Six from 5 states arrested in Destrehan magazine bust

Six young adults, only one of whom was from Louisiana, were arrested by the Sheriff’s Office last week for misrepresenting themselves as Destrehan students while selling magazines without a solicitation permit.

“These individuals were falsely representing that they were selling for a local school group or charity and in fact this was untrue,” Sheriff Greg Champagne said.

The group had likely been in the area for several days since the first reported incident involving them occurred on Veterans’ Day. In that instance, a man who said he was an 18-year-old Destrehan High School baseball player walked through Destrehan selling magazines to support troops. One Destrehan man made a donation, but when he checked his receipt he realized that he was given a false address.

The victim then called Destrehan High School and learned that the person was not a student at Destrehan nor were they having any fundraisers to benefit the troops.

In some instances where people are going door-to-door to collect money for fundraisers, a person may not need a permit. However, anyone going door-to-door for commercial sales must have a permit and ID card issued by the Sheriff’s Office.

“They were actually selling magazines, but they were doing so by misrepresenting themselves,” Sheriff’s Office spokesman Capt. Pat Yoes said.

The six arrested are: Dustin Bradley, 19, of 309 Vance Ave. in Waco, Texas, Michael Preston, 19, of 187 Forrest Hills St. in Jamaica Plain, Ma., Kimberly Holden, 20, of 2112 Taft St. in Wimauma, Fla., Takeema Johnson, 20, of 833 E. 56th St. in New York, Nesia Gordon, 19, of New York, and Jamarr Wilson, 24, of 3801 Denton St. in Shreveport.

Each of the subjects were charged with door-to-door solicitation. Bradley was also charged with possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of marijuana. Preston was also a fugitive in South Carolina.