Source: Office of United States Attorneys
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – ABE JYLES (“JYLES”), age 44, a resident of St. Bernard Parish, pled guilty on February 4, 2025, before U.S. District Judge Wendy Vitter to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c); possession with the intent to distribute a quantity of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine, marijuana, heroin, and cocaine, in violation of Title 21 USC § 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(C); and being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, in violation of Title 18 USC § 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(8).
On May 27, 2025, Judge Vitter sentenced JYLES to a total of 130 months imprisonment, 5 years of supervised release, and payment of a $300 mandatory special assessment fee.
Additionally, since JYLES was on federal supervised release stemming from a 2006 federal drug trafficking conviction when he committed the above-described crimes, his term of federal supervised release was revoked by United States District Judge Jay Zainey. Judge Zainey then sentenced JYLES on May 27, 2025, to serve 27 months of imprisonment to run consecutive to the sentence imposed by Judge Vitter.
The facts of this case revealed that on February 29, 2024, JYLES was involved in a traffic stop by the St. Bernard Sheriff’s Office. During the stop, JYLES was identified as the driver and sole occupant of the vehicle. Law enforcement personnel detected the odor of marijuana emanating from the vehicle. JYLES was then detained, and following a search of the vehicle, law enforcement discovered multiple illegal narcotics, a scale, drug paraphernalia, and four firearms inside the vehicle.
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 Federal Bureau of Investigation and the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office. The prosecution was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Maurice E. Landrieu, Jr. of the Narcotics Unit.