Kendall Lewis Pleads Guilty in Gulf Coast Cocaine Ring

Kendall Lewis, 27, of Lecanto, Florida, is the final domino to fall in a Gulf Coast drug trafficking ring that moved multi-kilo shipments of cocaine from Houston to Florida — until federal agents shut it down in Baton Rouge. On January 6, 2017, Lewis pleaded guilty before Chief U.S. District Judge Brian A. Jackson to conspiring to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine, a violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 846. He was immediately remanded into custody and is set for sentencing on April 20, 2017, at 9:30 a.m.

According to court records and his plea agreement, Lewis orchestrated a series of drug runs beginning in early 2015, traveling with co-conspirators to Houston, Texas, where they obtained distribution-level quantities of cocaine. On each trip, female accomplices drove the narcotics-laden vehicles back to Florida, while Lewis and others tailed them — a calculated effort to evade detection. The operation unraveled on February 9, 2015, when the group was arrested while driving through Baton Rouge, found in possession of more than 4 kilograms of cocaine.

Lewis’s conviction seals the fate of an organized trafficking scheme that spanned state lines and relied on compartmentalized roles to move large-scale shipments. His guilty plea follows the prior convictions of four co-defendants: Kareem McKinnon, 25, of Crystal River, Florida, convicted on August 4, 2016, after a multi-day jury trial on the same conspiracy charge; Arthur William Armstrong, 34, also of Crystal River, who pled guilty on October 21, 2015; Lamechia Richburg, 22, of Crystal River, who entered a guilty plea on December 2, 2015; and Shelby Collazo, 21, of Beverly Hills, Florida, who admitted guilt on December 4, 2015 — all to conspiring to possess with intent to distribute cocaine.

U.S. Attorney Walt Green made it clear: the takedown of this ring was no accident. “These five convictions should serve as a strong reminder of this office’s commitment to pursuing those who transport and distribute cocaine and other dangerous drugs on our streets,” Green said. He credited the DEA, Baton Rouge Police Department (BRPD), and Louisiana State Police (LSP) for their relentless work dismantling the operation and emphasized the broader mission of keeping narcotics out of communities.

Brad L. Byerley, DEA Assistant Special Agent-in-Charge, echoed that resolve. “These convictions signify that law enforcement will not tolerate drug dealing in our communities,” Byerley stated. “The DEA and our law enforcement partners are committed to identifying every individual within a drug trafficking organization who is responsible for purveying our city with illegal narcotics.” The investigation underscored the agency’s strategy of targeting entire networks, not just street-level dealers.

The case was investigated by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, with critical support from the Baton Rouge Police Department and the Louisiana State Police. Assistant United States Attorneys Adam Ptashkin and Robert Piedrahita are handling the prosecution. With all five members now convicted, the Gulf Coast pipeline that funneled cocaine through Louisiana has been severed — for now.