BATON ROUGE — United States Middle District Attorney Kurt Wall is considering appealing a sentence for a Livingston Parish, who has been convicted of distributing nearly 4,000 fentanyl pills.
“The defendant’s conduct has to be viewed in the same light as if he had fired 3,972 rounds of ammunition on our public streets. A 92-month sentence is insufficient, and our office is reviewing the judgment closely and considering all options, including appeal,” said Wall.
Chief Judge Shelly D. Dick sentenced Devonte Skinner, 34, of Albany, to 92 months, or roughly 7.5 years, in federal prison following his conviction for distribution of fentanyl. He’s also sentenced to serve five years of supervised release after his prison term ends.
It was February 2024 when agents with the Department of Homeland Security and Drug Enforcement Administration conducted a controlled purchase of 3,792 pills pressed to resemble 30 mg oxycodone and containing 539.2 grams of fentanyl from Skinner and another individual using a confidential source. That’s when the confidential source met Skinner in a restaurant parking lot on O’Neal Lane in Baton Rouge. Skinner exchanged the pills and money with the confidential source, according to Skinner’s admissions during the guilty plea in court.
The arrest came thanks to multiple parish and state agencies working together, but Wall believes the sentence needs to be harsher.
“Fentanyl continues to pose a grave threat to communities throughout Louisiana and distributing this substance in such quantities risks devastating harm. The Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account the criminal act and the defendant’s prior criminal history, called for a sentencing range of 262 to 327 months,” Wall said.
Currently, Skinner is set to serve roughly 7.5 years. Wall believes it should be anywhere between 21-27 years. He says a sentence below the guidelines, he believes, sends a harmful message.
“Unfortunately, our district has experienced hundreds of fentanyl overdoses over the past few years. Recently, we are beginning to see a reduction in those numbers, which gives us some optimism that the message of the dangerousness of fentanyl is finally gaining traction,” Wall explained.
The prosecution was part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad.
“Fentanyl traffickers endanger our communities with every pill they put on the street,” said HSI New Orleans Acting Special Agent in Charge Matt Wright. “This investigation and conviction reflect HSI’s continued commitment to working with our federal, state, and local partners to identify, investigate, and hold accountable those who distribute deadly narcotics in Louisiana. Through the Homeland Security Task Force, we will continue using every lawful tool available to disrupt criminal networks and protect the public from the devastation caused by fentanyl.”
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