LAFAYETTE/ALEXANDRIA, La. – United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced that two men involved in the trafficking of methamphetamine have been sentenced. Joseph R. Johnson and Isidro Chavarria were each indicted by a federal grand jury as a result of two separate Organized Crime Drug Trafficking Task Force operations.
Joseph R. Johnson, 44, of New Iberia, Louisiana, was sentenced by United States District Judge Robert R. Summerhays to 157 months (13 years, 1 month) in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release. Johnson pleaded guilty on April 27, 2023, to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. In 2020, law enforcement agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) began investigating a drug trafficking organization operating in the Lafayette area and being supplied by Johnson. Through their investigation, agents learned that Johnson frequently traveled from southern California to Louisiana for the purposes of distributing narcotics. Johnson also often used the mail to transport narcotics and proceeds to and from California, Louisiana, Iowa, and South Carolina. Agents applied for and were granted authorization to intercept Johnson’s wire communications in 2021. During this interception time, agents were able to identify multiple co-conspirators who were assisting Johnson in the trafficking of methamphetamine. Through their investigative efforts, law enforcement agents were able to locate and seize multiple packages containing methamphetamine which were being shipped to and from multiple co-conspirators involved in the drug trafficking organization. Agents also identified and intercepted a vehicle transporting narcotics on behalf of Johnson and located over 30 pounds of methamphetamine concealed inside. Johnson admitted to willfully conspiring with his co-defendants in this case when he pled guilty to the charge.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Department of Homeland Security Investigations, Louisiana State Police and New Iberia Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Daniel J. Vermaelen and J. Aaron Crawford.
Isidro Chavarria, 42, a federal prison inmate, was sentenced by United States District Judge Dee D. Drell to 120 months (10 years) in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release. Beginning in January 2021, law enforcement agents began an investigation of a federal inmate at FCI Pollock who was believed to be coordinating large scale drug distribution while in prison. Agents were made aware that contraband phones were being smuggled into the prison in order to communicate with Cartel members and other individuals involved in the drug conspiracy. Through their investigation, agents obtained evidence that Chavarria was communicating with his co-conspirators on these contraband phones and in fact, was directing his wife and other parties to distribute methamphetamine that his co-conspirator was sending her. Chavarria pleaded guilty on April 4, 2023, to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
At the time of this offense, Chavarria was serving a 210-month federal prison sentence for drug distribution offense from 2019. This sentence will run consecutive to the sentence he was serving.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and United States Postal Inspection Service and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney J. Aaron Crawford.
The investigation and conviction of both Johnson and Chavarria and their co-defendants is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
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