Drug Traffickers Sentenced to 12+ Years in Prison

 Las Vegas Men Responsible for Providing Methamphetamine to Shreveport/Bossier City Area

SHREVEPORT, La. – Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that two men from Las Vegas, Nevada, responsible for distributing large quantities of methamphetamine to the Shreveport/Bossier City area have been sentenced by United States District Judge S. Maurice Hicks, Jr.

Rodolfo Baires, a/k/a “Seiko,” 33, of Las Vegas, Nevada, was sentenced to 151 months (12 years, 7 months) in prison followed by 5 years of supervised release for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine with intent to distribute.

James Lee Logan, 59, of Las Vegas, Nevada, was sentenced to 63 months (5 years, 3 months) in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release for possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.

According to evidence introduced in Court, during the month of May 2017, agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration learned that an individual from Las Vegas with the nickname “Seiko” was planning to send a large quantity of methamphetamine to the Shreveport/Bossier City area sometime during that month. Law enforcement agents learned that someone named “James” would be delivering the narcotics, as well as a description of the vehicle he would be driving.

During the early morning hours of May 26, 2017, a Louisiana State Police Trooper conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle for a traffic violation. The vehicle was being driven by James Lee Logan. Logan advised law enforcement officers that he was traveling from Las Vegas to Shreveport. An open-air search was conducted by a K-9 officer which resulted in a positive indication of the presence of narcotics on a spare tire located in the rear of the vehicle. A search of the spare tire revealed eight packages of suspected methamphetamine wrapped in cellophane and brown tape, weighing 6,100 grams. The narcotics were sent to the DEA Crime Lab and tests confirmed that it was in fact methamphetamine.

Utilizing an informant after Logan’s arrest, agents received several recorded phone calls from “Seiko” inquiring as to the whereabouts of “James.” Agents were able to confirm that “Seiko” was in fact Rodolfo Baires and he was living in Las Vegas. Agents obtained a photo of Baires and a confidential source confirmed that Baires and “Seiko” were in fact one in the same and he was the individual responsible for sending 6,100 grams of methamphetamine that was seized from James Lee Logan in the Western District of Louisiana.

The DEA and Louisiana State Police conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon B. Brown prosecuted the case.