Most denied the charges against them. Some shed tears. Others hid their faces.

The one constant from the 16 individuals scooped up during Wednesday morning’s Washington Parish Drug Task Force was they all were arrested on warrants for selling crack cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine or pills during a recent undercover investigation.

Personnel from the Washington Parish Sheriff’s Office, Probation and Parole and Rayburn Correctional Center all participated in the drug roundup, which included 23 warrants.

Two teams began Wednesday’s sweep at 5:30 a.m. One team arrived at its first destination in Mount Hermon, but the suspect, Owen Tufts Jr., was not home. An unchained pit bull in the front yard, however, kept officers on alert until a female emerged from the trailer and chained the dog.

The team’s first suspect to apprehend was Zacharia Crain, who was staying at his grandmother’s residence in Pine. He was taken away in handcuffs at approximately 7 a.m. Officers also said they found marijuana in his room.

Soon afterward, Pine’s Rachel Gerald was arrested at 7:25 a.m. amid kittens, chickens and trash on her front porch. A pit bull was also in the house.

After trips to pick up two fugitives in separate locations proved unfruitful, the Task Force headed to Richmond Street in Bogalusa where a tearful Brie Ramser was led away in handcuffs at 8:45 a.m. She hid her face so photographers couldn’t take photos.

After Ramser’s apprehension, the Task Force went to the SO’s substation in Bogalusa to regroup.

The two teams joined together to take in two suspects living at 915 Long St. in Bogalusa. Radonna Jackson hid in the closet, but officers had no problem locating her. Jason Smith was brought out behind Jackson. They were arrested at 10 a.m.

The operation wrapped up a little later when the squads checked on a suspect nearby on Avenue G in Bogalusa, but he was not in.

Some suspects phoned in to say they would turn themselves in later in the day. Suspect Dee Dee Woodward, of Franklinton, was said to be in Montana.

Det. Jason Garbo and Det. Steven Adcox led the teams.

“Out of all the suspects, we made contact with probably 90 percent of them,” Garbo said. “We at least made phone contact with them. It was a successful operation. Anytime you can get 50 percent of the people you’re after, it’s a good day. When you’re hovering around 70 percent on a roundup, that’s a happy day for us.”

Adcox agreed.

“Everything went well, and we picked up most of our subjects,” Adcox said. “There were no altercations and nobody got hurt, so everything went well.”

Those arrested in the operation included:

• Todd Crain, 49, a resident of Ninth Avenue in Franklinton. He is charged with distribution of Schedule II drugs. His bond was at $75,000.

• Zachariah Pete Crain, 23, a resident of Cleve Kennedy Road in Pine. Crain is charged with distribution of Schedule I drugs. He has no bond.

• Rachel Gerald, 36, a resident of Highway 62 in Pine. Gerald is charged with distribution of Schedule II Drugs. Her bond was set at $75,000.

• Robert Glenn Hanson, 28, a resident of Benard Crain Road in Pine. Hanson is charged with distribution of Schedule III drugs. His bond was set at $75,000.

• Walter W. Hines, 59, a resident of Bogalusa. Hines was charged with distribution of

Schedule II drugs. He has no bond.

• Chanda M. Holden, 47, a resident of Dogwood Valley Road in Pine. Holden is charged with distribution of Schedule II drugs. Her bond was set at $75,000.

• Radonna L. Jackson, 37, a resident of Long Avenue in Bogalusa. She was charged with distribution of Schedule IV drugs and failure to appear. Her bond was set at $75,000.

• James David Jenkins, 35, a resident of Louisiana Highway 436 in Angie. Jenkins is charged with distribution of Schedule II drugs. His bond was set at $75,000.

• Raymond Antwon Magee, 36, a resident of Bene Street in Franklinton. Magee is charged with distribution of Schedule I drugs. His bond is set at $100,000.

• Veronica Magee, 37, a resident of Dogwood Valley Road in Pine. Magee is charged with distribution of Schedule II drugs. Her bond was set at $75,000.

• Talage Wayne Ratliff, 33, a resident of Wilbur Dillon Road in Angie. Ratliff is charged with distribution of Schedule II drugs and failure to appear. He has no bond.

• Brie Ramser, 37, a resident of North Border Drive. Ramser is charged with

distribution of Schedule I drugs. Her bond was set at $75,000.

• Jason Carol Smith, 36, a resident of Long Avenue in Bogalusa. Smith is charged with distribution of Schedule IV drugs. He has no bond.

• Clotilde Tompkins, 21, a resident of Cleve Kennedy Road in Pine. Tompkins is charged with distribution of Schedule I drugs. Her bond was set at $75,000.

• Owen Jules Tufts Jr., 33, a resident of Louisiana Highway 438 in Mount Hermon. Tufts was charged with distribution of Schedule II drugs. He has no bond.

• Pamela Marie Warren, 38, a resident of Highway 436 in Franklinton. Warren is charged with distribution of Schedule III drugs. She has no bond.

During the drug roundup, another person was arrested on a child support issue. Adrionne Dewayne Peters, a resident of Sunset Acres, was placed in the Washington Parish Jail. He has no bond.

The Sheriff’s Office has warrants on the following persons who could not be located in the roundup. Anyone with information on the location of any of these persons is asked to notify the Washington Parish Sheriff’s Office at 985-839-3434. Those persons are:

• Damon Brown, a resident of Cleve Kennedy Road in Pine

• Frank Congelosi, a resident of Franklinton

• Sara Cooper, a resident of Franklinton

• Ashley Hunt, a resident of Jimmy Knight Road in Franklinton

• Angela Lott, a resident of Frank Dillon Road in Angie

• Shadrick Mark, a resident of Angie

• Dee Dee Woodward, a resident of Benard Crain Road in Pine

“This is our third drug roundup in 2015. We had the first one in February, which resulted in multiple arrests. The second was last month when we assisted DEA in their roundup in Bogalusa. June 10 was the third one, and I promise this will not be the last,” said Washington Parish Sheriff Randy Seal. “We will continue to target drug dealers in Washington Parish and will seek them out and arrest them. They are not only selling drugs but they are also behind much of the theft going on in our parish. Remember this, drug dealers. We will not let up. You are correct if you think we are watching you. We are watching and we will eventually catch you selling dope. If you like sleeping in jail, please know that we intend to help you get there.”

Seal also commented on the assistance of other law enforcement agencies.

“The fine officers with Rayburn Correctional Center and Louisiana Probation and Parole are always available when we need extra personnel,” he said. “They are a valuable asset to Washington Parish and I appreciate all they do.”