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 on Feb. 5 and clear Rapides Parish sheriff’s deputies who helped carry Ricks to a jail cell as he resisted.

Downs said his office would not pursue criminal charges.

“The rush to judgment that Robert Ricks was deliberately Tasered to death by police officers is without substantial support in the independent investigation by the Louisiana State Police,” Downs said in a statement.

“Although it is obviously a relief to our department and our officers, this is not a time to rejoice,” said Loren Lampert, Alexandria public safety commissioner. “Our thoughts and our prayers go out to the Ricks family for their loss.”

According to a report by State Police investigator Melissa Welch, who interviewed 32 witnesses including firefighters, paramedics, police officers, deputies and others, Ricks was combative and resisted police who responded to a call by Ricks’ grandmother, Maxine Jones.

Jones called paramedics before 10 p.m. Feb. 5 to her Applewhite Street home to help her with her grandson, Ricks, who had been released a few days earlier from Crossroads treatment center, a mental health facility.

Paramedics and firefighters, who also respond to medical calls, later called in Alexandria Police officers. According to the State Police report, a Fire Department captain remembered Ricks from another incident in September or October 2010, when Ricks tried to cut his own penis off and refused treatment.

 

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 is also known as Jimmy Henchman spotted federal agents at around noon when he walked out of the W Hotel in Union Square. In his attempt to evade them, he walked north and ran for several blocks before being tackled at 21st Street and Park Avenue.

James has appeared in Brooklyn federal court on Tuesday and was remanded in custody without bail. According to Reuters, the onetime music manager did not enter a plea. His lawyer Jeffery Lichtman, meanwhile, told MTV News, "These charges obviously aren't surprising, we've been anticipating them for years now."

"But they're built on the backs of people that have lied and cheated, have been threatened, have been bribed by the government," Jeffery added. "Anything to get Jimmy Rosemond, but all of this is going to be exposed. We've been waiting a long time for our day in court - we finally have it."

Last week, convicted felon Dexter Issac confessed to have shot and robbed late rapper Tupac in 1994. Coming clean about the incident on the eve of what should be the rapper's 40th birthday, he claimed he was paid $2,500 dollars by James to rob the rapper outside a studio in Manhattan. James' attorney has since spoken out against the allegations.

 

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 of


Dermatology 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 up to 70 percent of cocaine in the U.S. is tainted with levamisole. The dewormer is cheap, easily available, and gives a small additional high to the cocaine.
"We believe these cases of skin reactions and illnesses


linked to contaminated cocaine are just the tip of the iceberg in a looming public health problem posed by levamisole," said study author Noah Craft, MD, PhD, Los Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.
Health warnings have also been issued in Delaware, Washington, New Mexico, and Canada.

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 many utensils meant for drug consumption. The estimated street value for the drugs stands at about $14,200.

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