A 34-year-old Albany man has been sentenced to 92 months in federal prison for distributing fentanyl after a controlled buy in a Baton Rouge restaurant parking lot turned up nearly 4,000 pills pressed to look like prescription oxycodone. Devonte Skinner’s sentence, handed down by a federal judge in the Middle District of Louisiana, immediately drew public criticism from the top federal prosecutor overseeing the case, who says the punishment does not come close to matching the danger Skinner posed to the community.
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, published by an17.com, the case began on February 21, 2024, when a confidential source met Skinner and another individual in a restaurant parking lot on O’Neal Lane in Baton Rouge. Investigators with Homeland Security Investigations and the Drug Enforcement Administration conducted a controlled purchase during that meeting, with Skinner located in the front passenger seat of a vehicle as pills and money changed hands with the confidential source. The buy yielded 539.2 grams of fentanyl, including 3,792 pills pressed to resemble 30-milligram oxycodone tablets.
A Sentence Far Below Federal Guidelines
Skinner was convicted of distribution of fentanyl and sentenced to 92 months in federal prison, along with five years of supervised release, per the same press release. U.S. Attorney Kurt L. Wall announced the sentencing and did not hide his frustration with the outcome, stating that a 92-month sentence is insufficient given the scale of the offense. Wall’s office noted the prosecution was led by Paul L. Pugliese and fell under the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Louisiana, working in connection with the Homeland Security Task Force in New Orleans.
The gap between the sentence and what prosecutors expected is stark. Federal sentencing guidelines called for 262 to 327 months of imprisonment, according to the release — meaning U.S. Chief District Judge Shelly D. Dick’s 92-month term represented a downward variance of roughly 14 to 19 years below what guidelines recommended, as detailed by the U.S. Department of Justice. Wall said his office is considering all options, including an appeal…