Michael Feast, age 31, was sentenced on March 31 by United States District Judge Brandon S. Long after pleading guilty to two federal charges related to drugs and firearms, according to an April 8 announcement from United States Attorney David I. Courcelle.
Feast received a sentence of 12 months in prison for distribution of cocaine base and 60 months for using and carrying a firearm during a drug trafficking crime. The sentences will be served consecutively. He was also ordered to serve supervised release—three years for the drug charge and five years for the firearm charge—which will run concurrently, as well as pay a $200 mandatory special assessment fee.
Court records show that on August 1, 2024, multiple law enforcement agencies including United States Homeland Security, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office conducted an operation at an apartment complex in Metairie. During this operation, Feast and co-conspirator William Small sold seven grams of crack cocaine to a confidential informant during a controlled purchase. In another joint operation on September 18, Feast sold both a .45 caliber pistol and cocaine in another controlled purchase.
United States Attorney David I. Courcelle said he praised “the work of the United States Department of Homeland Security Violent Crime Task Force, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office.” Assistant United States Attorney Troy L. Bell prosecuted the case.
The prosecution is part of broader initiatives such as the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) established by Executive Order 14159 with goals that include eliminating criminal cartels and transnational criminal organizations operating within or affecting the United States. The HSTF involves collaboration among several federal agencies with an emphasis on prosecuting violent crimes involving children or committed by violent criminal aliens.
This case also falls under Operation Take Back America—a nationwide initiative aimed at combating illegal immigration-related crime as well as organized crime groups—to protect communities from violence.
