Tangipahoa Parish Man Sentenced to 145 months Imprisonment in Jungle Life Mafia Street Gang Federal Prosecution

Terrell Haynes. a/k/a "Redman," age 44, was sentenced on April 18, 2023, to 145 months imprisonment, 5 years of supervised release, and a $300 mandatory special assessment fee by U.S. District Judge Jay C. Zainey, announced U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans.  Haynes previously pled guilty to conspiring to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl, 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, and 1 kilogram or more of heroin.  He also pled guilty to distribution of methamphetamine and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.

According to court documents, Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) agents began investigating the drug trafficking activities of the Jungle Life Mafia street gang in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana in 2019.  The investigation spanned two years and included surveillance and six controlled buys of narcotics, including fentanyl, heroin, and methamphetamine, from Haynes.  The execution of a search warrant at Haynes’s residence led to the seizure of a Taurus Model Millennium PT111 G2, nine-millimeter pistol and $8,146 in U.S. currency.

This case was investigated by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, Hammond Police Department, Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, 21st Judicial District Attorney’s Office, St. Tammany Parish District Attorney’s Office, Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, and the U.S. Marshals Service. 

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

This case is also part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

The prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney J. Benjamin Myers of the Narcotics Unit.