Police: Man ingested marijuana to destroy evidence

A 21-year-old Morgan City man was charged with obstruction of justice after police discovered that he tried to destroy evidence of marijuana by ingesting the drug, Morgan City Police Chief James Blair said in a news release.

— Somoa K. Scott Jr., 21, of Hilda Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 8:07 p.m. Sunday on a charge of obstruction of justice.

Patrol officers responded to the area of Mallard Street in regard to a narcotics complaint. The responding officer received a description of a vehicle and located it. The officer initiated a stop, and Scott was identified as an occupant in the vehicle.

Police found evidence that Scott destroyed suspected marijuana by ingesting it, Blair said. Scott was jailed.

Blair reported that officers responded to 121 calls and reported the following arrests:

—Marcus T. Gray, 33, of First Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 2:57 p.m. Friday on a warrant charging him with failure to appear to pay a fine.

Gray was located and arrested in the area of Willard Street on a city court warrant. Gray was jailed.

—Wiltz Grow, 51, of Adelle Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 2:08 a.m. Saturday on charges of DWI first offense, improper lane usage and possession of an open alcoholic beverage.

Patrol officers observed a vehicle being operated in the area of La. 70 in an erratic manner. A stop was initiated, and Grow was identified as the driver, Blair said.

Grow was in an intoxicated state and performed poorly on field sobriety test, Blair said. Grow was also in possession of an open alcoholic beverage in the motor vehicle, Blair said. Grow refused to submit to a chemical test for intoxication, Blair said. Grow was jailed.

—Ronald Grow, 45, of Union Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 2:36 a.m. Saturday on charges of driving under suspension and improper lighting.

Patrol officers observed a vehicle being operated in the area of Seventh Street without proper lighting. A stop was initiated, and Ronald Grow, the driver, had a suspended driver’s license, Blair said. He was jailed.

—Jonathan C. Murray, 33, of Railroad Avenue in Morgan City, was arrested at 2:50 a.m. Saturday on a warrant charging him with failure to appear for revocation and improper lane usage.

Patrol officers observed a vehicle being operated in the area of La. 182 in an erratic manner. A stop was initiated, and Murray was identified as the driver. Murray was had an active arrest warrant through 16th Judicial District Court, Blair said. Murray was jailed.

— Cayd Hatch, 20, of Prairie Road in Franklin, was arrested at 6:25 p.m. Saturday on charges of driving under suspension, disregard of traffic controls and improper equipment.

Patrol officers observed a vehicle being operated in the area of Brashear Avenue disregard a red light. The vehicle was also observed not to have a license plate displayed, Blair said.

A stop was initiated, and Hatch was identified as the driver, Blair said. Hatch’s driver’s license was under suspension. Hatch was jailed.

—April Thompkins, 28, of Bowman Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 8:10 a.m. Saturday on charges of no insurance and improper lighting, on warrants charging her with failure to appear for review, failure to appear to pay a fine and on a Thibodaux police warrant charging her with contempt of court.

Patrol officers observed a vehicle being operated in the area of La. 182 with improper lighting. A stop was initiated, and Thompkins, the driver, was operating a vehicle that didn’t have proper insurance, Blair said.

Thompkins was arrest warrants through Morgan City Court and Thibodaux Police Department. Thompkins was jailed.

—Richard K. Hawkins, 42, of Terrebonne Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 9:33 p.m. Saturday on a charge of simple battery.

Patrol officers responded to the area of Sixth Street in regard to a battery that had been committed. Officers arrived, and Hawkins was identified as one of the people involved.

Hawkins allegedly struck the victim during an altercation, Blair said. Hawkins was located a short time later in the area of Terrebonne Street and admitted to striking the victim, Blair said. Hawkins was jailed.

—Bryce P. Balfantz , 18, of Nichole Lane in Berwick, was arrested at 10:22 p.m. Saturday on charges of possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and improper lighting.

Patrol officers observed a vehicle being operated in the area of La. 182 with improper lighting. A stop was initiated, and Balfantz, the driver, was in possession of suspected marijuana and drug paraphernalia, Blair said. Balfantz was jailed.

—Manuel Fuentes, 37, of Fourth Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 2:16 a.m. Sunday on charges of DWI first offense and improper lane usage.

Patrol officers observed a vehicle being operated in the area of La. 182 in an erratic manner swerving from lane to lane. A stop was initiated, and Fuentes, the driver, was in an intoxicated state, Blair said.

Fuentes performed poorly on a field sobriety test and refused to submit to a chemical test, Blair said. Fuentes was jailed.

—Johnny C. Berryhill, 37, of Federal Avenue in Morgan City, was arrested at 6:43 p.m. Saturday on charges of disturbing the peace intoxicated and open container.

Patrol officers responded to the area of First Street in regard to an intoxicated person beating on a vehicle, Blair said. Officers arrived, and Berryhill was identified as one of the people involved.

