United States Attorney Brandon J. Fremin announced that U.S. Chief Judge Shelly D. Dick sentenced Kendrick Hardnett, age 40, of Baton Rouge, to 111 months in federal prison following his conviction for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession with intent to distribute marijuana, cocaine, and cocaine base. The Court further sentenced Hardnett to 4 years of supervised release following his term of imprisonment, and ordered that the firearm involved be forfeited.
According to admissions made as part of his guilty plea, on September 6, 2017, Baton Rouge Police Department narcotics detectives executed a search warrant on Hardnett’s residence. Prior to executing the warrant, Hardnett was observed exiting the residence and departing in a vehicle. The detectives initiated a traffic stop of Hardnett’s vehicle and recovered two clear plastic baggies containing marijuana, one clear plastic containing cocaine base, and $1,100 from his pockets. Upon further search of the vehicle, the detectives recovered a firearm from the front driver's side floorboard where Hardnett was seated. At the same time, a second group of BRPD detectives entered Hardnett’s residence and recovered several clear plastic baggies containing marijuana, cocaine, and cocaine base, and a digital scale from the living room.
Prior to possessing the firearm, Hardnett was convicted of aggravated second-degree battery on April 4, 2007, and possession with the intent to distribute marijuana on Sept. 30, 2010, both in East Baton Rouge Parish.
U.S. Attorney Fremin stated, “This conviction and sentence is yet another example of how our partnership with Baton Rouge Police Department and ATF can remove dangerous criminals from our streets to make our communities safer for our citizens."
This matter is being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Louisiana, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Baton Rouge Police Department, with substantial assistance from the Louisiana State Police Crime Laboratory. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Demetrius Sumner.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
