Source: Office of United States Attorneys
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – DRESHAWN FIELDS, age 28, a resident of New Orleans, pled guilty on Wednesday, December 4, 2024 to a one-count indictment for possessing with the intent to distribute fentanyl, announced U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans.
FIELDS faces a maximum term of imprisonment of twenty (20) years, a fine of up to $1,000,000, at least three (3) years of supervised release following any term of imprisonment, and a $100 mandatory special assessment fee.
According to court records, in 2023, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) began to monitor FIELDS’s Instagram account. On October 4, 2023, FIELDS posted a video of four boxes of Tapentadol with the caption “Rush hour (train emoji).” Train emojis are often used to advertise Tapentadol for sale. Tapentadol is a Schedule II narcotic. On January 9, 2024, a New Orleans Police Department (“NOPD”) officer observed a white Dodge Charger located at 10833 Chef Menteur Highway, New Orleans, Louisiana. Law enforcement verified the identification of the vehicle via the vehicle identification number (“VIN”) and discovered that it was stolen from Kenner, Louisiana on December 8, 2023. The female stated that FIELDS was the driver of the vehicle. The investigating officer authored a search warrant for the vehicle FIELDS fled from, which was signed by an Orleans Parish magistrate commissioner. The investigating officer confiscated multiple items pursuant the execution of the search warrant.
On March 11, 2024, a federal criminal complaint was signed charging FIELDS with possession with the intent to distribute narcotics. Subsequently, law enforcement arrested FIELDS near Orleans Parish Criminal District Court as he exited a vehicle. A search warrant for the vehicle was submitted and approved. Pursuant to the search warrant, law enforcement recovered methamphetamine, a magazine with live rounds, a scale, baggies, and five individual pills that later tested positive for fentanyl.
The case was investigated by New Orleans Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Trummel of the Violent Crimes Unit.