Three Kemper County men were found guilty of conspiring to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, announced U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and Acting Special Agent in Charge Eric Delaune of Homeland Security Investigations in New Orleans.
Donovan Sherill Bourrage, 45, of DeKalb, Orlando Bourrage, 48, of DeKalb, and Cordaryl Ford, 36, of Porterville, were charged in a federal indictment with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Donovan Bourrage was also charged in an additional count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine for his actions on a separate occasion. Cordaryl Ford entered a plea of guilty to his charge on the first day of trial in U.S. District Court in Jackson. After a week-long trial, on May 26, Donovan Bourrage was found guilty of both counts and Orlando Bourrage was found guilty of his charge.
According to court documents, in May 2020, Donovan Sherill Bourrage, Orlando Bourrage, and Cordaryl Ford, conspired with others to distribute methamphetamine in and around the Kemper County area. Specifically, on May 28, 2020, agents intercepted a package shipped from California to Mississippi destined for delivery to Cordaryl Ford, who had previously agreed to sell methamphetamine to Donovan Bourrage and Orlando Bourrage. Both Donovan and Orlando intended to resell the methamphetamine in the Kemper County area.
The package contained marijuana, cocaine and approximately 9 pounds of methamphetamine.
In July of 2020, after the anticipated delivery was thwarted, Donovan Bourrage reached out to a known narcotics trafficker in federal custody at the Stone County Detention Center in Wiggins to obtain methamphetamine. The detainee elicited the help of his cousin, who ultimately met Donovan Bourrage to deliver the negotiated pound of methamphetamine. Donovan Bourrage would meet the detainee’s cousin again to obtain an additional half-pound of methamphetamine.
Cordaryl Ford will be sentenced on August 28, 2023. Donovan Bourrage and Orlando Bourrage will both be sentenced on September 5, 2023. Each defendant faces a maximum penalty of life in prison. A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
“HSI will continue to direct its full range of investigative authorities toward those who smuggle deadly drugs into our communities,” said HSI New Orleans acting Special Agent in Charge Eric Delaune. “This verdict demonstrates the resolve of HSI and all our law enforcement partners to hold those who traffic in drugs accountable for their actions.”
The case is the result of an extensive investigation, dubbed “Orlando Land,” which began as an operation targeting illegal drug trafficking in the Neshoba and Kemper County, Mississippi areas. “Orlando Land” is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces 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.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, Mississippi Attorney General’s Office, Kemper County Sheriff’s Office, Neshoba County Sheriff’s Office, Philadelphia Police Department, Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, Mississippi National Guard Counterdrug Task Force, and the Madison Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Keesha Middleton and Carla Clark.
