Orleans Parish Resident Guilty of Maintaining Residence for Fentanyl Distribution

NEW ORLEANS, LA - RONALD KELLUP, ("KELLUP"), age 77, of New Orleans, pled guilty on March 12, 2026, before U.S. District Judge Carl J. Barbier to Maintaining a Drug Involved Premises, in violation of Title 21 U.S.C. §§ 856, announced Attorney David I. Courcelle.

At the sentencing, scheduled for June 18, 2026, he faces up to twenty years imprisonment, up to a $250,000 fine, up to three years of supervised release, and a $100 mandatory special assessment fee.

According to the indictment, beginning on a time unknown but continuing until at least May 8, 2024, KELLUP and other individuals maintained three residences in the Algiers neighborhood of New Orleans for the purpose of packaging and distributing narcotics, including fentanyl. Several of these individuals furthered this drug trafficking conspiracy by possessing firearms.

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.

United States Attorney Courcelle praised the work of the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Louisiana State Police, and the New Orleans Police Department. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Stuart Theriot of the Narcotics Unit.