United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced that Raymond Hawthorne, Jr., 48, of Abbeville, Louisiana, has been sentenced by United States District Judge Jay C. Zainey to 57 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, for the distribution of fentanyl. Hawthorne pleaded guilty to the charge on November 4, 2021.
On August 27, 2019, law enforcement officers operating in an undercover capacity made arrangements to purchase fentanyl from Hawthorne. He directed them where to meet to purchase the narcotics. Upon arrival as directed by Hawthorne, his co-defendant provided the purchaser with approximately 25 grams of a mixture containing a detectable amount of fentanyl in exchange for cash. Following the transaction, law enforcement officers observed Hawthorne’s co-defendant drive directly to meet Hawthorne and provide him with the money from the drug transaction.
Hawthorne was previously convicted in 2002 of conspiracy to distribute cocaine base and was on federal supervised release at the time of his arrest.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Vermilion Parish Sheriff’s Office and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel J. Vermaelen.