East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Department put a “pretty good dent” in Baton Rouge drug trafficking when narcotics officers arrested two men on charges of possession of ecstasy pills valued at $157,000, officials said.
Officers found Reginald Fitzgerald, 26, of 9456 Kevel Road, in the parking lot of St. John’s Methodist Church following a tip from an undisclosed informant, who was supposed to purchase narcotics from Fitzgerald, according to the police report.
Fitzgerald was illegally possessing a .45-caliber pistol because of a prior felony conviction, MDMA or ecstasy pills and marijuana, Sheriff’s Office spokesman Fred Raiford said Friday.
Officers then searched Fitzgerald’s home and found Nicholas Darensbourg, 26, of 11101 Rieger Road. Officers said they found Darensbourg possessing a sack of marijuana and $840 in cash.
Officers then obtained a search warrant for Darensbourg’s home where they found 4,205 ecstasy pills inside a backpack and $9,000 cash, according to the police report.
Raiford said the investigation is still ongoing in the search for the men’s suppliers.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse reports that ecstasy is a synthetic, psychoactive drug that acts as a combination stimulant and hallucinogen.