Drugs often receive a great deal of attention from law enforcement, as well as from the general public. In some situations, Louisiana residents come together in an effort to push drugs out of their community by keeping watch over their neighbors and reporting what they view as suspicious activities to the police. The result of some of these efforts is the arrest of people-sometimes a large number of people-suspected of involvement in drug activities.
Due to residents of two Louisiana parishes repeatedly complaining about a man allegedly involved in the distribution of meth and cocaine, local, state and federal law enforcement agencies came together to conduct an investigation. After conducting surveillance and undercover operations, the law enforcement officials served eight search warrants and arrested 14 people. Drugs valued at over $7,000 were seized, as well as over $5,000 in cash and several firearms and vehicles.
The drug charges faced by those arrested include possession, distribution, and possession with intent to distribute. In addition, several of those arrested also face charges of racketeering. Due to the investigation conducted by the law enforcement agencies, there is a good probability that there is strong evidence against many of these defendants. However, some of the defendants may have been less involved than others, coerced into participating, or simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. For these defendants, they may be able to work out a deal with the prosecutor if they are willing to provide information of use to the prosecution.
For other defendants, the evidence against them may have been improperly obtained. A defense attorney can examine the incriminating evidence and the means by which it was gathered to determine if there is an argument for excluding the evidence on constitutional grounds. Defendants facing several criminal charges may also want to consider negotiating a plea deal where they plead guilty to some of the charges in exchange for having many of the other charges dropped. This can be one way to reduce some of the serious consequences that result from several drug-related convictions.
Source: TheTownTalk.com, “Complaints about one man lead to 15 drug, racketeering arrests in Campti,” Dec. 19, 2013