Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

NEW ORLEANS – U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that four gang members from the Frenchmen/Derbigny gang, or “FnD,” were sentenced today for charges related to racketeering, narcotics, and crimes of violence.  Among those violent crimes was the shooting of a second-line parade on Mother’s Day, May 12, 2013, in which twenty people suffered gunshot-related injuries.

The four defendants were all brothers and members of FnD, a gang that operated in the Seventh Ward of New Orleans with its hub at Frenchmen and North Derbigny Streets.  The defendants included the leader, TRAVIS SCOTT, a/k/a “Trap,” a/k/a “Slim,” age 31, SHAWN SCOTT, a/k/a “Shizzle,” age 27; STANLEY SCOTT, a/k/a “Stizzle,” age 24; and AKEIN SCOTT, a/k/a “Keemy,” age 22.  SHAWN SCOTT, STANLEY SCOTT, and AKEIN SCOTT all pled guilty on September 9, 2015.  TRAVIS SCOTT pled guilty on October 13, 2015.

U.S. District Judge Ivan L.R. Lemelle sentenced TRAVIS and AKEIN SCOTT to life imprisonment plus 10 years consecutive, to be followed by 5 years of supervised release. SHAWN and STANLEY SCOTT were each sentenced to 40 years of imprisonment with credit for time served, to be followed by 5 years of supervised release.  Restitution to the victims will be determined at a later date.

According to court documents, the FnD gang was an enterprise engaged in racketeering under federal law. TRAVIS SCOTT, AKEIN SCOTT, SHAWN SCOTT, and STANLEY SCOTT, as members of this gang, conspired to commit numerous overt acts in furtherance of the gang’s activities.  Gang members sold illegal drugs, such as heroin and crack cocaine, and they committed acts of violence, including shootings.  FnD members often sold drugs in the Frenchmen Meat Market, a convenience store located at the corner of Frenchmen and North Derbigny Streets.  FnD members used intimidation, violence, and threats of violence to maintain the gang’s control over turf that extended from Elysian Fields Avenue, North Johnson Street, the I-10 Interstate Highway, St. Anthony Street, and North Claiborne Avenue.

Pursuant to plea agreements, TRAVIS SCOTT pled guilty to four counts in the Third Superseding Indictment, including one shooting.  STANLEY SCOTT pled guilty to six counts, including perpetrating three shootings.  SHAWN SCOTT pled guilty to five counts, which included two shootings.  AKEIN SCOTT pled guilty to eight counts of the Third Superseding Indictment, which included his perpetrating five shootings in New Orleans.  AKEIN SCOTT and SHAWN SCOTT pled guilty to the Mother’s Day shooting that occurred on May 12, 2013.  All four defendants pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and conspiracy to distribute over one kilogram of heroin.

Additional FnD members JEREMIAH JACKSON, GRALEN BROWN, BRIAN BENSON, and RICHMOND SMITH have previously pled guilty to gun and drug-related charges and are awaiting sentencing.  CRYSTAL SCOTT pled guilty to drug-related charges and was previously sentenced to 120 months in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release and a $100 special assessment.

This prosecution was the product of the continued coordinated effort of the federal and state law enforcement authorities within the Multi-Agency Gang Unit (“MAG”).  As an integral component of NOLA FOR LIFE’s Group Violence Reduction Strategy, the MAG Unit consists of a partnership with New Orleans Police Department (NOPD); Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office (DA); Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office (OPSO); Louisiana State Police (LSP); Parole Board of the Louisiana Department of Corrections; United States Attorney’s Office (USAO); Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF): Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); United States Marshal’s Service (USMS); and the United States Probation & Parole Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana.  Federal and local authorities also utilized tips through the Crimestoppers Program in the successful investigation of these crimes.

U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the ATF as part of the MAG Unit in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew Payne and Shirin Hakimzadeh, along with former Special Assistant United States Attorney Brian Ebarb, who was assigned from the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office were in charge of the prosecution.

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