Drug Traffickers From Lafayette Area Sentenced for Possession of Heroin

LAFAYETTE, La. – United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced that Lensly Johnnie, 38, of Lafayette, Louisiana, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Robert R. Summerhays on drug charges. Johnnie was sentenced to 88 months (7 years, 4 months) in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release.

On July 31, 2019, officers with the Lafayette Police Department attempted to conduct a traffic stop of a vehicle operated by Johnnie’s co-defendant, Ernest Taylor. Johnnie was a front seat passenger in the vehicle. When officers attempted to stop the vehicle, Johnnie and Taylor fled the scene and their vehicle was later found unoccupied and parked at a nearby residence in Lafayette. An officer saw Johnnie and another male walking down the street near the location of the abandoned vehicle. Johnnie was stopped and found to have over $3,900 on his person and had a strong odor of marijuana.

Meanwhile, law enforcement officers had a K9 officer arrive at the location where the abandoned vehicle was left and conducted an open-air sniff and a probable cause search was conducted. Inside the vehicle officers found what was thought to be approximately 332 grams of cocaine and approximately 16 grams of heroin hidden inside the door panel. The seized narcotics were sent to the crime lab for testing, and it was determined the narcotics seized were not cocaine, but in fact heroin, with a total of 329.3 grams seized. Johnnie pleaded guilty on March 28, 2023, to possession with intent to distribute heroin.

Ernest Taylor, the co-defendant in this case, was sentenced on April 25, 2023, to 60 months in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, for his role in the offense.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Lafayette Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel J. McCoy.

New Orleans Field Division