Louisiana Man Arrested Charged with Possession with Intent to Distribute Fentanyl and Carfentanil, and Other Charges

Alexandria, Louisiana – An Alexandria man was arrested and charged with possession of fentanyl and carfentanil with the intent to distribute, possession of drug paraphernalia, and other charges after the Rapides Area Drug Enforcement Unit had received complaints about the sale of illegal narcotics from Freeman’s residence and began an investigation. During a search of Freeman’s car, a digital scale containing an unidentified white powdery substance was found, leading to a search of Freeman’s residence.

Early in December, the Rapides Area Drug Enforcement (RADE) Unit began receiving community complaints regarding the sale of illegal narcotics from a residence on Peggy Ann Street in Alexandria, Louisiana, according to the Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office. As their investigation began, agents identified James Eric Freeman, 49, of Alexandria as the suspect.

A week-long inquiry revealed that Freeman was selling Fentanyl and perhaps Carfentanyl out of his apartment. Carfentanil is an approximately one hundred times more potent synthetic opioid than Fentanyl. Agents determined, based on this information and in the interest of public safety, not to continue the investigation.

On December 15, 2022, agents conducting surveillance on Freeman noticed him driving a blue Lincoln Town Car from his residence. A deputy from the RPSO Crime Suppression Unit (CSU) initiated a traffic stop on Freeman’s blue automobile. In addition, a RADE K-9 team was dispatched to undertake an open-air sniff of the car. According to authorities, a  K-9 reported a positive alert, and a search of the Lincoln Town Car was done. A digital scale containing an unidentified white powdery material was discovered in the car’s passenger compartment. This information, together with other indicators of probable cause, led RADE Agents to obtain a search warrant for the residence of Freeman.

During a check of the residence, a bag containing an unidentified white powdered substance, suspected to be Fentanyl or Carfentanil, was discovered. Later, the weight of the suspected Carfentanil was determined to be 19.0 grams (two-thirds of an ounce). James Eric Freeman was arrested and taken to the Rapides Parish Detention Center, where he was charged with Possession of CDS II (Fentanyl or Carfentanil) with Intent to Distribute and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. The Louisiana Department of Corrections Probation and Parole Agents informed the agents that Freeman was on parole; Freeman was also arrested for a Parole Violation. At the time of this release, Freeman remains in jail on a $100,000.00 bond and a parole violation hold.
A Task Force Officer of the FBI Safe Street Task Force will collaborate with RADE Agents and the Rapides Parish District Attorney’s Office for possible federal prosecution. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, a person can be killed by as little as 2 milligrams of Carfentanil. The amount seized by RADE Agents has the capacity to kill 9500 individuals.
According to agents, their investigation is ongoing.

Rapides Area Drug Enforcement (RADE) Unit is a multi-jurisdictional team consisting of the Alexandria Police Department, Ball Police Department, Boyce Police Department, Cheneyville Police Department, Forest Hill Police Department, Glenmora Police Department, Grant Parish Sheriff’s Office Lecompte Police Department, McNary Police Department, Pineville Police Department, Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office, Woodworth Police Department, and Grant Parish District Attorney’s Office.
The RADE Unit continues to investigate persons accused of drug trafficking in Central Louisiana. Send direct messages to the Rapides Area Drug Enforcement Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/RADEunit/ if you have information or would like to report any narcotics-related activities.

Suspect James Eric Freeman, 49, of Alexandria, Louisiana was arrested and charged with Possession of CDS II (Fentanyl or Carfentanil) with Intent to Distribute, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Parole Violation.

An arrest is an indication that probable cause exists to believe the subject was involved in the offense alleged. A person is innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.