Our client, Derrick Larcart, proudly served our country as a soldier in the U.S. Army for approximately 20 years. On September 13, 2023, his life was drastically changed. On that date the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office and the FBI searched his Lake Charles home for two to three hours. Although no evidence of criminal activity was found, Derrick was arrested on a criminal complaint and taken into federal custody. A detention hearing occurred on September 20th in Alexandria. Despite our efforts to expose that the evidence against our client was woefully insufficient, the magistrate judge ordered that Mr. Larcart be detained pending trial.
On October 11, 2023, the United States Attorney’s Office (Western District of Louisiana) indicted our client (along with ten others) for Conspiracy to Distribute and Possession with Intent to Distribute Controlled Substances (Methamphetamine). The Government offered Derrick a plea deal, which he promptly rejected. On January 19, 2024, the federal grand jury returned a Superseding Indictment in this matter. However, our client was not named in that Indictment. On February 4, 2024, our office filed a motion for another detention hearing. This time the U. S. Attorney’s Office did not oppose Mr. Larcart’s release. Our client was finally released from custody after serving 5 months imprisonment for a crime that he did not commit.
A couple of weeks ago the U.S. Attorney’s Office finally did the right thing and dismissed all charges against our client. Derrick’s resilience is very inspirational. He is a living example that you can prevail against the federal government, despite the odds, when you have the truth on your side. However, in order to do so, you must be willing to stand strong in your faith like Derrick Larcart did.
