LAFAYETTE — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)), published as received.

LAFAYETTE – On September 1, 2026, United States District Judge Robert R. Summerhays sentenced Earl Thompson, a.k.a. “Nook,” 45, of Leesville, to 174 months in federal prison for Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine with five years of supervised release after serving his sentence. Thompson had previously pled guilty.

“Traffickers of methamphetamine and fentanyl have no place in our society, and justice demands punishment that reflects their total disregard of the lives, the families, and the communities that they devastate,” said U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Keller. “With our state and federal partners, this Office will continue to use every tool available to investigate, prosecute, and dismantle these criminal organizations that poison our neighborhoods with illegal narcotics.”

In 2024, federal, state, and local agencies launched an investigation into a multi parish narcotics trafficking organization operating throughout Vernon Parish and Central Louisiana. Eleven defendants were indicted on January 21, 2026, for their involvement in a drug network responsible for moving large amounts of methamphetamine, fentanyl, and cocaine. Thompson played a significant role in the conspirators’ distribution activities. According to court documents, between July 11, 2025, and November 2, 2025, Thompson entered into a conspiracy with 12 others to obtain distribution-level quantities of methamphetamine for resale in and around Vernon Parish. Further investigation revealed that on July 25, 2025, one of Thompson’s co-conspirators delivered ten pounds of methamphetamine to him. Thompson eventually admitted that all methamphetamine involved in the conspiracy was intended for distribution.

U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Keller for the Western District of Louisiana made the announcement.

This case was investigated by the Vernon Parish Sheriff’s Office, the Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office, the Sabine Parish Sheriff’s Office, the Grant Parish Sheriff’s Office, the Louisiana State Police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, the United States Attorney’s Office, the United States Forest Service, and the United States Army Criminal Investigations Division.

It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney LaDonte A. Murphy, with assistance from Legal Assistant Christy Angelle.

This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole of government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of U.S. law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States.

You may find a copy of this press release (and any updates) on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Louisiana at www.justice.gov/usao-wdla.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Western District of Louisiana at www.lawd.uscourts.gov or https://www.lawd.uscourts.gov/cmecf-pacer, under Case Number 6:26-CR-00027-05.

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