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New Orleans Man Pleads Guilty to Drug Trafficking Violations
A 29-year-old man from New Orleans has pleaded guilty to various drug trafficking violations, including discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime. Jarvis Hardy, 29, pleaded guilty to Counts One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Seven, and Eight of the Superseding Indictment.
The charges against Hardy include conspiring to distribute and to possess with the intent to distribute 280 grams or more of a mixture/substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine base, distribution of a quantity of cocaine base, discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and a drug trafficking crime, and possession with the intent to distribute twenty-eight grams or more of cocaine base.
The guilty plea followed a Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) investigation that revealed Hardy distributed crack cocaine virtually every day throughout the streets of New Orleans, beginning no later than January 2015 and continuing until his arrest. DEA made four separate controlled buys of ¼ and ½ ounce quantities of crack cocaine from Hardy over an approximate ten-month timespan.
In the early morning hours of January 26, 2016, a team of law enforcement officers, led by DEA, gathered to prepare for the execution of Hardy’s arrest warrant. DEA TFO Stephen Arnold and several other agents and task force officers knocked and announced their presence and intention to execute the search warrant at 5300 Douglas Street. As TFO Arnold led the team through the house, Hardy fired his Smith and Wesson Model SW40VE, .40 caliber pistol, serial number DVB4809, three times at Stephen Arnold from a few feet away, striking Arnold twice in the neck and arm.
Stephen C. Arnold, a Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Detective and a deputized Drug Enforcement Administration Task Force Officer, was completely incapacitated by the shooting and receives 24 hour care in an assisted facility. The prosecution has been handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Liz Privitera, David Haller, Theodore Carter, and Jay Quinlan.
This prosecution was the result of an intensive joint investigation conducted by Special Agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the New Orleans Police Department. The investigation revealed that Hardy had approximately 1 ½ ounces of crack cocaine, $985 in a safe in his bedroom, and instruments consistent with the conversion of cocaine hydrochloride to cocaine base, such as a crock pot.
The guilty plea is a significant blow to those involved in the drug trade in New Orleans. The prosecution and investigation into this case demonstrate the commitment of law enforcement agencies to keeping the streets safe from violent crime and drug trafficking.
Key Facts
- State: Louisiana
- Category: Violent Crime|Drug Trafficking
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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