Sheriff’s office arrests three in cross-country drug ring

BATON ROUGE – Deputies arrested three men Monday in the culmination of an investigation into a drug trafficking group suspected of moving large amounts of narcotics and weapons from Oregon into East Baton Rouge and Ascension Parishes.

The East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office reported for the past month, the narcotics department had been investigating three men for their alleged involvement in the group the “Blue Print Kids.” Deputies arrested 38-year-old Jacquel Bellard, 27-year-old Ethan Hendricks, and 28-year-old Marcus Elam were all arrested Monday after executing search warrants at four locations around Baton Rouge and Ascension Parish.

The Sheriff’s Office recovered several firearms, high-capacity magazines, 26 pounds of marijuana, and over $78,000 from the four residences reportedly used to store and distribute the drugs.

Bellard, Hendricks, and Elam face several drug- and firearm-related charges. The sheriff’s office reports it expects to set arrest warrants for co-conspirators at a later date.