[StBernard] Sheriff: Disabled man was selling drugs from St. Bernard motel room

[Westley Annis]

Sheriff: Disabled man was selling drugs from St. Bernard motel room
by WWLTV.com

wwltv.com

Posted on January 3, 2011 at 4:34 PM



CHALMETTE, LA - A former St. Bernard Parish resident was arrested after
deputies found him in possession of nearly 1,200 prescription drugs and
nearly $3,000 in cash inside of a motel in Chalmette during the holidays.

St. Bernard Sheriff's Office spokesman Steve Cannizaro said 54-year-old Jon
Manzella and his girlfriend, 51-year-old Dawn Blackwood, both of Lake
Charles, were arrested after a search warrant was served at their motel
room.

Sheriff Jack Stephens said Manzella had connections from when he lived in
St. Bernard prior to Katrina and that he often returned to sell drugs.

"This arrest ends a large supply of prescription drugs being sold illegally
in St. Bernard Parish on a regular basis,'' Stephens said. "Hopefully it has
an impact on the amount of such drugs reaching our streets.''

According to Cannizaro, Manzella apparently was obtaining prescription pills
in other areas and bringing them to St. Bernard. An investigation is
continuing into who he was selling them to, the sheriff said.

Manzella, who is disabled, was selling a range of prescription narcotics
including methadone and both he and Blackwood were booked into St. Bernard
Parish Prison on charges of possession with intent to distribute the drugs
Oxycodone, hydrocodone, Xanax, the muscle relaxer SOMA, as well as the
methadone, Sheriff Stephens said.

Manzella, who acknowledged he also gave some pills to Blackwood to help
control pain, was also booked for that with distribution of Lortab, a
hydrocodone medication.