District Attorney Collin Sims reports that on Wednesday, April 29, 2026, a St. Tammany Parish jury found 48-year-old James Spikes, Jr., of Bogalusa, Louisiana, guilty of felony charges related to narcotics trafficking and illegal weapon possession. Following a trial before the Honorable Judge Scott Gardner, Spikes was convicted of Possession with Intent to distribute 28 grams or more but less than 250 grams of Fentanyl and carrying a Concealed Weapon (brass knuckles) by a Person Convicted of Certain Felonies.
The case originated from a proactive enforcement operation on August 18, 2024, along the Highway 36 corridor in Covington, Louisiana. Deputy Alexander Kitch of the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office initiated a traffic stop on a vehicle driven by Spikes. During the stop, deputies recovered brass knuckles and a pocketknife from Spikes’ person. A subsequent search of the vehicle led to the discovery of a backpack containing a concealed container with 963 fentanyl pills, totaling approximately 135 grams.
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DA Sims praised the work of the trial team and law enforcement, stating, "Fentanyl is a poison that continues to threaten the safety of our families and our community. This defendant was trafficking a significant quantity of these deadly pills while armed with brass knuckles – an illegal weapon in the hands of a convicted felon. My office remains committed to aggressively prosecuting those who bring these dangerous substances into our district."
Assistant District Attorneys Gary Tromblay and Jay Adair prosecuted the case. During the trial, the State presented undercover videos as evidence of the defendant's involvement in narcotics distribution. In one of the recordings shown to the jury, Spikes was heard boasting that he could obtain as many as 30,000 fentanyl pills.
During closing arguments, the prosecution emphasized the scale of the operation and the danger the defendant posed to the community. ADA Adair challenged the defense's characterization of the evidence, stating, "We're dealing with thousands of pills with a street value of thousands of dollars. It defies reason and common sense to accept ownership of something innocuous, like a speaker box, and deny something else right where he's sitting. He was in dominion and control of that vehicle."
ADA Adair further addressed the concealed weapons, asking the jury, "Are the brass knuckles a weapon? I would submit to you...The argument that he was carrying around a paperweight...that argument carries as much weight as paper itself."
ADA Tromblay highlighted the direct evidence linking Spikes to the narcotics, noting that undercover buy videos showed the defendant boasting about the "blues" (fentanyl pills) he sold. "The dope fairy didn't put that in the car...he put it in the car. The backpack was found directly behind the driver's seat," Tromblay stated. "Trial is a search for the truth - we're not here to deceive or trick you or make a fictitious story. Who carries a paperweight in their pocket? Especially when they're trafficking 963 fentanyl pills."
The case was investigated by the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office, with the assistance of the Louisiana State Police and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Judge Scott Gardner has scheduled sentencing for May 5, 2026. As a multi-convicted felon, Spikes faces forty years to life in prison.
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