A Harvey man who was convicted by a Jefferson Parish jury last week of narcotics and gun offenses was sentenced on Tuesday (March 22) to 25 years in prison.
Corey Faciane, 40, also was ordered to pay a $21,000 fine in connection with his convictions on Thursday of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Members of the West Bank Major Crimes Task Force booked Faciane on Feb. 10, 2011, after finding in his Manhattan Boulevard “stash house” more than 350 grams of crack cocaine with a street value of $20,000. The task force members also found a pistol that had been reported stolen in 2010, and because of his criminal history, he was barred from possessing firearms.
The officers separately found more than $28,200 in cash in a shoe box in his Wall Boulevard apartment. The currency included five $100 bills the officers gave to a confidential informant to purchase drugs from Faciane.
Faciane confessed that the drugs were his and that he was a dealer, but he stood trial last week asserting his innocence. The jury deliberated about one hour, 15 minutes before finding him guilty as charged.
After denying the defense its request for a new trial on Tuesday, Judge Michael Mentz of the 24th Judicial District Court sentenced Faciane to 25 years for the cocaine offense and 20 years for the gun charge. He ran them concurrently.
Faciane could get substantially longer prison sentence, depending on how Mentz rules next month during a multiple bill hearing. Prosecutors on Tuesday filed documents in court in charging Faciane as a triple offender under Louisiana’s career criminal law.
Faciane, a former Algiers resident, has convictions in New Orleans Criminal District Court of possession of cocaine and of possession with intent to distribute marijuana.
If found to be a habitual offender, his sentencing range for the new cocaine conviction would be 20 years to 60 years, and the range for the firearm offense would be 13 1/3 years to 40 years.
Faciane pleaded not guilty to the multiple bill on Tuesday. He is scheduled to reappear in Judge Mentz’s court on April 18 for the hearing.
Assistant District Attorneys Angel Varnado and Rhonda Goode-Douglas prosecuted the case.
