By Leonard Gray / L’Observateur / January 19, 1998

LAPLACE – This week’s stormy weather caught 33 suspected drug dealersand users napping Thursday morning as St. John the Baptist ParishSheriff’s officers braved the elements to sweep them from the streets.Operation Six-Pack was the climax of a three-month undercoverinvestigation, the cases built by audio and video recordings of drug dealsin St. John Parish. A total of 102 charges were built against 65 suspects,the remainder still being sought as of press time.

Many of those arrested, St. John Parish Sheriff Wayne L. Jones said, wererepeat offenders who “are very unlikely they will be getting out of jail.”Officers primarily from St. John Parish, but also including a handful fromSt. Charles and St. James parishes and the Louisiana State Probation andParole office, took to the streets at 4:45 a.m. This time, the raid wasorganized with a short-form sheet to speed up the booking process andallow the officer to get back to the streets more quickly.

Also, the raid was organized with nine team leaders, each with their ownsquad to fan out across the parish for the early-morning wake-up calls onsuspected drug offenders.

In addition, suspects were brought to a central location in the DupontPERO Building parking lot, where larger Mobile Incarceration Unit vansawaited them for mass transport to the Sherman Walker Detention Center.In a pre-raid briefing, Jones called upon his officers to make the arrests”in a swift and professional manner.”

On the streets, insistent calls of “Open up, Sheriff’s Office!” were met bydisbelief, anger and resignation by the suspects apprehended. Afterwards,Jones commented the roundup was “going very well this morning,” andnoted he was celebrating his 44th birthday with the roundup.

Those arrested Thursday morning include:

* Alice Bailey, 23, 143 Louisiana Ave., LaPlace, six counts distribution ofcocaine.

* Anthony Staggers, 30, 320 Northwest Second St., Reserve, six countsdistribution of cocaine.

* Calvin Paul Simoneaux, 38, 614 Chickadee St., LaPlace, possession ofcocaine.

* Charles Butler Jr., 20, 154 Marigold St., Mt. Airy, distribution of cocaine.

* Christopher Williams, 17, 116 Rosenwalt Drive, Reserve, distribution ofmarijuana.

* Curtis Green, 35, 610 Cardinal St., LaPlace, distribution of cocaine.

* Donald Joe Sylve, 46, 166 West Fourth St., LaPlace, distribution ofcocaine, being a fugitive from another agency and contempt of court.

* Donald Johnson Jr., 29, 484 Central Ave., Edgard, distribution of cocaine.* Durrel Housely, 30, 617 Eagle St., LaPlace, distribution of cocaine andprobation violation.

* Earl Young III, 29, 131 East 13th St., Reserve, two counts distribution ofmarijuana, probation violation and criminal trespass.

* Gejuan Walters, 26, 144 Northwest 12th St., Reserve, distribution ofmarijuana.

* Glen Howard Johnson, 29, 412 Acadian Drive, parole violation, being afugitive from another agency and six counts contempt of court.

* Grayland Ceasar, 17, 118 Dove St., LaPlace, two counts distribution ofcocaine.

* Harold Roe, 61. 207 East 10th St., Reserve, distribution of cocaine, beinga fugitive from another agency and contempt of court.

* A 16-year-old boy, Northwest 12th St., Reserve, attempted distributionof marijuana.

* Jeremy Housley, 18, 617 Eagle St., LaPlace, two counts distribution ofcocaine.

* John Green, 26, 108 Hamp St., LaPlace, distribution of cocaine.

* Joseph Borne Jr., 19, 134 East 14th St., Reserve, distribution ofmarijuana.

* Joseph Cook Jr., 20, 128 Star Terrace, Reserve, four counts distributionof marijuana.

* Keith Williams, 22, East St., Garyville, distribution of cocaine.

* Kenneth Mark Joseph, 18, 1621 Williamsburg Drive, LaPlace, distributionof cocaine.

* Kevin Dennis, 39, 247 247 East 29th St., Reserve, distribution ofcocaine.

* Leroy Bolden Jr., 41, 2251 St. Charles St., LaPlace, four countsdistribution of cocaine.

* Norris Belvin Jr., 21, 132 Mercury, Reserve, four counts distribution ofcocaine and three counts distribution of marjuana.

* Ozander Williams, no age provided, 166-A Beechgrove, Reserve, paroleviolation.

* Ronald Narcisse, 46, 462 Elm St., LaPlace, distribution of cocaine.* Sam Williams, 19, 237 Pine St., LaPlace, distribution of cocaine.

* Shawn Smith, 17, 244 Persimmon St., LaPlace, three counts distributionof cocaine.

* Talmedge Martin Kirkland, 29, 217 Chad B. Baker, Reserve, distributionof cocaine and two counts distribution of marijuana.

* Terri Lynn Randall, 27, 422 Orange Loop, LaPlace, four countsdistribution of cocaine.

* Timothy Alexis, 33, 513 Willow St., LaPlace, distribution of cocaine.

* Todd Simon, 24, 198 East 17th St., Reserve, parole violation.

* Steven Sylve, 17, 1200 Cambridge Drive Apt. C, LaPlace, distribution ofcocaine.

Photo – OPERATION SIX-PACK rounded up 33 of 65 suspects sought for drug lawand other violations in St. John the Baptisit Parsih Thursday morning. Here,a row of suspects, their hands bound by plastic ties, prepare to board the St.John Sheriff’s Office Mobile Incarceration Unit at Dupont’s parking lot duringthe pre-dawn roundup. Staff photo by Leonard Gray

Return To News Stories