Coroner's report says suspect's death was cocaine-related

Rapides Parish Coroner’s Office report has ruled that the February death of a mentally ill Alexandria man in police custody was accidental, probably from a combination of his schizophrenia and a high level of cocaine he ingested before he was arrested.Though Robert Ricks was stunned by a Taser twice for five seconds or less on Feb. 5 – once by an Alexandria police officer and once by a Rapides Parish sheriff’s deputy – the Coroner’s Office said Ricks most likely died from “excited delirium,” a result of “schizophrenia and cocaine (acting) in concert” and leading to his death.Rapides Parish District Attorney James “Jam” Downs said the coroner and State Police reports, released by his office Tuesday, clear Alexandria police who arrested Ricks...

Hip-Hop Mogul Linked to Tupac Shakur Shooting Arrested on Drug Charges

Hip-Hop music executive James Rosemond has been taken into custody by U.S. Marshalls and DEA agents in New York City. Though he was recently accused of orchestrating the 1994 shooting of Tupac Shakur, the co-founder of Czar Entertainment was apprehended on charges unrelated to the accusations made by convicted felon Dexter Isaac. The 46-year-old was arrested Tuesday, June 21 on suspicion of running a cocaine trafficking ring that operated on both the West and East coasts. Federal authorities had been searching for the music mogul, who has worked with recording artists like The Game, since warrants were issued for his arrest on May 17. James' manhunt came to an end after a foot chase in Manhattan. The New York Post reported that the man who...

Cocaine on the streets now in New York and Los Angeles is cut with a drug that's causing users skin to rot off,

Cocaine on the streets now in New York and Los Angeles is cut with a drug that's causing users skin to rot off, doctors say.According to KTLA, physicians at Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute say drug dealers are cutting cocaine with levamisole, a chemical used by veterinarians for deworming livestock.Levamisole damages blood vessels under the skin, causing the rotting.A study by the Journal of the American Academy ofDermatology looked at six cocaine users who ingested the drug. On each, skin from their face, ears, nose and torso was rotting.Several more cases have been reported since the paper was written.The Department of Justice says...

The two suspected traffickers will be investigated under the Misuse of Drugs Act. If convicted, they both may face the death penalty.

THE Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) on June 21 arrested two drug traffickers in separate instances. A total of approximately 490g of heroin and five grammes of methamphetamine or 'ice' worth more than $75,000 was seized.The first was a 53 year-old male that has been under surveillance. CNB officers nabbed him at around 4.40pm at a carpark around his block as he was leaving his unit along Bendemeer Road.Found in his unit was 95g of heroin and another 310g were separately stashed in three motorcycle boxes fitted on bicycles, recovered with his cooperation.In the second case, CNB officers arrested a 54-year-old, his 48-year-old associate, and two suspected drug abusers, aged 43 and 51.Seized were 85g of heroin, five grammes of methamphetamine and...