Source: Office of United States Attorneys
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – DESMOND TAYLOR, age 27, QUINTRELL BROWN, age 20, NICKIE WHITLEY, age 35, and ERIN MURTHIL, age 21, all residents of New Orleans, were sentenced on February 27, 2024 by U.S. District Judge Jay C. Zainey after previously pleading guilty to multiple charges in a 20-count indictment.
TAYLOR was sentenced to 72 months imprisonment, followed by 3 years of supervised release, and a $200 mandatory special assessment fee for his convictions for being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(8), and possession of a car stolen from the Norfolk Southern Railyard, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 659.
BROWN was also sentenced to 72 months imprisonment, followed by 3 years of supervised release, and a $400 mandatory special assessment fee for his convictions for conspiracy to possess cars stolen from the Norfolk Southern Railyard, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371; possession of a car stolen from the Norfolk Southern Railyard, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 659; possession with intent to distribute tapentadol, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(C); and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c)(1)(A)(i).
WHITLEY was sentenced to 84 months imprisonment, followed by 3 years of supervised release, and a $500 mandatory special assessment fee for his convictions for four counts of possessing a car stolen from the Norfolk Southern Railyard, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 659, and being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(8).
MURTHIL was sentenced to 65 months imprisonment, followed by 3 years of supervised release, and a $300 mandatory special assessment fee for his convictions for two counts of possessing a car stolen from the Norfolk Southern Railyard, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 659, and possession of a machinegun, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(o) and 924(a)(2).
According to court documents, TAYLOR possessed a 2023 Ford Explorer Timberline stolen from the Norfolk Southern Railyard and, while inside the stolen vehicle, possessed an American Tactical Model MilSport .223 milli-meter caliber firearm.
BROWN was arrested in the French Quarter on February 11, 2023. When NOPD officers attempted to stop him, he fled and, during the chase, threw a loaded Glock Model 19 handgun into a dumpster. When BROWN was apprehended, he had 60 tapentadol pills and over $2,500 in cash in his pockets. The next month, BROWN was captured on surveillance video occupying the same stolen Ford Explorer Timberline as TAYLOR.
WHITLEY participated in the theft of vehicles from the Norfolk Southern Railyard and was captured on surveillance video in March and April of 2023 driving multiple stolen vehicles, including a Ford F-150 Raptor. WHITLEY was also captured on video possessing a stolen Glock Model 19x handgun.
MURTHIL possessed two vehicles taken from the Norfolk Southern Railyard. He was captured on surveillance video driving a stolen Lincoln Aviator, which had a stolen Louisiana military honors license plate affixed to it. While driving the stolen Aviator, MURTHIL took a photograph holding a Glock Model 17 handgun with a machinegun conversion device and drum magazine attached to it. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted a function test of the gun and confirmed that it functioned as a machinegun.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
This case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, the Louisiana State Police, and the New Orleans Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David Berman of the Violent Crime Unit.