COVINGTON—District Attorney Warren Montgomery announced Thursday (Oct.13) one of the biggest racketeering cases in the parish’s history, the indictment of 20 people who were members or affiliates of a drug trafficking organization, called Team We. The organization distributed primarily heroin and methamphetamine throughout the eastern side of the parish.
The 45-count indictment (38 felony counts and seven misdemeanors) charges 17 of the defendants with racketeering and includes an array of drug and other charges. Sixteen of the defendants are in police custody, including three of whom are in jails outside St. Tammany and one in federal custody. Four of the defendants are still at large.
The arrests and indictments were the result of a multi-agency investigation by the FBI, St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office, Slidell Police Department, Pearl River Police Department, and District Attorney’s Office.
“This investigation is a great example of federal and local law enforcement agencies working together to address the serious heroin and methamphetamine problem in our community,” Montgomery said. “My administration is taking a proactive approach, assisting in the investigation and moving quickly to indict individuals who have made a career out of crime.”
Montgomery thanked his Criminal Division Chief Collin Sims, Assistant District Attorney Jerry Smith, and Investigators Patrick Matthews and Jerry McDowell for their work on the case, as well as the FBI, St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Randy Smith, Smith’s Chief Deputy Fred Oswald, St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office Detective Bill Johnson, Slidell Police Chief E.J. Howard, and Pearl River Police Chief Johnny “J.J.” Jennings for the time and resources they committed to the investigation.
According to the indictment, Team We was a major transporter of primarily heroin and methamphetamine from New Orleans and elsewhere to St. Tammany from at least June 1, 2015, through Sept. 1, 2016. Several members of the organization were known to carry firearms, and at times they engaged in threatening and executing acts of violence.
Among the charges in the indictment are attempted second-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon against Randy Lee Lail, 35, of Pearl River, who is accused of shooting a fellow member of the organization. Lail allegedly shot fellow defendant Destiny Michelle Dill, 23, of Slidell, in the face May 17, as she sat in the passenger seat of a parked car in Pearl River.
Lail is described in the indictment as a mid- to lower level distributor of heroin and methamphetamine. In addition to the charges related to the shooting, he is charged with racketeering, conspiracy to distribute heroin, and conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Dill, a low level distributor of methamphetamine, heroin, and marijuana, dated several members of the organization and brokered drug deals, according to the indictment. She is charged with racketeering, conspiracy to distribute heroin, conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, and two counts of distribution of methamphetamine.
Two additional defendants, Timothy James Polk, 33, of Pearl River, and Marilyn Elizabeth McDonald, 40, of Slidell, were indicted on charges of accessory after the fact to attempted second degree murder in connection with the shooting. Lail was arrested the day after the shooting at a Pearl River home where Polk and McDonald were staying. Neither Polk nor McDonald was charged with racketeering.
Another defendant, John Louis Blackledge, Jr., 29, of Pearl River, was indicted for an incident on March 24 on charges of aggravated assault on a peace officer with a motor vehicle, five counts of resisting an officer with force or violence, aggravated flight from an officer, operating a vehicle while license is suspended/revoked/canceled, and operating a vehicle while intoxicated (first offense). Blackledge is described in the indictment as a mid- to lower level distributor of heroin and methamphetamine and is also charged with racketeering, conspiracy to distribute heroin, and conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
The additional defendants, their alleged roles, and the charges are as follows:
• Andrew Scott Barron, 27, of Slidell, a mid- to lower level distributor of heroin and methamphetamine, who routinely acquired methamphetamine from another defendant and shared vehicles used by “Team We” associates; charged with racketeering and conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine
• Alexis Marie Broussard, 23, of Slidell, dated several members of the organization, often conducted drug transactions, and introduced members to a heroin supply source in the Hollygrove area of New Orleans; charged with racketeering conspiracy to distribute heroin, and possession of drug paraphernalia
• Catlin Wayne Buckles, 24, of Bunnell, Florida, a lower level heroin and methamphetamine distributor, who brokered drug sales for other members; charged with racketeering, conspiracy to distribute heroin, conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, and distribution of methamphetamine
• Kaylee N. Burns, 24, of Picayune, Mississippi, charged with possession of heroin and possession of drug paraphernalia (was not charged with racketeering)
• Justin Hunter Carnegie, 20, of Picayune, Mississippi, a lower level heroin and methamphetamine supplier, who often accompanied a higher level distributor; charged with racketeering, conspiracy to distribute heroin, and conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine
• Sebastian Dominguez, 24, of Palm Coast, Florida, a mid- to lower level distributor of heroin, methamphetamine, and other drugs; charged with racketeering, conspiracy to distribute heroin, conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, production and manufacturing marijuana, possession of Buprenorphine/Suboxone, possession of heroin, and possession of drug paraphernalia
• Adam J. Ellis, 22, of Slidell, a mid- to higher level distributor of heroin and methamphetamine; charged with racketeering, conspiracy to distribute heroin, and conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine
• Jason M. Kosinski, 40, of Slidell, a lower level distributor of methamphetamine who routinely accompanied his brother when he distributed methamphetamine and marijuana; charged with racketeering, conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, and two counts of distribution of methamphetamine,
• Jessie Thomas Kosinski, 36, of Slidell, a high level methamphetamine distributor who served as the primary source of supply of methamphetamine for the organization; charged with racketeering, conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, distribution of methamphetamine, possession of firearms by a convicted felon, and possession of marijuana (first offense)
• Jonathan T. Lawrence, also known as “Migo,” 29, of Metairie, a heroin distributor for a drug trafficking organization, called the “Zoo,” in the Hollygrove area of New Orleans, and a supplier of distribution quantities of heroin to the organization; charged with racketeering and conspiracy to distribute heroin
• Dane Alan McReynolds, 25, of Pearl River, a mid- to high level distributor of heroin and methamphetamine who recruited additional members to the organization and directed their activities in the distribution of drugs; charged with racketeering, conspiracy to distribute heroin, conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, distribution of methamphetamine, five counts of distribution of methamphetamine, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine, and possession of drug paraphernalia
• Ryan S. McReynolds, 26, of Abita Springs, a mid- to lower level distributor of heroin who at times referred purchasers of methamphetamine to his brother, Dane; charged with racketeering, conspiracy to distribute heroin, conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, possession of heroin, and possession of drug paraphernalia
• Justin Lee Olivieri, 25, of Slidell, a mid- to higher level distributor of methamphetamine and marijuana; charged with racketeering, conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, three counts of distribution of methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession of Buprenorphine/Suboxone, possession with intent to distribute MDMA, and production and manufacturing marijuana
• Tina Renee Stuprich, 29, of Slidell, a lower level distributor of methamphetamine, who dated several members of the organization and facilitated drug transactions by providing transportation and money; charged with racketeering, conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, and making an improper turn
• Daniel Michael Younce, 26, of Slidell, a lower level distributor of methamphetamine and heroin, who routinely assisted members of the organization by allowing them to use his vehicle to facilitate drug transactions in exchange for drugs and monies; charged with racketeering, conspiracy to distribute heroin, conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, and two counts of distribution of heroin,
