For over a decade and a half, a relentless stream of cocaine pulsed through St. Mary Parish, feeding addiction and fueling violence. At the heart of the operation, supplying the poison from Houston, stood Omar Mascorro, 42. On Thursday, the final chapter closed when U.S. District Judge Elizabeth E. Foote sentenced Mascorro to 96 months in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine. The sentence marks the end of a sprawling drug network that poisoned communities across south Louisiana from January 2000 to June 2015.
Mascorro, a resident of Houston, Texas, admitted in court to being the primary source of supply for Artey D. Foulcard, 39, of Franklin, La., who then distributed the drugs locally and across parish lines into Ascension Parish and Baton Rouge. The ring operated under the radar for years, moving narcotics through a web of middlemen, couriers, and street-level dealers. Authorities say the conspiracy was only dismantled through a targeted, multi-agency crackdown under Operation “Hater Hurterz,” an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) initiative designed to dismantle major trafficking cells.
The takedown didn’t stop with Mascorro. The investigation peeled back layer after layer of criminal activity, leading to the convictions of six co-conspirators. Barry Druilhet, 44, of Baldwin, La., was found guilty after a three-day trial ending August 2, 2017, on charges of conspiracy and use of a communication facility to facilitate drug trafficking. On December 21, 2017, he was sentenced to 240 months in prison and three years of supervised release.
Others quickly followed. Duanyell Williams, 43, of Franklin, La., pleaded guilty on June 19, 2017, and was sentenced to 55 months. Michael McDaniel, 44, of Missouri City, Texas, pleaded guilty April 25, 2017, and got 110 months. Cordell Johnson, 40, of Jeanerette, La., pleaded guilty June 26, 2017, and was sentenced to 120 months. Calvin Burrell, 50, of Franklin, also pleaded guilty April 25, 2017, and received 60 months. D’Arnold T. Deville, 49, of Bourg, La., was transferred to the Eastern District of Louisiana and pleaded guilty to conspiracy and additional charges.
Artey D. Foulcard, the central Louisiana distributor, had already faced justice. He pleaded guilty in January 2016 in the Western District of Louisiana to conspiracy to distribute a Schedule II controlled substance. The case was transferred to the Middle District in Baton Rouge, where on March 2, 2017, he was sentenced to 85 months in prison and five years of supervised release. Each sentence reflects the scale and duration of a criminal enterprise that corrupted trust and exploited vulnerable communities.
The FBI and Texas Department of Public Safety led the investigation under the OCDETF umbrella—the federal government’s premier weapon against large-scale drug operations. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert F. Moore and Kelly P. Uebinger prosecuted the case, ensuring that every link in the chain, from supplier to street dealer, faced federal consequences. U.S. Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook confirmed the sentencing, underscoring that even long-running conspiracies will eventually collapse under the weight of justice.
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Key Facts
- State: Louisiana
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Organized Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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