Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

NEW ORLEANS – U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that DELOYD JONES, a/k/a “Puggy,” age 24; and BYRON JONES, a/k/a/ “Big Baby,” age 25, both of New Orleans, were sentenced yesterday after having previously been found guilty of violating the Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organization Act “RICO” as well as drug conspiracy, firearms conspiracy and murder charges.

U.S. District Judge Susie Morgan sentenced both defendants to serve the remainder of their lives in prison.

In August 2015, DELOYD JONES, BYRON JONES and Sidney Patterson were convicted following an 8-day trial. According to evidence presented at trial, the defendants were members of the “Ride or Die” gang, which they also referred to as “R.O.D.” The Ride or Die gang was initially formed in or about 2007 and continued to exist through in or about 2013. During the course of the federal investigation into the gang, agents learned that the defendants used a house, located at 1632 Mandeville Street, among other locations, as a base of operations to package, sell, and store narcotics, as well as store firearms. The gang controlled the St. Roch neighborhood for its narcotics distribution activities through violence and threats of violence, to include murder, attempted murder, and assaults. The jury found DELOYD JONES guilty of four attempted murders and two murders. BYRON JONES was found guilty of two attempted murders and one murder.

The defendants were three of twelve defendants charged with conspiring to distribute cocaine base and possess firearms in furtherance of their drug trafficking crimes. Prior to trial, nine defendants pled guilty to various charges. ANDREALIE LEWIS was previously sentenced to 48 months incarceration; TYONE BURTON was previously sentenced to 121 months of incarceration; ERVIN SPOONER was previously sentenced to 108 months of incarceration; PERRY WILSON was previously sentenced to 108 months of incarceration; TRE CLEMENTS was previously sentenced to 96 months of incarceration; NYSON JONES was previously sentenced to 87 months of incarceration; ROMALIS PARKER was previously sentenced to 70 months of incarceration; TYRONE BURTON was previously sentenced to 60 months of incarceration; and MORRIS SUMMERS was previously sentenced to 60 months of incarceration. SIDNEY PATTERSON, a/k/a “Duda Man,” age 24, is awaiting sentencing.

U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives as part of the metro area’s Multi-Agency Gang Unit (MAG) in investigating this matter. 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); 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. The case was being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Nolan D. Paige and Marquest Meeks, along with former Special Assistant United States Attorney Brian Ebarb, who was assigned from the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office.

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