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A 22-year-old Morgan City man was booked on warrants stemming from a May incident during which he agreed to meet an undercover Morgan City police officer to sell marijuana, Police Chief James Blair said in a news release.

—William Doiron III, 22, of Oak Harbor Drive in Stephensville, was arrested at 2:41 a.m. Saturday on warrants charging him with possession of marijuana and driving under suspension.

Doiron was located and arrested in the area of La. 182 on warrants. The warrants stem from a May 6 investigation when Doiron allegedly agreed to meet with an undercover police officer and negotiate the sale of marijuana, Blair said.

Doiron proceeded to drive to the location and was in possession of suspected marijuana, Blair said. Doiron also had a suspended driver’s license. The investigation continued when warrants were prepared for Doiron’s arrest. Doiron was jailed.

Blair reported that officers responded to 114 calls and reported the following arrests:

—Edward A. Gil, 40, of Kimberly Drive in Morgan City, was arrested at 8:57 a.m. Friday on a warrant charging him with failure to appear for arraignment.

Gil was located and arrested in the area of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard on a warrant for 16th Judicial District Court. Gil was jailed.

—Shenice A. Wood, 25, of Halsey Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 10:39 a.m. Friday on a warrant charging her with failure to appear to pay a fine. Wood was located and arrested at the police department on a warrant for city court. Wood was jailed.

—Justin Callais, 28, of Port Royal Way in Houma, was arrested at 10:54 a.m. Friday on a warrant charging him with theft $5,000 to $25,000.

Callais was located and arrested in the area of Roderick Street on a Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office warrant. Callais was jailed.

—Calvin Singleton, 35, of Friendship Lane in Amelia, was arrested at 3:58 p.m. Friday on charges of DWI first offense, DWI child endangerment law, possession of synthetic marijuana second offense, possession of marijuana second offense, possession of drug paraphernalia, illegal use of a controlled dangerous substance in the presence of a juvenile and reckless operation of a motor vehicle.

Patrol officers responded to the area of La. 70 in regard to a medical emergency in the parking lot of an establishment. Officers arrived when Singleton was identified in a vehicle with a child.

Singleton was in an intoxicated state suspected to be under the influence of some sort of narcotics. Singleton was in possession of suspected synthetic marijuana, marijuana and drug paraphernalia, Blair said. Police learned that Singleton had operated his vehicle in a reckless manner before entering the parking lot of the business, Blair said.

Singleton refused field sobriety and chemical tests. A search warrant was obtained for a test of Singleton’s blood, which is pending at the Louisiana State Police Crime Lab. Singleton was jailed.

—Odie G. Nadar, 36, of La. 70 in Morgan City, was arrested at 5:56 p.m. Friday on warrants charging her with failure to appear for a 501 Notice and failure to appear to pay a fine. Nadar was located and arrested in the area of La. 182 on city court warrants. Nadar was jailed.

—Nicholas J. Mendoza, 30, of Levy Street in Plaquemine, was arrested at 7:35 p.m. Friday on a charge of possession of marijuana.

Patrol officers initiated a stop on a vehicle in the area of La. 70 that disregarded a traffic control. Mendoza was identified as an occupant of the vehicle. Mendoza was in possession of suspected marijuana, Blair said. Mendoza was jailed.

—Felipe De Jesus Quezada-Nuno, 45, of Keith Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 5:02 p.m. Saturday on charges of no driver’s license and improper equipment.

Patrol officers observed a vehicle being operated in the area of Victor II Boulevard without proper equipment required. A stop was initiated when Quezada-Nuno was identified as the driver. Quezada-Nuno did not have a valid driver’s license, Blair said. Quezada-Nuno was jailed.

—Tristan Fabre, 18, of La. 400 in Napoleonville, was arrested at 8:10 p.m. Saturday on charges of no driver’s license and improper lane usage.

Patrol officers observed a vehicle being operated in the area of U.S. 90 in an erratic manner. A stop was initiated when Fabre was identified as the driver. Fabre did not have a valid driver’s license, Blair said. Fabre was jailed.

