Lafayette Woman Sentenced To 48 Months in Federal Prison for Her Role in a Multi-State Vehicle Theft, Obliterating Vehicle Identification Numbers, And Identity Theft Conspiracy
U.S. Attorney’s Office, Middle District of Louisiana
United States Attorney Kurt L. Wall announced that U.S. Chief Judge Shelly D. Dick sentenced Adrienne Marie King, age 39, of Lafayette, Louisiana, to 48 months in federal prison following her convictions for conspiracy to transport a stolen motor vehicle; altering, removing and obliterating a vehicle identification number; and possession of fifteen or more unauthorized access devices. The Court further sentenced King to serve three years of supervised release following her term of imprisonment and ordered her to pay $127,000 in restitution.
In imposing King’s prison term, and according to admissions as part of her plea, the Court found that, between October 2021 and March 2022, King, Dennis Lloyd Sizemore, Robert Brazell, and Chrisopher Don Byerley carried out a coordinated and complex operation extending across Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Texas, in which the group stole and then used or sold the stolen and altered vehicles, including tractors, excavators, forklifts, and a pickup truck, with a total value of over $250,000.
The conspiracy involved tampering with Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) to disguise the identity of stolen property; using a chop shop, fraudulent documentation, and false business fronts such as “Hevyquip L.L.C.” to sell stolen equipment; and possessing without authorization over 900 identities and access devices to further conceal the criminal activities.
In February 2022, an investigation of a shoplifting incident in the Juban Crossing Shopping Center led Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office detectives to uncover from a stolen pickup truck being operated by Byerley and King an unregistered firearm silencer; an FN Model 509 9mm pistol and ammunition; documentation detailing parts orders for silencers all in Byerley’s handwriting; multiple text messages and photographs pointing to intent to traffic firearms and circumvent federal regulations; and numerous documents, records, emails, text messages, and photos that led law enforcement to uncover the conspiracy and far-reaching criminal enterprise.
Byerley was recently sentenced to 115 months in federal prison following his convictions in this conspiracy and for firearm violations. Sizemore and Brazwell await sentencing.
This matter was investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General, Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office, Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office, East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office, Saint Martin Parish Sheriff’s Office, Saint Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office, Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office, Iberia Sheriff’s Department, and Lafayette Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Lyman E. Thornton III and M. Patricia Jones.