Abbeville man guilty of trafficking of fentanyl

LAFAYETTE – United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced that a federal jury trial last week against Gabriel Hawthorne, 41, of Abbeville, Louisiana, ended with the jury finding Hawthorne guilty of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, specifically fentanyl. United States District Judge Robert R. Summerhays presided over the week-long trial.
According to information presented in court, Hawthorne conspired with two others who were also indicted, Frederick Malaki Thornton and Andrea Mitchell, to distribute heroin and fentanyl in the Abbeville area. In March 2022, an individual exchanged a series of phone calls and text messages with Mitchell, and she agreed to sell heroin to that individual. She arranged the distribution of the heroin by communicating with Thornton, who was her boyfriend at the time, and Hawthorne, who was her supplier.
Hawthorne owned a business, ZZ’s Kitchen, in Abbeville and would use that business to store the narcotics that he, Mitchell and Thornton made arrangements to sell.
Mitchell also admitted that Hawthorne would mix the heroin before giving it to her to sell. The suspected heroin which was sold by Mitchell and Thornton were seized and sent to the DEA Laboratory for testing and resulted a positive test for fentanyl.
Hawthorne faces a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, 3 years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $1,000,000.
Frederick Thornton and Andrea Mitchell each previously pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.
The case was investigated by Drug Enforcement Administration and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys John W. Nickel and J. Luke Walker.