On September 8, 2026, Jesse Thomas of Haynesville, Louisiana, became the last of 23 RICO defendants to plead guilty as charged to the crime of racketeering for his involvement in a drug trafficking organization that had operated in Claiborne Parish since 2018. Thomas’s guilty plea followed pleas from 22 other co-conspirators, including Demontre Robinson, Dedarian Robinson, Ashley Morgan, Cheryl Bragg, John Michael Jackson, Corey Scott, Jelisha Warren, Demond Maddox, Nicholas Willis, Falante Hill, O’rillian Guidry (of Los Angeles, California), Deonte Frazier, Derrick Bradford, Rontrell Sturdivant, Dexter Washington, Georgerick Coleman, Fernando Grider, Rick Jones, Jr., Yul McGee, Alonzo Jackson, Jamie Rockett, and Donnell Mitchell. The 23 RICO defendants received an aggregate total of 293 years of jail time for their crimes, and a major drug ring has been taken off the streets of Claiborne Parish.
In late 2024, the Claiborne Parish Sheriff’s Office, along with the Louisiana State Police’s Drug Enforcement Task Force, became aware of large quantities of methamphetamines, marijuana, and cocaine being shipped from California and Texas to Claiborne Parish for local distribution. The State Police Task Force joined with CPSO in executing warrants for real-time wiretaps of Robinson’s two cell phone numbers. Law enforcement officers worked tirelessly to intercept and catalog more than 15,000 cell phone calls during the 60 days the wiretap warrant remained in effect. Through these calls, as well as many controlled buys of narcotics, law enforcement was able to identify exactly how the drug trafficking organization conducted its operations, who ran the organization, where it received its drugs from, and how it distributed the narcotics it sold locally.
On January 31, 2025, after months of intensive investigation, over 350 officers from all over the state of Louisiana descended upon Claiborne Parish to aid the Louisiana State Police and the Claiborne Parish Sheriff’s Office with simultaneously striking multiple homes where the drug trafficking organization operated. On that day, the members of Robinson criminal organization were arrested and charged with crimes ranging from racketeering to possession with intent to distribute narcotics, and attempted murder. District Attorney Danny Newell tasked felony prosecutor, Jim Colvin, to lead the prosecution team, with assistance from fellow prosecutors Cliff Stryder and Cary Brown.
Pounds of methamphetamines, marijuana, cocaine, and promethazine were seized during the investigation. Additionally, approximately $5,000 in cash, seven guns, and twelve vehicles were seized. The Claiborne Parish District Attorney’s Office credits the tireless efforts of the Claiborne Parish Sheriff’s Office, the Louisiana State Police, the United States Postal Service, and Homeland Security Investigations, for making this prosecution the success that it was. Finally, a special thanks on behalf of the citizens of Claiborne Parish to the over 350 law enforcement officers that successfully served and executed the arrest warrants without injury to anyone.