Rashad Montague, a 33-year-old resident of New Orleans, has entered a guilty plea to multiple federal charges involving illegal drugs and firearms. Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson announced the plea on June 30, 2025, in front of U.S. District Judge Carl J. Barbier.
Montague faced an eleven-count superseding bill of information with various charges related to drug distribution and firearms offenses. The charges include conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and heroin, distribution of these substances, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, conspiracy to possess firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking, and maintaining a drug-involved premises.
The indictment reveals that Montague collaborated with others to operate several stash houses on Harmony Street for distributing fentanyl and heroin over at least four months. He was apprehended while attempting to escape during a federal search warrant execution at one such residence where firearms and fentanyl were discovered.
Sentencing is scheduled for September 25, 2025. Montague could face up to twenty years imprisonment per count for Counts 1 through 9 and Count 11, along with significant fines and supervised release periods.
This case falls under Operation Big Easy, an initiative using the National Integrated Ballistics Information Network (NIBIN) which gathered data on high-density shootings in New Orleans between August 1, 2023, and January 31, 2023. The operation identified crime patterns linked to criminal activities in the area.
Acting U.S. Attorney Simpson commended the efforts of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), New Orleans Police Department (NOPD), and Louisiana State Police involved in this investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stuart Theriot from the Narcotics Unit and Paul Hubbell from the General Crimes Unit are prosecuting the case.
The ATF’s NIBIN played a crucial role by linking ballistic evidence across crime scenes nationwide aiding law enforcement efforts against violent crimes involving firearms.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), aimed at reducing violent crime through collaborative efforts among law enforcement agencies at all levels.
