St. Tammany News

The failure to use a turn signal led three Slidell police officers to a cache of guns and drugs inside a truck Tuesday. A Slidell man and a 16-year-old boy were arrested.

Randy Desalvo, 39, 37461 Lemon St., Slidell, was arrested on charges of possession with intent to distribute marijuana, possession of Methadone and Valium, possession of drug paraphernalia, resisting arrest by violence, public intimidation, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of a firearm while in possession of a controlled dangerous substance, contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile, no turn signal and no license plate light.

Slidell Assistant Police Chief Jesse Simon, right, and Capt. Kevin Swann sit in front of a collection of guns, ammunition and illegal drugs that were seized from one person Tuesday night during a routine traffic stop. (Staff Photo by Erik Sanzenbach)

The teenage boy was arrested on charges of possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. Police did not release the identity of the teen because he is under 17 years old.

According to Assistant Police Chief Jesse Simon, around 11 p.m. Tuesday three detectives with the Street Crimes Unit, who were all in an unmarked police car, saw a 1993 Ford F-150 pickup truck make a turn from Old Spanish Trail onto West Howze Beach Road without using a turning signal. They also noticed there was no light on the license plate.

The officers stopped the truck. Desalvo was driving, and the boy was a passenger. According to the detective, both subjects were very nervous, and a strong smell of marijuana was coming from inside the truck cab.

As Desalvo got out of the truck, police noticed a holster with a .380 caliber semiautomatic pistol on the seat next to the boy. After Desalvo was outside the truck, officers found a small .32 caliber revolver in the truck. When they frisked Desalvo, police found a .22 caliber Derringer pistol in Desalvo's rear pocket and also several Methadone and Valium pills.

Desalvo was arrested, and police continued to search the truck. The search turned up one pound of marijuana and seven more firearms, plus more Methadone, Valium and Diazapan, an anti-psychotic drug.

Among the other weapons were an SKS assault rifle with a full clip of ammunition, a 12-gauge semi-automatic shotgun, a pump action 12-gauge shotgun, a .22 caliber rifle,, a .50 caliber Black Powder rifle, another .22 caliber Derringer, and a large hunting knife. There were also boxes of ammunition for each of the weapons.

Also confiscated were two bottles of Methadone, a plastic bag filled with Valium, a camouflage ski mask and several packets of cigarette papers.

What really bothered Simon about the find was that Desalvo had extra ammunition in the truck for all of the weapons.

"In my entire career, I've never seen this many weapons on one person," Simon said. "It is highly unusual to find this many guns, plus all the ammo for them. We're very happy to get this guy off the streets."

After Desalvo was arrested, he got violent with the police and threatened to sue the police if they did not release him.

"He even tried running into oncoming traffic on Howze Beach Road," Simon said.

The officers managed to tackle Desalvo before he got hurt in traffic.

Police do not know why Desalvo had so many guns in his truck, but they figured with his past criminal record, he "was up to something," said Capt. Kevin Swann, commander of the Detective Unit.

"He gave us the impression that he was going to use the weapons," Simon said.

The detectives said the weapons were not hidden in the truck.

"They were all over the inside of the truck," Swann said.

The assistant police chief said Desalvo has a long arrest record and did time in prison on a burglary charge. He also has several arrests on various drug and concealed weapon charges.

This is Desalvo's third felony arrest, and he faces life imprisonment under the state's three-strikes-and-you're-out law.

The possibility of life in prison is probably why Desalvo tried to escape, Simon said.

Simon said all 10 weapons will be sent to a lab for test firings to see if they were used in any crimes. The serial numbers will also be checked to see if the guns were stolen.

Swann said there were no large amounts of money on Desalvo, yet having a pound of marijuana in the truck gave Swann the impression Desalvo was selling the weed. Even so, having that many guns is strange, even for a drug dealer.

"It's unusual to arrest a person with marijuana and pills that is armed with one gun, let alone 10," Swann said.

Simon said that having three officers present from the Street Crimes Unit was a factor in the situation not turning dangerous. The unit is a specialized detail that is sent into trouble areas of Slidell to stop street crime. The officers wear uniforms but drive unmarked cars.

"It was very fortunate we had three officers on the scene," Simon said.

Desalvo was still in the Slidell City Jail Wednesday awaiting transport to the St. Tammany Parish Jail in Covington, where bond will be set in an arraignment. The juvenile was released into the custody of his mother on Tuesday night.