Derrick Serignet
Introduction
Derrick Serignet, 44, of New Orleans, has been sentenced to 24 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and cocaine and to possessing a firearm as a convicted felon . US District Judge Nanette Jolivette Brown imposed the sentence on 5 November 2026, closing an FBI surveillance case that caught Serignet carrying a loaded pistol and more than a hundred pre-packaged baggies of drugs in his pockets during a traffic stop .
Background Information
The FBI began surveilling Serignet after receiving information that he was selling narcotics in the Central City area of New Orleans . On 4 February 2026, FBI special agents and New Orleans Police Department officers conducted a traffic stop on him . Serignet was already prohibited from possessing firearms because of a prior felony conviction for attempted armed robbery, which made the loaded Glock Model 43x nine-millimetre pistol in his pocket the basis of a separate federal count .
The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation
Admitted drug trafficking and gun possession as a felon; two years in federal prison.
At the traffic stop, Serignet had a loaded Glock Model 43x nine-millimetre pistol in one pocket and, in his other pocket, over 50 baggies of fentanyl and 50 baggies of cocaine that he intended to distribute . He subsequently pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(C), and to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(8) . The prosecution was handled by Assistant US Attorney David Berman of the Violent Crime Unit; the case was investigated by the FBI and the New Orleans Police Department .
Public Reaction and Consequences
Serignet was sentenced on 5 November 2026 to 24 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release, along with a $200 mandatory special assessment fee . The case was announced under Project Safe Neighborhoods, the Justice Department’s nationwide violent-crime initiative, and described as a component of Operation Take Back America, which pairs rapid federal response with prosecution of the most serious readily provable offences . No statement from Serignet or his counsel was reported in the announcement .
Current Status
Serignet is serving his two-year federal sentence, with three years of supervised release to follow, and his prior attempted-armed-robbery felony remains the aggravating conviction that converted the pistol in his pocket into a separate federal offence . No appeal was reported in the announcement .
Impact on Their Career/Life
The plea and sentence add a federal drug-and-firearms conviction to Serignet’s record on top of the attempted armed robbery that had already made him a prohibited possessor; as a twice-convicted felon he faces the supervised-release term and the recurring federal exposure that any future firearm or drug contact carries .
Sources
- “New Orleans Felon Sentenced for Trafficking Fentanyl and Committing Firearms Offense” — US Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Louisiana / justice.gov, November 2026: source