An accused drug dealer was caught hoarding weapons and drugs — including more than 1,000 phony prescription pills laced with fentanyl — inside of a home nestled in a suburban Baton Rouge neighborhood Tuesday.
The search spanned not only a house inside the Hunter’s Glen neighborhood, located near the Ascension-East Baton Rouge parish line, but also at a storage unit on Coursey Boulevard.
The East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office said deputies spent three weeks investigating the suspected drug dealer who lived inside the home, 33-year-old Joshua Skal. After undercover officers bought drugs off Skal across multiple meetings, the sheriff’s office obtained a warrant to search his home.
Inside the house, deputies found three flashbangs, seven guns, more than $16,000 in cash and the following drugs:
-14 pounds of marijuana
-3,459 THC vape cartridges
-17 packages of THC-infused edibles
-5.6 pounds of THC wax
-3.95 ounces of cocaine
-1,000 pressed fentanyl pills
While searching the house, deputies also found the key to a storage unit. After Skal admitted to keeping weapons inside the unit, deputies say they went to Life Storage on Coursey Boulevard to investigate.
At the storage unit, deputies found another 17 guns, including two that were reported stolen in East Baton Rouge. They also found $300 cash and a large supply of ammunition.
Deputies also searched two vehicles registered under Skal’s name, an Acura at Skal’s house and a Mercedes Benz that was found parked outside a car dealership on Airline Highway.
Between the two vehicles, deputies seized another $670 in cash, 24 pressed fentanyl pills, 20 THC cartridges, more than two pounds of marijuana and about 79 grams of mushrooms.
Investigators say Skal admitted to selling drugs, including marijuana, cocaine and Percocet. When pressed about the fentanyl-laced pills, deputies say Skal admitted to knowingly selling fake Percocet. When questioned about the two stolen guns, Skal said he bought one off a friend and that he traded another friend marijuana for the other.
Skal was booked Tuesday on numerous drug and weapons charges.
Tags: Arrests Cocaine Counterfeit Drug Trafficking Fentanyl Marijuana THC Edibles Weapons Involved
