TPSO: Multiple arrests made on gun, drug charges after K-9 deputy deployed at hotel

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Terrebonne Parish Sheriff, Tim Soignet, said a call of suspicious behavior resulted in multiple people being arrested for Narcotics and Weapons violations. Just before 11:00 PM on Sunday Night 12-20-2020, the sheriff’s office received a call of suspicious behavior and several people going in and out of a room at a local hotel. T.P.S.O. Uniform Patrol Deputies and a K-9 Deputy responded to this complaint.

Upon arriving, deputies could smell a strong odor of marijuana coming from the room. T.P.S.O. personnel knocked, and the door was opened by one of the occupants. Deputies observed approximately 13 male subjects inside this motel room. Some of the occupants were using U.S. Currency to gamble on a dice game they were playing.

The occupants of the room became uncooperative and aggressive when they realized law enforcement was there. Some of these suspects charged at the deputies in the doorway of the room, and forced them outside, where physical struggles ensued between these suspects and deputies. As this was occurring, deputies observed a subject later identified as Avonte Jamison attempt to conceal a firearm in his waist band before throwing the firearm in the room and attempting to flee.
Due to the limited number of deputies on scene verses the large number of suspects, some of the suspects were able to flee the area. Descriptive information of the ones fleeing was broadcasted over the Sheriff’s Office communication radio, by the on-scene deputies, as they continued to struggle with others. Other responding deputies began looking for these suspects.

Uniform Patrol Deputies overcame Avonte Jamison’s resistance and were able to take him into custody. A K-9 Deputy was attempting to detain one of the suspects, later identified as Jaylan Coleman, who also forced his way out of this room. Coleman was extremely aggressive during this struggle.

The K-9 deputy activated the automatic door opener, which is added to all T.P.S.O. K-9 vehicles. This allowed the deputy’s K-9 partner to exit the vehicle and come to the aid of his handler. With the assistance of his K-9 partner the deputies were able to take Coleman into custody. “Our K-9 supervisor specifically trains our K-9s and their handlers for these situations. It’s one of those things you hope you are never in the situation, but are trained for if needed” Sheriff Soignet said

Deputies responding to the scene observed a vehicle matching the description broadcasted by the on-scene deputies. A traffic stop was conducted on this vehicle, and the driver was identified as one of the main suspects involved in physically forcing the deputies out the door of the hotel room. He was taken into custody and identified as Marcus Twiggs.

A search warrant was conducted on this hotel room and all vehicles associated with that room. During this search T.P.S.O. personnel recovered multiple firearms, heroin, prescription pills, and marijuana. Some of the firearms had previously been reported stolen. U.S. Currency was recovered in the room and in the possession of the suspects who were detained.

As of this time Jaylan Coleman (a 26-year-old male of Houma), Avonte Jamison (a 26-year-old male of Houma), and Marcus Twiggs (a 38-year-old male of Houma) have been arrested. Coleman was treated at a local hospital for dog bite injuries before being booked into jail. The T.P.S.O. K-9 Deputy received injuries during the struggle. He was treated for these injuries at a local hospital and has been released.

Sheriff Soignet said “I will use all Sheriff’s Office personnel and all of our resources to identify the others who were involved. I will also personally follow up on the status of this case. These deputies did their duty by responding to a call for service, and I will not tolerate offenders acting violent towards them”.

Evidence recovered during this investigation:

5 loaded semi-auto pistols of various calibers (two had been reported stolen)
Ammunition for high caliber rifles.
Multiple bags of marijuana, totaling approximately 171 grams. (Street value $2,000)
Multiple bags of heroin, totaling approximately 19 grams. (Street value $3,000)
A bottle of liquid Promethazine with Codeine. (Street value $30)
Hydrocodone Pills. (Street value $10 each).
Multiple items used for the packaging, sale, and use of illegal narcotics.
Items used in the performance of Illegal gambling.
$4,815 in U.S. Currency