ERIK SANZENBACH / L’Observateur / January 5, 2000

LAPLACE- A routine traffic stop by the Gramercy police in St. JamesParish has netted a mid-to-upper-level drug dealer who was operating out of Garyville in St. John the Baptist Parish.St. John Parish Sheriff, Wayne L. Jones reported Monday that James A.Cambre III, 24, 453 Lil Emily St., Garyville, has been arrested and chargedwith several counts of drug possession and distribution.

Cambre was stopped and detained by officers of the Gramercy Police Department on Dec. 31 during a routine narcotics investigation, and policefound two pounds of marijuana in Cambre’s car. Because he was a residentof St. John Parish, the Gramercy police informed the St. John Bureau ofNarcotics for a follow-up investigation.

“This was a real joint effort between the parishes,” said Lt. OctavioGonzalez, head of the St. John Parish Bureau of Narcotics.On Jan. 1 St. John police conducted a search of Cambre’s residence inGaryville and recovered 20 pounds of marijuana, one and half kilograms (271 grams) of pure powder cocaine, drug paraphernalia and a scale for weighing the drugs.

Jones said the street value of the marijuana was about $44,000, and the cocaine was worth about $6,000. The cocaine is 98 percent pure and can becut down and sold for an even higher street price.

Gonzalez said Cambre was going to distribute the drugs throughout the River Parishes to street level dealers.

Cambre has been charged with possession with intent to distribute marijuana, possession with intent to distribute cocaine, possession of more than 200 hundred grams of cocaine and possession of narcotics paraphernalia.

He is also under probation with the Louisiana Department of Corrections for possession of stolen property. Violation of his probation means anautomatic five-year prison sentence, according to Jones.

At the present time, Cambre is being held at the St. James ParishCorrectional Center in Convent awaiting bond for the charge of possession of marijuana.

In St. John Parish, Judge Sterling Snowdy has set Cambre’s bond at$70,000.

Gonzalez said the marijuana was not home-grown and was probably brought into the parish from outside the United States. He also said morearrests are possible following the outcome of this investigation.

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