SLIDELL – Ernest Felton, a former suspect in a high-profile Baton Rouge shooting that killed two college girls, was arrested in St. Tammany Parish on drug charges.

Ernest Felton, 23, is charged with drug possession and a traffic violation. Authorities stopped him on I-12 and said they found a baby bottle full of “purple drank,” otherwise known as promethazine codeine.  It is a popular street drug that has the effects of prescription-strength cough syrup.

In 2016, Felton was charged in the shooting at an off-campus apartment complex on Burbank where two Southern University students were shot and killed. A second suspected shooter was injured in the gunfire.

Southern freshman Annette January and sophomore Lashuntae Benton were killed in the gunfight at the Cottages.

At the time, police in Baton Rouge said Felton and 24-year-old Brandon Henderson, who was injured, exchanged gunfire with each other and the girls were hit in the crossfire.

A grand jury failed to reach an indictment against Felton related to the shooting.  Henderson, who police said fired first, was indicted on a lesser charge of assault.

Felton is from the Miami, Florida, area.  He arrived in Baton Rouge to play football for Southern University where he lasted only one season. 

After his initial arrest, Felton was released on a $90,000 bail.  He was arrested later at an airport in Texas.  At the time, being in Texas was a violation of his bond conditions; which forbid him from leaving the Baton Rouge-area without court permission.

Baton Rouge Police said Wednesday afternoon there was no new information related to the shooting investigation. 

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