California Man Sentenced to Decades for Heroin Smuggling

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – A 52-year-old California man, Al Vernon Brown, has been sentenced to decades in prison for his role in a heroin trafficking operation that spanned from the Golden State to the Big Easy.

Brown pleaded guilty on May 8, 2024, before U.S. District Judge Mary Ann Vial Lemmon to two counts of heroin trafficking charges. According to court documents, Brown mailed half-kilogram quantities of heroin from California to his co-conspirators in New Orleans, including Christopher Johnson and Kevin Johnson.

On June 22, 2021, agents seized a package containing 485 grams of heroin that was mailed by Brown to Metairie, Louisiana, and was intended for Kevin Johnson.

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation New Orleans Gang Task Force, with the assistance of the New Orleans Police Department, Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, and Gretna Major Crimes Task Force, led the investigation. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney J. Benjamin Myers of the Financial Crimes Unit.

Brown faces a statutory mandatory minimum sentence of five years, up to forty years imprisonment, a fine of up to $5,000,000, at least four years of supervised release following any term of imprisonment, and a $100 mandatory special assessment fee.

The guilty plea marks a significant blow to the heroin trafficking operation, which had been bringing large quantities of the deadly drug into New Orleans. The case serves as a reminder of the devastating impact of heroin trafficking on our communities and the importance of law enforcement’s efforts to combat it.