Sanchez Latson Sentenced in Cocaine Pipeline Case

Sanchez Latson, 41, of Shreveport, is headed to federal prison for his role in a cross-state cocaine distribution ring that funneled drugs from Dallas to northern Louisiana. Last Monday, U.S. District Judge Elizabeth E. Foote handed down an 80-month sentence for one count of conspiracy to distribute powder cocaine, sealing Latson’s fate as the final defendant sentenced in the sprawling case.

Latson, who admitted to conspiring with a network of traffickers between April 2015 and November 2015, helped coordinate the purchase and transport of cocaine from Texas to Shreveport. Wiretaps and surveillance caught the crew discussing shipments, sales, and logistics, painting a picture of a tightly run, mobile drug pipeline. He was also sentenced to three years of supervised release following his prison term.

He is the last of six defendants to face justice. Keimond De Andri Graham, 33, of Arlington, Texas, was sentenced on August 11, 2016, to 70 months in prison and four years of supervised release for one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine.

Jermaine Cassie Steadman, 31, of Shreveport, got 62 months plus three years supervised release for conspiracy and distribution of powder cocaine. Alonzo B. Morris, 37, of Shreveport, was handed 42 months and three years supervised release on identical charges. Ravion Delshon Shelley, 38, of Shreveport, received 80 months and three years supervised release for conspiracy to distribute.

The only outlier in sentencing was Cedric Ray Alford, 25, of Shreveport, who was sentenced on August 11, 2016, to just eight months in prison and three years of supervised release for one count of conspiracy to distribute powder cocaine—suggesting a cooperating role or lesser involvement.

The takedown was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation, with the DEA, Louisiana State Police, and Smith County Texas Sheriff’s Office leading the charge. Assistant U.S. Attorney Allison D. Bushnell prosecuted the case, dismantling a regional network feeding the opioid and stimulant crisis from the shadows. The OCDETF program remains the federal government’s sharpest weapon against entrenched drug syndicates.