—James C. Bahr, 64, of La. 182 in Morgan City, was arrested at 11:46 a.m. Saturday on charges of DWI first offense, illuminating devices required and driving under suspension.

Patrol officers observed a vehicle being operated in the area of La. 182 without any lighting as required. A stop was initiated when Bahr was identified as the driver.

Bahr was in an intoxicated state and performed poorly on a field sobriety test, Blair said. Bahr also had a suspended driver’s license. Bahr registered 0.180 grams-percent blood alcohol content on a chemical test. Bahr was jailed.

—Titus C. Trimm, 33, of Patton Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 3:14 a.m. Sunday on a charge of resisting an officer by giving false information.

Patrol officers responded to the area of Patton Street in regard to a disturbance. Officers arrived when Trimm was eventually identified. Upon making initial contact with Trimm, he provided a false name, Blair said. Trimm was jailed.

—Dennis A. Dardar, 37, of Texas Gulf Road in Bourg, was arrested at 4:47 p.m. Sunday on a charge of theft less than $1,000.

Patrol officers responded to the area of La. 182 in regard to a suspicious person. During the investigation, police learned that Dardar was in possession of stolen items from a business in the area of La. 182. Dardar allegedly entered the business and took the item without paying for it, Blair said. The item was valued at $60. Dardar was jailed.

—Amanda Underwood, 39, of Riverside Drive in Berwick, was arrested at 9:48 a.m. Sunday on a charge of unauthorized entry of an inhabited dwelling.

Patrol officers responded to the area of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in regard to a disturbance. Officers arrived when Underwood was identified as one of the parties involved. Underwood entered a room belonging to the victim without permission, Blair said. Underwood was jailed.

—Samuel Lacoste, 39, of Brashear Avenue in Morgan City, was arrested at 10:29 p.m. Sunday on a charge of telephone harassment and a warrant charging him with failure to appear for drug court.

Patrol officers responded to a home on Brashear Avenue in regard to harassing phone calls. Officers arrived and located the victim. Police learned that Lacoste had called the victim several times making threats, Blair said. Officers located Lacoste in the area of Federal Avenue.

A warrant check revealed that he had an active warrant for 16th Judicial District Court. Lacoste was jailed.

—Jerry R. Forbes, 17, of Terrebonne Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 3:09 a.m. Monday on charges of possession of marijuana first offense, possession of drug paraphernalia and illegal use of a controlled dangerous substance in the presence of a person under 17 years old.

Officers responded to a motel on La. 182 in regard to illegal drug activity in one of the rooms. Officers arrived and were directed to the room. Police located an individual identified as Forbes. Officers could smell a strong odor of suspected marijuana emitting from the room. Officers also observed a juvenile inside the room, Blair said.

Forbes admitted to having marijuana in the room and gave officers consent to search. Officers located suspected marijuana and drug paraphernalia, Blair said. Forbes was jailed.

St. Mary Parish Sheriff Scott Anslum reported that deputies responded to 134 complaints in the parish and reported the following arrests in east St. Mary Parish:

—George Patin Jr., 55, of Duke Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 3:35 p.m. Friday on a warrant for failure to appear on a charge of theft. Patin was transferred from the East Baton Rouge Parish prison. During the booking process, a booking deputy located a warrant for Patin’s arrest. No bail was set.

—Tanya Authement, 46, of La. 182 in Morgan City, was arrested at 1:20 p.m. Saturday on charges of domestic abuse battery and criminal damage to property.

A deputy patrolling Amelia responded to a disturbance at a home on Lake Palourde Road. The deputy learned that Authement was involved in a physical altercation with the victim and struck the victim several times, Anslum said.

The deputy also learned that during the altercation, Authement damaged the door to the home. Authement was jailed and released on $3,000 bail.

—Daniel Elliot, 19, of Autumn Blossom Avenue in Franklin, was arrested at 3:33 p.m. Sunday on a failure to appear warrant for charges of theft and possession of marijuana. A deputy patrolling Bayou Vista responded to a suspicious person incident near the Bayou Vista truck stop.

