VERNON PARISH, La. (KALB) – Federal officials announced on February 9 that eleven people were indicted on ten counts of “Conspiracy to Possess a Controlled substance with Intent to Distribute” and two counts of “Unlawful Use of a Communication Facility” in connection with an alleged drug trafficking ring that operated across several Central Louisiana parishes, prominently based in Vernon Parish.

Those indicted individuals are:

• Detrail Harris
• Kameron Harris
• Barry Pearson
• Frank Coleman, Jr.
• Earl “Nook” Thompson
• Micheal Womack
• Sevesta Sweet
• Charles Jackson
• Andrew Bulloch
• Craig Hopkins
• Buford “Dog Pound” Sawyer

The indictment follows a nearly two-year investigation originally initiated by the Vernon Parish Sheriff’s Office and later assisted by these other agencies:

• Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
• Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
• Rapides Area Drug Enforcement Unit (RADE)
• Department of Justice
• Leesville Police Department
• Alexandria Police Department
• Louisiana State Police
• Sabine Parish Sheriff’s Office
• Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Office
• United States Marshall
• Pineville Police Department
• U.S. Forestry Service
• Army Criminal Division
• Criminal Investigations, FBI New Orleans
• Texas law enforcement

Officials confirm law enforcement seized, through a search warrant, a total of one kilogram of cocaine, 25 pounds of meth, 2,000 fentanyl pills, $125,000 in cash and various gold bars. When questioned on the believed “street value” of the contraband, officials stated they could not create an estimate due to the unknown concentration of fentanyl within the substances.

According to court documents, law enforcement believes the alleged contraband distribution conspiracy began no later than July 11, 2024, and continued through to November 2, 2025, and ranged from the Central Louisiana region and spanning as far south as Lafayette.

“We know that those pills were going to be distributed throughout Central and South Louisiana. At a certain stage of this investigation, we executed search warrants on some of the residences of some of these alleged ‘DTO’ members, and we found those pills and we knew that from our intelligence gathering that those pills were going to be distributed between South and Lafayette, the Broussard area of Louisiana, all the way up to Central Louisiana.”

During a press conference, federal officials stated they believe the alleged ring was directly involved with South and Central American drug rings, directly naming the criminal “Gulf Cartel.”

“Intelligence led us to one neighborhood gang here that used the Gulf Cartel as its supplier of deadly, illegal drugs,” said Jonathan Tapp, a special agent for the FBI office based in New Orleans. “We will fight the influence of these foreign organizations, and we will not let them gain a foothold in central Louisiana…We will combat them at their points of origin, at the border, and in our local communities.”

An executive order passed by President Donald Trump in January 2025 labeled organizations such as the Gulf Cartel as terroristic and paved the way for the formation of the U.S. Homeland Security Task Force, a key proponent for the investigation.

“That task force was tasked with bringing the full investigative and prosecutorial resources of the United States to combat the influence of these foreign cartels,” Murphy explained.

“Mexican drug cartels and violent gangs don’t limit their activity to the big cities, but you can be sure that we are focused on these drug cartels and violent gangs wherever they are operating all over the country and the world.”

Involved sheriffs such as Rapides Parish’s Mark Wood, Vernon’s Sam Craft and Grant’s Steven McCain all emphasized the importance of having both state, local and federal officials involved in the investigation, labeling it as ‘extraordinary.’

“I’m hoping that the public will see the combined efforts of multiple agencies being involved in what it can do when everybody works together,” Craft said.

View the full indictment below:

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Louisiana Revenue Information Bulletin No. 25-032, issued Dec. 16, 2025, details major changes to the state’s income tax treatment of S corporations (S corps) following Act 382 of the 2025 Regular Legislative Session. Effective for tax periods beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2026, Louisiana will treat S corps as pass-through entities, aligning with their federal tax treatment. This means all income, losses, deductions, and credits will automatically pass through to shareholders, eliminating the need for a special election.

Treatment of S Corporations

For tax years before 2026, S corps were taxed as C corporations (C corps) by Louisiana and were required to file Form CIT-620, with the option to elect the S corp exclusion. Starting in 2026, S corps will file an informational return using Form CIT-620.  Instead of the S corps paying corporate income tax (unless they elect to, see below), the shareholders will report their share of income and tax on it on their own returns. As with C corps, the Louisiana Franchise Tax has also been repealed for S corps for years beginning on and after Jan. 1, 2026.

C Corporation Entity Election Still Available

S corps may still make an affirmative election to be taxed as a C corp for Louisiana income tax purposes. This may be advantageous for federal income tax purposes, as entity-level income is generally deductible by individual shareholders, whereas shareholder-level income may be limited depending on several factors. Electing corporations must pay estimated taxes and cannot file a composite return on behalf of their nonresident shareholders.

