BROUSSARD MAN SENTENCED TO 115 MONTHS IN MULTI-STATE VEHICLE THEFT, FIREARM TRAFFICKING, AND IDENTITY THEFT CONSPIRACY

United States Attorney Kurt L. Wall announced that U.S. District Judge Brian A. Jackson sentenced Christopher Don Byerley, age 45, of Broussard, Louisiana, to 115 months in federal prison following his convictions for conspiracy to transport a stolen motor vehicle; altering, removing and obliterating a vehicle identification number; possession of fifteen or more unauthorized access devices and possession of an unregistered silencer and being a prior convicted felon in possession of a firearm. The Court further sentenced Byerley to serve three years of supervised release following his term of imprisonment and ordered restitution in the amount of $127,000 to the victims, as well as forfeiture of the pistol and silencer.

According to admissions made as part of his guilty plea, between October 2021 and March 2022, Byerley and his co-conspirators, Robert Gregory Brazell, Adrienne Marie King, and Dennis Loyd Sizemore, carried out a coordinated and complex operation extending across Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Texas, in which the group stole, then used or sold the stolen and altered vehicles, including tractors, excavators, forklifts, and a pickup truck, with a total value of over $250,000.

The conspiracy involved tampering with Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) to disguise the identity of stolen property, use of a chop shop, fraudulent documentation, and false business fronts such as "Hevyquip L.L.C." to sell stolen equipment and unauthorized possession of over 400 identities and access devices to further conceal their criminal activities

During the investigation, it was determined that Byerley, a convicted felon, used a third party to illegally purchase a firearm, which was later fitted with the unregistered silencer.

In February 2022, an investigation of a shoplifting incident in the Juban Crossing Shopping Center led Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office detectives to uncover from a stolen pickup truck being operated by Byerley an unregistered firearm silencer, an FN Model 509 9mm pistol and ammunition; documentation detailing parts orders for silencers all in Byerley's handwriting; multiple text messages and photographs pointing to intent to traffic firearms and circumvent federal regulations; and numerous documents, records, emails, text messages and photos that led law enforcement to uncover the conspiracy and far-reaching criminal enterprise.

This matter was investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General, Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office, Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office, East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office, Saint Martin Parish Sheriff's Office, Saint Landry Parish Sheriff's Office, Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office, Iberia Sheriff's Department, and Lafayette Police Department.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Lyman E. Thornton III and M. Patricia Jones. To address the firearm trafficking charges, AUSA Thornton was appointed as a Special Assistant United States Attorney in the Western District of Louisiana, where he worked in conjunction with Assistant United States Attorney John Nickel.