By Paige Nash
A man arrested in Wester Parish has been found guilty by a federal jury and faces a sentence of up to 40 years in prison and a fine up to $1,000,000 for allegedly transporting cocaine through the state of Louisiana.
Howard Davis, 45, of Raleigh, N.C. was stopped for a traffic violation by a Louisiana State Trooper on Interstate 20 near Minden on August 2, 2022. During the stop, the trooper had reason to believe Davis was not being truthful regarding his reasoning for traveling through the area.
Upon further investigation, the trooper became aware that Davis had been seen driving in North Carolina during the early morning hours the day before and was later seen the same evening in Dallas, Texas.
A Louisiana State Trooper K-9 was called in and conducted an open-air sniff of Davis’ vehicle. The K-9 alerted to the presence of narcotics and while conducting a search, troopers discovered a tote bag inside the trunk containing 4.5 kilograms of suspected cocaine that had been wrapped in black electrical tape.
The cocaine is believed to have a street value more than $110,000.
The narcotics were seized and sent to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Laboratory for testing and were confirmed to be cocaine.
Davis is scheduled to receive his sentencing at 9 a.m. October 11, 2023.
United States District Judge Elizabeth E. Foote presided over the two-day jury trial. The case was investigated by the U.S. DEA, Louisiana State Police and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Cassidy and Alexander C. Van Hook, Special Counsel to the U.S. Attorney.
