Warren Gonzales
FRANKLINTON—A Washington Parish jury found Warren Gonzales, 33, of Pearl River, guilty Wednesday (July 22) of six counts of drug possession, resulting from a police traffic stop in January, when officers discovered heroin, morphine, hydrocodone, and other prescription drugs. As a multiple offender, Gonzales faces up to life imprisonment when Judge Martin E. Coady sentences him Aug. 11.
Assistant District Attorney John Alford prosecuted the case, which was investigated by Lt. Brent Goings and Detective Jason Garbo, both of the Washington Parish Sheriff’s Office Drug Task Force. The task force was conducting operations in Bogalusa on Jan. 20, when officers stopped a vehicle pulling a trailer with no lights. Gonzales was a passenger in the vehicle, driven by his girlfriend at the time, Teresa Rouse.
When a routine check by officers showed the tag on the vehicle was registered to another vehicle, Rouse allowed officers to conduct a search. Officers discovered a black magnetic box that contained the drugs. Rouse, a co-defendant, testified during the trial this week that the drugs belonged to Gonzales.
Rouse pled guilty to all six counts and was sentenced to probation. Gonzales rejected a plea agreement that offered him a 20-year sentence.