TANGIPAHOA, La. -- Deputies confiscated a slew of weapons and ammunition at a hotel Wednesday after a drug arrest in Tangipahoa Parish.
Deputies arrested 32-year-old Roberto Sanchez Jr., of Boynton Beach, and 24-year-old Michael Caruso, of Delray Beach, and charged them with possession of a controlled substance while in possession of firearms, said Dawn Panepinto, a spokeswoman for the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office.
What first alarmed deputies to the hotel room was the smell of burnt marijuana coming from Sanchez's room. When deputies approached the hotel room, Panepinto said, Sanchez consented to a search, and they found marijuana and a .50 caliber rifle and a pistol.
"With proper training, this rifle is capable of disabling a vehicle in one shot from over a half mile away and shooting through concrete walls," Panepinto said of the seized Barrett .50 caliber semi automatic sniper rifle.
Panepinto said the deputies then checked Caruso's hotel room and found even more weapons: five AR-15’s with tactical optics, five combat-style pistols and over 2,000 rounds of ammo.
Panepinto said, all together, the confiscated weapons and ammunition have a value of $60,000.
