Brandon Dunn, age 20, pleaded guilty on April 1 before U.S. District Judge Greg G. Guidry to conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute marijuana, as well as possession of a machinegun.
Dunn's case is significant because it involves both drug trafficking and illegal firearm possession, which are considered serious offenses under federal law.
According to court documents, since at least 2023 Dunn sold marijuana and tapentadol in the New Orleans area. On May 9, 2024, New Orleans Police Department officers were surveilling Dunn’s residence when he arrived in a stolen Infinity Q60. After exiting the vehicle and noticing police presence, Dunn fled on foot and discarded a Glock Model 19 handgun equipped with a machinegun conversion device and an extended magazine loaded with 25 rounds of ammunition. He was apprehended after a short chase. Police found distributable quantities of marijuana in the stolen car and over $1,000 cash in his pockets. Inside his bedroom, officers recovered a money counter, more than $15,000 in cash, another semi-automatic pistol (Romarm/Cugir Model Micro Draco), credit cards belonging to others, and a washed check.
As part of the plea agreement reached with prosecutors, Dunn will serve eleven-and-a-half years in prison if the court accepts the negotiated plea at sentencing. He also faces supervised release ranging from two years up to life for each count along with possible fines up to $250,000 per count and mandatory special assessment fees.
This prosecution falls under Operation Take Back America—a nationwide initiative that uses resources from multiple Department of Justice programs including Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN) aimed at fighting illegal immigration-related crime networks as well as violent criminal organizations.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and New Orleans Police Department investigated this case while Assistant United States Attorney David Berman is handling prosecution.
