Partnership between DA Steve Tew and the U.S. Attorney’s Office focused on prosecuting gun and drug charges, ADA Catherine Semmes receives award
On March 20, 2025, Terry Doughty, Chief Judge for the United States District Court in the Western District of Louisiana, sentenced two Monroe men to 8.5 years in federal prison for gun related offenses. Andreveon Kyles was arrested in July 2024, following a traffic stop for illegal possession of a firearm by a person convicted of certain felonies. Kyles, who was a passenger in the vehicle, was found to have a pistol and ammunition in his possession. Kyles pled guilty to the charge in December 2024. He was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release.
Charles Montgomery was stopped by the Ouachita Parish Sheriff’s Office in June 2022, for a traffic violation. During the stop, he was found in possession of a pistol despite having a prior felony conviction which precluded him from possessing a firearm. Montgomery was sentenced by Judge Doughty to 42 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release.
These cases were prosecuted by Catherine Semmes, Ouachita Parish Assistant District Attorney, in her role as Special Assistant United States Attorney. ADA Semmes was sworn in as SAUSA in 2023 by former United States Attorney Brandon Brown. ADA Semmes has worked tirelessly in this partnership between the two agencies to further the goals of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a nationwide initiative that brings together federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement officials to identify the most pressing violent crime problems and develop solutions to address them. During her first-year prosecuting cases as a SAUSA, ADA Semmes secured indictments of 19 individuals for committing guns and/or drug related offenses in Ouachita Parish. Of the 19 indictments, 16 individuals have already been convicted and sentenced to federal time.
In December 2024, ADA Semmes was presented with the Project Safe Neighborhood Award by then U.S. Attorney Brandon Brown for her “untiring efforts in spearheading elite communication and coordination with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies resulting in the successful prosecution of violent criminals in the Western District of Louisiana.”