| Dennis Delasbour isn’t a good smuggler. |
When passing marijuana off to an inmate in custody in a courtroom, one should of course be keenly aware of things like video cameras in said courtroom. But one should also be sure that the intended recipient is not a bumbling moron who will quickly get busted with the contraband.
Apparently Dennis Delasbour didn’t get either of things right, though we do commend him for looking out for a bro in need of a buzz despite the stupidity and riskiness of his actions.
According to the St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s department, inmate Ivory Fine was caught with a bundle of ganja and tobacco while in jail. Considering neither of those things grow (nor are they sold) in jail, sheriff’s deputies became suspicious of how Fine would have come into possession of such a thing.
Amazingly, these backwater Louisiana cops not only have brains but technology (who would have thought?) and began retracing Fine’s steps using surveillance footage from cameras going all the way back to his appearance in court.
It was there that they noticed Delasbour go into the courtroom then exit. Upon closer examination, they say they saw Delasbour drop the package in question before leaving the room.
For his role, Delasbour faces charges of bringing illegal drugs into a court – which is similar to charges of bringing drugs into a correctional facility according to the St. Mary Parish court clerk’s office. A clerk told us that the district attorney reviews the initial charges, then they file formal charges by bill of information and that it could take up to two weeks before Dalsbour is formally charged.
A Louisiana criminal attorney we spoke with who specializes in drug cases said that Delasbour might only be facing criminal possession charges and possibly distribution charges. He noted that while the state has laws enhancing sentences for people who bring drugs into a correctional facility, a court isn’t a correctional facility.
Of course, that doesn’t mean Delasbour is facing a cake- walk, either. Posession of up to 60 pounds can get you six months in jail and $500 in fines. Distribution charges for any amount carry a five year mandatory minimum sentence with up to 30 years possible if the judge is a real prick. Distribution also carries a $50,000 fine.