NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA -RALPH PRICE ("PRICE"), age 29, was sentenced on October 8, 2026 by U.S. District Judge Carl J. Barbier to 15 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release, along with a $300 mandatory special assessment fee, after previously pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, Suboxone, and marijuana, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(C), 841(b)(1)(D), and 841(b)(1)(E); possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A)(i); and possession of a machinegun, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(o) and 924(a)(2), announced United States Attorney David I. Courcelle.

According to court documents, since at least 2024, PRICE was selling drugs in the New Orleans area. On March 13, 2025, law enforcement officers executed search warrants on PRICE's vehicle and an apartment where PRICE was staying. Officers found Suboxone strips inside PRICE's vehicle and marijuana and methamphetamine inside the apartment. Near the drugs in the apartment, officers also recovered a Glock Model 19, nine-millimeter caliber pistol equipped with a loaded extended magazine and a machinegun conversion device. The machinegun conversion device transformed PRICE's semi-automatic handgun into a fully-automatic machinegun.

Casings from PRICE's machinegun were a ballistic match to casings recovered from a shooting at a gas station on Crowder Boulevard one week earlier. Surveillance footage of the shooting shows PRICE walk towards a man standing near a vehicle, confront the man, and then fire at him several times while retreating across the parking lot.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New Orleans Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney David Berman of the Violent Crime Unit is in charge of the prosecution.

Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is the Department of Justice's nationwide initiative that brings federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement, prosecutors, and other public safety partners together to coordinate efforts to combat violent crime and make communities safe. Coordinated by U.S. Attorneys' offices in each of the 94 federal districts, PSN is tailored to particular communities to strategically address specific violent crime and public safety challenges. As a key component of Operation Take Back America, PSN serves a central role in the Department's commitment to make our country safe. PSN emphasizes three core principles: rapid federal response to violent crime and criminal offenders; strong, strategic partnerships among law enforcement at all levels; and accountability and deterrence through the prosecution of the most serious, readily provable offenses and other strategies. These efforts complement and strengthen President Trump's Homeland Security Task Forces, ensuring a comprehensive federal response to the most pressing public safety issues facing communities.

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