Lafourche Parish Resident Sentenced for Furthering a Drug Trafficking Conspiracy

NEW ORLEANS, LA - First Assistant United States Attorney Michael M. Simpson announced today that MICHAEL LEWIS, ("LEWIS"), age 44, of Thibodaux, Louisiana was sentenced on September 3, 2026 to 48 months imprisonment, followed by 12 months of supervised release, by U.S. District Judge Brandon Long after previously pleading guilty to illegal use of communications facility to further a drug trafficking crime, in violation of Title 21, U.S.C. §843(b) and Title 18, U.S.C. §2.

According to the court documents, beginning at a time unknown, but continuing until at least June 5, 2024, LEWIS conspired with other individuals, mainly Linez Green and John Paul Gage Jr., to distribute, and possess with intent to distribute, methamphetamine throughout the Lafourche and Terrebonne Parish region of the Eastern District of Louisiana. The conspiracy involved obtaining narcotics from Houston, Texas and transporting the narcotics to Thibodaux, Louisiana. The conspiracy was carried out through wire and electronic communications, and the use of multiple vehicles. On multiple occasions, LEWIS used his cell phone to further this conspiracy, and helped others distribute methamphetamine to numerous customers in Thibodaux. Both Green and Gage Jr. have also previously pled guilty in this case.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Simpson praised the work of the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Louisiana State Police, the Thibodaux Police Department, the Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office, and the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff's Office. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Stuart Theriot of the Violent Crimes Unit.

This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF New Orleans comprises agents and officers from the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Bureau of Investigations, Drug Enforcement Administration and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

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