Berryhill was in an intoxicated state and observed by the officer consuming an alcoholic beverage, Blair said. Berryhill was jailed.

—Jesses R. Laboy, 41, of Ingalls Avenue in Pascagoula, Mississippi, was arrested at 2:42 a.m. Sunday on charges of DWI first offense, possession of an alcoholic beverage, disregard of traffic controls, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Patrol officers saw a vehicle being operated in the area of David Drive disregard a stop sign. A stop was initiated, and Laboy, the driver, was in an intoxicated state, Blair said. Laboy performed poorly on a field sobriety test and was also in possession of suspected marijuana and drug paraphernalia, Blair said.

Laboy registered 0.102 grams-percent blood alcohol content on a chemical test, Blair said. Laboy was jailed.

—Brennan N. Skinner, 25, of Grace Street in Siracusavlle , was arrested at 8:48 p.m. Monday on charges of driving under suspension, two headlights required, improper equipment and misuse of temporary tag.

Patrol officers observed a vehicle being operated in the area of La. 182 with only one operable headlight. A stop was initiated, and Skinner was identified as the driver. The vehicle did not have required registration or license plate, and the temporary tag was expired, Blair said. Skinner also had a suspended driver’s license, Blair said. Skinner was jailed.

—Damien Keller, 34, of Saturn Road in Bayou Vista, was arrested at 10:35 a.m. Monday on a charge of theft by shoplifting.

Patrol officers responded to a business in the area of Victor II Boulevard in regard to a shoplifter. Officers arrived, and Keller was found to have allegedly concealed items valued at $59.99 while in the store, Blair said.

When management was alerted, Keller removed a watch and left the store, Blair said. Keller was jailed.

—Carl J. Batiste, 54, of Taft Street in Patterson, was arrested at 3:01 p.m. Monday on charges of driving under suspension, possession of open container and expired license plate.

Patrol officers observed a vehicle being operated in the area of U.S. 90 with an expired license plate. A stop was initiated, and Batiste, the driver, had a suspended driver’s license and was also in possession of an open alcoholic container in the motor vehicle, Blair said. Batiste was jailed.

—Michael A. Bender, 44, of Cherry Street in Patterson, was arrested at 4:30 p.m. Monday on charges of driving under suspension and improper equipment and a warrant charging him with failure to appear to pay a fine.

Patrol officers saw a vehicle being operated in the area of Sixth Street with a windshield that was in a condition to obstruct the driver’s view.

A stop was initiated, and Bender, the driver, had a suspended driver’s license, Blair said. Bender also had an active arrest warrant through city court. Bender was jailed.

St. Mary Parish Sheriff Scott Anslum reported that deputies responded to 136 complaints in the parish and reported the following arrests in east St. Mary Parish:

—Travis Touchet, 36, of Arnould Street in Lafayette, was arrested at 4:12 p.m. Friday on a charge of hit-and-run driving.

A deputy investigating a December 2017 report of a hit-and-run crash found evidence that Touchet rear-ended another vehicle while driving on U.S. 90 in the Amelia area causing minor damage to the vehicles, Anslum said.

Touchet met with the investigating deputy and turned himself in at the parish jail. Touchet was released on $1,000 bail.

—Crystal Thompson, 39, of Field Road in Bayou Vista, was arrested at 5:20 p.m. Monday on a charge of theft.

In early January, a deputy began an investigation into a report of shoplifting at a store in Bayou Vista. On Jan. 15, a deputy received information from store security that the suspect in the shoplifting incident was in the store. The deputy positively identified Thompson as the suspect who left the store without paying for several items, Anslum said. Thompson was released on a summons to appear in court April 2.

—Brittan Boudreaux, 33, of Lizabeth Drive in Morgan City, was arrested at 9:30 p.m. Monday on charges of theft and criminal trespass.

A deputy investigating a report of a theft found evidence that Boudreaux stole two tool boxes from outside a home on Jupiter Street in Bayou Vista, Anslum said. Boudreaux was jailed with bail set at $2,500.

Assumption Parish Sheriff Leland Falcon reported the following arrest relating to the area:

—William I. Fontenot Jr., 52, of La. 663 in Bayou L’Ourse, was arrested Sunday on charges of possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.

A deputy on patrol in Bayou L’Ourse observed a vehicle commit a traffic violation and proceeded to stop the vehicle. The deputy stopped the pick-up truck and identified the driver as Fontenot.

The deputy proceeded to interview Fontenot. Based on that interview and personal observations, the deputy requested a K-9 unit at the scene. The K-9 unit arrived and conducted an open-air sweep of the vehicle which alerted to the presence of illegal substances, Falcon said.

As a result of the search of the vehicle and Fontenot, deputies found methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia, Falcon said.

Fontenot was placed under arrest, transported to the Assumption Parish Detention Center. Fontenot was also issued two traffic related summonses and was jailed pending a bail hearing.

Berwick Police Chief James Richard reported no arrests.