NEW ORLEANS, LA. — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)), published as received.

NEW ORLEANS, LA. – STERLING PIPKINS (“PIPKINS”), age 42, of New Orleans, was sentenced on October 8, 2026, by U.S. District Judge Eldon E. Fallon for drug trafficking, announced U.S. Attorney David I. Courcelle. 

According to court documents, PIPKINS sold powder cocaine to an individual during a controlled narcotics transaction in New Orleans on July 31, 2023. 

PIPKINS was sentenced to fifteen months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, and the payment of a $100 mandatory special assessment fee.

U.S. Attorney Courcelle praised the work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Richard R. Pickens, II of the Financial Crimes Unit oversees the prosecution.

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