NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA- HERBERT COOPER ("COOPER"), age 28, a resident of New Orleans, was sentenced on September 5, 2024, by U.S. District Judge, Eldon E. Fallon, to 120 months' imprisonment after previously pleading guilty to Counts 1, 2, and 3 of a superseding bill of information. The Court also ordered that COOPER be placed on supervised release for 5 years following release from imprisonment and pay a $300 mandatory special assessment fee.

Count 1 charged COOPER with possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(C), and 841(b)(1)(D). Count 2 charged COOPER with 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). Count 3 charged COOPER with being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2).

According to court documents, COOPER was previously convicted of felony offenses in St. Tammany Parish and Orleans Parish. Due to his criminal history, he is prohibited from having a firearm. On March 13, 2022, while conducting video surveillance of the 300 block of North Gayoso Street in New Orleans, New Orleans Police Department ("NOPD") officers observed COOPER conduct a suspected hand-to-hand narcotics distribution transaction. When a uniformed NOPD officer approached COOPER, he fled and discarded a loaded Glock Model 23, .40 caliber semi-automatic handgun, with an extended magazine containing twenty-five (25) live rounds of ammunition. Upon COOPER's arrest, NOPD officers discovered approximately $2,300.00 in cashon his person. Officers also recovered 1460.5 grams of marijuana, 29.46 grams of methamphetamine, a bottle half-filled with Promethazine, a digital scale, plastic sandwich baggies, and a standard, as well as an extended magazine for a Glock Model 23, semi-automatic handgun, from COOPER's vehicle.

On March 23, 2022 after obtaining a search warrant for a residence and a safe used by COOPER, officers recovered $12,000.00 in cash, two falsified Western Union money orders for $900.00 each, a Smith and Wesson, .38 Special revolver with an obliterated serial number, a Social Security card, and birth certificate, belonging to COOPER.

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.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New Orleans Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Troy Bell of the Violent Crime Unit.