Recently, the Picayune Police Department worked three separate cases that involved the possession of a substance suspected to be heroin.

The first case began on Thursday, Jan. 29 after two suspects were arrested for the alleged possession of the drug.

At 7:21 p.m. that day, Picayune Police officers conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle for careless driving at the I-59 northbound on-ramp at exit 4, Picayune Police Department Assistant Chief Jeremy Magri said.

Officers approached the vehicle and spoke with the driver, later identified as Bradley Bourgeois, 26, of 61 Ben Wilson Rd. in Carriere and the passenger, later identified as Jared Sortino, 23, of 98 Sugar Creek Rd. in Carriere, Magri said.

Upon checking for local warrants on both subjects, the officers learned Sortino had an active warrant from the Picayune Police Department for probation violation, Magri said. At that time, Sortino was asked to step out of vehicle and was taken into custody.

Officers then asked Bourgeois to step out of the vehicle and immediately conducted a search of the vehicle, Magri said.

In the search, officers located a metal cylinder attached to a lanyard on the passenger floorboard, Magri said. In side the cylinder the officer located four pieces of tin foil containing a white powdery substance believed to be heroin.

Sortino was charged with felony possession of a controlled substance, since he was in the passenger seat where the substance was found, Magri said.

Upon continued search of the vehicle, the officers located a burnt metal spoon, a lighter and a syringe commonly used for narcotics in the driver’s side door, Magri said.

Bourgeois was charged with possession of paraphernalia and careless driving, Magri said.

In a separate case, Picayune Police Department officers were dispatched to an apartment complex on Cooper Road on Feb. 5 in reference to an unresponsive male sitting in a vehicle, Magri said.

Officers arrived to find the car still running and the man, later identified as Justin Deloach, 27, of 21 Plantation Oaks Dr., unresponsive in the driver’s seat, Magri said.

The officers also noticed that the vehicle was still in drive and Deloach’s foot was on the brake pedal, Magri said. The officers attempted numerous times to wake Deloach by knocking on the window, but their attempts yielded no response, Magri said.

The officers broke the rear driver’s side window of the vehicle in order to gain entry, Magri said.

Once inside the vehicle, officers checked Deloach’s pulse and found he was still alive. A short time later, an ambulance arrived at the scene, Magri said.

While ambulance personnel rendered aid, the officers searched the vehicle. At which time, they located a black case laying in plain sight in the center console. The case contained a burnt metal spoon, a lighter, a syringe and a piece of tin foil that was folded, which contained a powdery substance believed to be heroin, Magri said.

Deloach was transported to Highland Community Hospital after receiving treatment. He was then released and immediately transported to the Criminal Justice Center, where he was booked and incarcerated for driving under the influence other, and felony possession of a controlled substance, Magri said.

In another separate case, officers assisted the Mississippi Department of Corrections with a residence check on Jan. 29, Magri said.

Officers with MDOC were checking on Darryl Drummond, 52, of 2210 East Canal Street, Magri said.

The MDOC representatives and police officers entered Drummond’s residence and found a .22-caliber handgun in the kitchen, Magri said.

In Drummond’s bedroom, officers located three pieces of aluminum foil containing a powdery substance believed to be heroin and a .38-caliber revolver on the dresser, Magri said.

As officers searched the residence, they also found a clear container containing an unknown brown powdery substance, a clear pipe containing a white residue believed to be heroin, three syringes and several white pills identified as zolpidem, Magri said.

Drummond was charged with felony possession of a controlled substance, misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance, possession of paraphernalia and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, Magri said.