The deputy made contact with Elliot and learned that he held an active warrant for his arrest. During a search of Elliot’s person, the deputy located a burned marijuana cigarette. Elliot was jailed with no bail set.

Berwick Police Chief James Richard reported the following arrests:

—Dayshawn Short, 33, of James Street in Siracusaville, was arrested at 8:35 a.m. Friday on a warrant charging him with second-degree battery, on a charge of violation of a protective order and a St. Mary Parish bench warrant charging him with failure to enroll with a batterer’s intervention program. Short was transferred to parish jail.

—Roy Andrus Jr., 24, of Evangeline Drive in Lafayette, was arrested at 10:27 p.m. Friday on a charge of turn signal required and driving under suspension. Andrus posted $1,250 bail.

—Casey Cruz, 18, of Parro Lane in Berwick, was arrested at 6:42 p.m. Saturday on charges of possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia and violation of controlled dangerous substance law-drug-free zone. Cruz was released on recognizance bail.

—William Reaux, 22, of Johnston Street in Lafayette, was arrested at 1:32 a.m. Saturday on charges of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, possession of THC oil, possession of drug paraphernalia, two headlights required, no proof of insurance and stop and yield sign violation. No bail was set.

Patterson Police Chief Janis Merritt reported the following arrest:

—Chane Favors, 42, of Plum Street in Patterson, was arrested at 7:45 p.m. Sunday on charges of three counts of assault and two counts of disturbing the peace. Favors was jailed on $1,285 bail.

In St. Mary
According to the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services:
— In May, 5,592 St. Mary households received SNAP benefits.
— 12,605 of St. Mary's 51,000 people lived in those SNAP households.
— Benefits totaled about $1.7 million per month.

BATON ROUGE (AP) — Louisiana will end the food stamp program that provides aid to nearly one in five state residents by January, unless lawmakers add more money to next year’s budget for the social services agency.
The Department of Children and Family Services is slated to take a cut of around $34 million in the budget passed by lawmakers in the final minutes of the just-ended special session. The agency says that will force it to shutter the food stamp program in 2019 because it won’t be able to pay for administration of the federally funded benefits.
Nineteen percent of Louisiana residents receive assistance from the food stamp program — known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP. The Department of Children and Family Services said about half of those recipients are children.
“It’s a gut-wrenching decision to make,” said Children and Family Services Secretary Marketa Garner Walters. “I hope and pray that none of this is going to be necessary.”
Elimination of SNAP isn’t yet certain. But Walters said conversations already have started with the USDA, which oversees the federal aid program, about the possibility.
Gov. John Bel Edwards is calling lawmakers into a 10-day special session starting June 18 to try to fill the gaps in next year’s budget. He’s asking lawmakers to pass some expiring temporary taxes that are causing the state to take in $648 million less in general tax dollars.
Without additional funding, the family services department will officially notify the USDA in September that it intends to shut down Louisiana’s SNAP program. In January, 1,000 staff would be laid off, eight offices closed and aid from the program ended.
“Our whole culture is wrapped around sharing food, and yet we’re talking about not feeding 860,000 people. It’s just so illogical,” Walters said. “The repercussions of this are ugly.”
Louisiana doles out $1.4 billion in federal food stamp aid annually to low-income households, with benefits depending on the number of people in the family and the level of income. For example, a family of four can receive a maximum up to $640 per month.
No other state has ever shuttered a SNAP program, but Walters said her department has few options after years of cuts that slashed its budget from more than $1.2 billion to around $770 million this year.
The reduction included in next year’s budget would strip 24 percent of the unrestricted, discretionary state general fund money the agency receives.
Walters said she’s protected emergency preparedness work, and she described child welfare services as off-limits because “to take a cut there means literally children die.”
If she hits the child support enforcement program, Walters said the state could lose $150 million in federal grants that spread across multiple agencies to pay for a pre-K program for at-risk children, substance abuse treatment, drug courts and other services.
“It really was a process of elimination. SNAP was the only program left,” she said.
If Louisiana doesn’t have a food stamp program, that also means the state can’t administer disaster food stamp aid after a hurricane, flood or other calamity.