‘Storm’ anything but quiet for drug suspects
Published 12:00 am Wednesday, April 13, 2011
By ROBIN SHANNON
L’Observateur
LAPLACE – A four-month undercover drug operation by the St. John the Baptist Sheriff’s Office netted 11 individuals suspected of dealing assorted drugs throughout the parish, according to a release from the Sheriff’s Office.
Capt. Dane Clement, spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office, said the operation, dubbed “Quiet Storm,” was initiated after the Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Division received several citizen complaints about suspected drug activity throughout the parish.
Clement said the complaints and subsequent investigation were not confined to one specific area of the parish. He said the investigation validated many of the complaints from residents, and as a result 11 judicial warrants were issued and executed in late March.
Investigations are ongoing in an attempt to further identify drug distribution networks, Clement said.
Those arrested as part of the drug operation were Calvin Lee, 37, of 711 Belle Pointe Blvd., LaPlace, for distribution of crack cocaine; Darnell Davis, 32, of 127 Reserve Drive, Reserve, for distribution of crack cocaine; Antonio Chopin Jr., 22, of 127 Joe Parquet Circle, LaPlace for distribution of crack cocaine; Gregory Labranche, 32, of 2121 Williamsburg Drive, LaPlace, for distribution of crack cocaine; Travis Sharlow, 29, of 104 W. Second St., LaPlace, for distribution of crack cocaine; Sidney Joseph, 50, of 8896 Sunnyside Drive, LaPlace, for distribution of crack cocaine; Otis Moore, 53, of 237 Daffodil St., Mt. Airy, for distribution of crack cocaine; Elliot Joseph, 31, of 211 E. 30th St., Reserve, for distribution of marijuana, possession of a schedule IV CDS, illegal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and a parole violation; Aaron Brown, 47, of 201 Joe Parquet Circle, LaPlace, for distribution of crack cocaine; Sheik Blount, 21, of 1608 N. Sugar Ridge Drive, LaPlace, for distribution of marijuana; and Kadeem Watkins, 20, of 2709 Yorktown Drive, LaPlace for distribution of marijuana.