FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SLIDELL MAN FOUND GUILTY OF MULTIPLE OFFENSES INCLUDING POSSESSION OF NEARLY A KILOGRAM OF FENTANYL
November 17, 2023
COVINGTON – The District Attorney’s Office reports that on November 16, 2023, a twelve-person jury found Jermaine Augustine, age 39, of Slidell, guilty of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, illegal carrying of weapons while in possession of a controlled dangerous substance, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, transactions involving proceeds from drug offenses, and possession of methamphetamine.
In 2021, the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office received multiple complaints that the defendant was distributing drugs in Slidell. Detectives began their investigation by visiting the defendant’s residence. When they arrived, the defendant was not there, but his girlfriend was. While speaking to the girlfriend, detectives observed a clear plastic bag with drug powder and a firearm on top of some US currency.
Detectives obtained a search warrant for the residence and, during execution of the search warrant, found almost a kilogram of fentanyl (with a street value of approximately $90,000 dollars), numerous items of drug paraphernalia, $6,232 in cash, as well as a second firearm that was later determined to have been reported stolen in Plaquemines Parish.
Augustine arrived at the residence while Detectives were investigating and when asked about the illicit items found, he told police, “It’s all mine.”
During the trial this week, defense counsel asserted the defendant was innocent and that it was all the girlfriend’s property. In closing arguments at the conclusion of the trial, Assistant District Attorney Taylor Nicholson told the jury, “It was his house, the drugs were in his possession, surrounded by his mail and his two cell phones that contained messages about meeting up with people to sell drugs.”
The defendant is a repeat offender with a history of theft, accessory to armed robbery, domestic violence and drug related convictions. He is scheduled to be sentenced on December 1, 2023, and faces up to 40 years in prison.
The case was presided over by District Judge Scott Gardner and prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Taylor Nicholson and Gabrielle Hosli.