Composite Returns

S corps that do not elect to be taxed as a C corp can choose to file composite returns and make composite tax payments on behalf of their nonresident shareholders, provided they do not have a net loss for the period. In addition, if a composite return is filed for an S corp, the S corp makes a composite payment on behalf of the nonresident shareholder, and such composite return represents the nonresident shareholder’s only Louisiana income, then the shareholder does not need to file a separate Louisiana return.

Qualified Subchapter S Subsidiaries

Qualified Subchapter S Subsidiaries (QSubs) will also be treated as disregarded entities beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2026, with their income included on the parent S corp’s return.

Estimated Tax Payments

Estimated tax payments are no longer required from S corps that do not elect to pay tax as a C corp; however, they may be made voluntarily if a composite return is expected. Nonresident shareholders are responsible for their own estimated payments unless the S corp makes composite payments on their behalf.

Summary

The bulletin provides guidance on changes to the filing requirements and procedures related to new rules applicable to S corps. Such rules are intended to simplify compliance and align Louisiana’s tax treatment of S corps with federal standards.

If you have any questions about Louisiana’s new tax treatment of S corps and the option available to them to be treated as a C corp, please contact a CBIZ State and Local Tax professional.

Despite Trump’s past three victories in the district, the local seat was held by a Democrat before Martinez. Former state Rep. Chad Brown vacated the seat to fulfill an appointment made by Gov. Jeff Landry (R-LA) at the Louisiana Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control.

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While the special election has no effect at the national level, its results are good news for Democrats as they aim to wrest control of the House from Republicans in this year’s midterm elections.

Other state-level races have seen similarly big swings in favor of Democrats.

Rehmet in Texas

In Texas last weekend, Democrat Taylor Rehmet won the special election for Texas Senate District 9 in the Fort Worth area by outperforming Trump-endorsed Republican candidate Leigh Wambsganss. Rehmet won by 14 points compared to Trump’s 17 points — a 31-point swing in just 15 months.

The results were also notable not only because of Trump’s sweeping win there but because the district was previously held by a Republican. Texas Senate District 9 has historically been a red stronghold, but that doesn’t appear to be the case anymore after Rehmet’s upset victory.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin personally boasted about the outcome of that particular election.

“It’s clear as day that this disastrous Republican agenda is hurting working families in Texas and across the country, which is why voters in red, blue, and purple districts are putting their faith in candidates like Taylor Rehmet,” Martin said. “This victory is a warning sign to Republicans across the country. In a Trump +17 district, Republicans had to go all out and still lost this race.”

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Meanwhile, Trump said he was not involved in the race despite his endorsement of Wambsganss. Although hopeful, other Republicans did not follow the president’s lead in downplaying their loss.

“Low turnout special elections are always unpredictable. The results from SD 9 are a wake-up call for Republicans across Texas. Our voters cannot take anything for granted,” Texas Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said on X. “I know the energy and strength the Republican grassroots in Texas possess. We will come out fighting with a new resolve, and we will take this seat back in November. We will keep Texas red.”

Hardman in Iowa

Iowa state Sen. Renee Hardman’s performance in a December special election for Iowa Senate District 16 was also significant because it blocked Republicans from regaining a two-thirds supermajority in the state’s upper chamber. Iowa Republicans now need at least one Democratic vote to confirm Gov. Kim Reynolds’s (R-IA) nominees to state agencies, boards, and commissions.

Hardman’s win was decisive, landing roughly 43 points over Republican Lucas Loftin once all the votes were counted.

The DNC congratulated Hardman on her “historic” win as the first black woman ever elected to the Iowa Senate while celebrating 2025 as the “year of Democratic victories and overperformance.”

Now represented by Hardman, the district saw former Vice President Kamala Harris hold a 17-point lead over Trump in 2024. Nonetheless, Trump still won Iowa overall by a 13-point margin.

Clemons in Kentucky

Earlier in December, Kentucky Democratic state Sen. Gary Clemons had a 47-point landslide victory over Republican Calvin Leach in the Kentucky Senate District 37 — one that Gov. Andy Beshear (D-KY) heralded as a sign of overperformance for Democrats.

The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee similarly hailed Clemons’s performance in the race at the time as signaling “momentum” for the party heading into the midterm elections.

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Clemons also notably outperformed the top of the party’s 2024 ticket held by Harris by 42 points, according to the DNC.

Though the seat was previously held by a Democrat before Clemons, it is just one of seven controlled by Democrats in the 38-seat Kentucky Senate. Republicans have a controlling supermajority in both chambers of the state legislature. Democrats are looking to make gains at the state level this year, as all 100 seats in the Kentucky House and 19 seats in the Kentucky Senate are up for grabs.