A Rapides Parish drug agency has wrapped up a seven-month investigation into meth sales with an arrest.
The man arrested, Jacob Wayne Barron, 42, of Boyce, was on probation after being convicted of transporting more than two pounds of meth in 2019. When Rapides Area Drug Enforcement (RADE) Agents helped Probation and Parole with a residence check, they allegedly found more than eight pounds of methamphetamine.
Barron was booked with Possession of CDS I with intent (2 counts); Possession of CDS II with Intent 28 grams or more
Possession of CDS 5 with intent; Possession of Drug Paraphernalia; Illegal carry of a firearm with drugs; Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; and Probation violation.
The investigation has been going on for seven months, as RADE agents have been working leads to figure out who was moving large amounts of meth in the parish, a spokesman says.
Barron was developed as a suspect; he was arrested in March 2019 in Sulphur with two pounds of meth on I-10. He was convicted in November 2020 and given an eight-month sentence. That sentence was suspended and he was placed on three years probation.
RADE agents let Probation and Parole know that he was a suspect in the sale of large amounts of meth, and so P&P agents did a residence check on Barron's home. They saw pills and drug paraphernalia in plain view, and so they called in RADE for assistance. Agents say they found two handguns, THC vape pens, THC gummies, THC vape cartridges, Hydrocodone pills, digital scales, packaging material, vacuum sealer, 9 ounces of Promethazine and 8 pounds, 15 ounces of suspected Methamphetamine.
Barron was arrested without incident and booked into the Rapides Parish Detention Center where he remains at the time of this release. Barron is being held on a $78,000 bond as well as a probation violation hold without bond, the spokesman says.
RADE agents say their investigation is still ongoing and more arrests are expected.
“We want to thank all our partner agencies for their assistance in this investigation, especially the Louisiana Division of Probation and Parole” said Sheriff Mark Wood. “The long hours put in by everyone involved have prevented this poison for getting into our communities and I could not be prouder of their combined accomplishment.”
