Count Three charges MICHAEL LOTT, DIANTA TROPEZ, and VERNELL WOODARD with conspiring to rob a person of money belonging to the United States.  Count Four charges MICHAEL LOTT, DIANTA TROPEZ, and VERNELL WOODARD with a substantive count of armed robbery of a person of money belonging to the United States.  Count Five charges MICHAEL LOTT, DIANTA TROPEZ, and VERNELL WOODARD with brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, namely the armed robbery charged in Count Four.  Count Six charges MICHAEL LOTT, DIANTA TROPEZ, and VERNELL WOODARD with assaulting an officer of the United States with a deadly weapon. 

The penalties for these robbery-related counts are as follows.  For the conspiracy in Count Three, a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and up to three years of supervised release.  For the robbery in Count Four, a penalty of up to twenty-five years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and up to three years of supervised release.  As to the brandishing a firearm charge in Count Five, a mandatory minimum of at least seven years up to life in prison that must run consecutive to every other term of imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000, and up to five years of supervised release.  For the assault on a federal officer charged in Count Six, up to twenty years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and up to three years of supervised release.

Counts Seven, Eight, and Nine charged MICHAEL LOTT, DIANTA TROPEZ, and QUINDELE ADDISON, respectively, with being felons in possession of firearms.  The penalty for each defendant is up to fifteen years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and up to three years of supervised release.  Count Ten charges QUINDELE ADDISON with possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, namely the conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine charged in Count One.  The penalty for that crime is a mandatory minimum of at least five years up to life in prison that must run consecutive to every other term of imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000, and up to five years of supervised release.  Finally, QUINDELE ADDISON and VERNELL WOODARD are charged in Count Eleven with maintaining a drug involved premises, which is punishable by up to twenty years in prison, a fine of up to $500,000, and up to three years of supervised release.  Each count also requires payment of a mandatory special assessment fee of $100.

U.S. Attorney Evans reiterated that the superseding indictment is merely a charging document and that the guilt of the defendants must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

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 investigation giving rise to the superseding indictment was conducted primarily by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, with assistance from the Louisiana State Police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the New Orleans Police Department and Crimestoppers GNO.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys David Haller of the Violent Crime Unit and Nolan Paige, Chief of the Narcotics Unit.