Police: Man had cut-up alligator, synthetic weed, handgun in vehicle

A 25-year-old Centerville man was caught Thursday in Morgan City with an alligator cut into pieces, a handgun and synthetic marijuana in his vehicle, Morgan City Assistant Police Chief Mark Griffin Jr. said in a news release.
—Ben Box, 25, of Caleb Lane in Centerville, was arrested at 11:33 a.m. Thursday on charges for possession of a firearm in the presence of a controlled dangerous substance, possession of Schedule I synthetic marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Officers responded to a complaint at a La. 182 business about a man sleeping in a vehicle. Officers were able to wake the driver, identified as Box. Officers located a .22-caliber handgun inside the vehicle along with what appeared to be an alligator cut into pieces in the rear of the vehicle, Griffin said. During the investigation, officers also located synthetic marijuana, Griffin said.
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries was summoned to investigate the game violation. Box was cited by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries agent for possession of the alligator, Griffin said. Box was jailed.
Griffin reported the following arrests:
—Randall Lejeune, 53, of Southeast Boulevard in Morgan City, at 9:20 a.m. Thursday on a warrant charging him with failure to pay a fine.
Lejeune, who was already incarcerated in the Morgan City jail, was booked on a warrant from the Sixth Ward City Court of Morgan City.
—Shamus Dardeau, 39, of Clark Road in Morgan City, at 3:22 p.m. Thursday on a warrant charging him with failure to appear to pay a fine.
Dardeau was arrested by officers in the Sixth Ward City Court of Morgan City. Dardeau was booked into the Morgan City Police Department jail facility on warrants from the Sixth Ward City Court of Morgan City. Dardeau was escorted to the Morgan City jail where he remains.
—Ameedah Charles, 30, of Short Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 4:55 p.m. Thursday on warrants charging her with failure to pay fines and contempt of court.
Charles was located in the Sixth Ward Court of Morgan City and placed under arrest on an outstanding warrant for that court. Charles was jailed and released after posting cash bail.
St. Mary Parish Sheriff Mark Hebert reported responding to 37 complaints in the parish and reported the following arrests relating to east St. Mary Parish:
—Amber Swanson, 17, of the 1600 block of Hickory Street in Patterson, at 12:44 p.m. Thursday on a warrant for failure to appear on the charge of disturbing the peace fighting. Swanson turned herself in on the warrant at the St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office in Franklin. She was booked into the St. Mary Parish Law Enforcement Center and released on $500 bail.
Berwick Police Chief James Richard reported the following arrests:
—Jacob Hanks, 25, of Sixth Street in Berwick, was arrested at 9:26 a.m. Thursday on the charge of failure to appear for illegal possession of stolen things under $500. Hanks was transferred to the St. Mary Parish Law Enforcement Center in Centerville.
—Brett Givens, 24, of Emy Lane in Patterson, at 1:33 a.m. today on a warrant charging him with unauthorized entry of an inhabited dwelling. Givens is awaiting bail to be set.
Patterson Police Chief Patrick LaSalle reported the following correction to an arrest:
—Melvin Washington, 65, of the 100 block of 3 B’s Lane in Bayou Vista, at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday on the charge of possession of marijuana and possession of Schedule II drugs without a prescription. Washington was jailed with no bail set.

This story was written by Zachary Fitzgerald of The Daily Review staff. Reach him at zfitzgerald@daily-review.com.