Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

NEW ORLEANS, La.– Edward McMillan, age 25, a resident of New Orleans, pleaded guilty on September 27, 2023 before U.S. District Judge Jane T. Milazzo to distributing cocaine base in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and 846(b)(1)(C).

According to court documents, on February 2, 2022, agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives observed McMillan conducting hand-to-hand drug transactions in Metairie, Louisiana. An ATF confidential informant drove to the area to purchase narcotics from McMillan but was flagged down by McMillan's co-defendant, and another individual. The confidential informant purchased 1.1 grams of cocaine base from the co-defendant and the other individual for $150.

On February 9, 2022, the ATF confidential informant completed a purchase of cocaine base from McMillan and the co-defendant in Metairie, Louisiana. The confidential informant asked for $100 of "hard," which McMillan understood to mean crack cocaine also known as cocaine base. McMillan and the co-defendant split the transaction. McMillan provided three rocks of cocaine base and the co-defendant provided two rocks, totaling 0.9 grams, in exchange for $100 from the confidential informant.

McMillan faces a maximum sentence of twenty years in prison, a fine of up to $1,000,000, a minimum of three years of supervised release and a mandatory special assessment fee of $100.00.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department of Justice launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities and measuring the results.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco and Explosives. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David Berman of the Violent Crime Unit.

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