Louisiana, Mo., man arrested at Hannibal hotel in what police chief calls the city’s biggest suspected fentanyl seizure

HANNIBAL, Mo. — A Louisiana, Mo., man is in the Marion County Jail after being arrested in what Hannibal’s police chief called his department’s largest suspected fentanyl seizure.

The 10^th Judicial Circuit Court of Marion County charged Darion J. Ivy, 35 on Wednesday, June 8 with drug trafficking and unlawful possession of a firearm. The charges stem from an incident that began on Tuesday, June 7 in the 3600 block of McMasters. 

Hannibal officers assigned to the Anti-Crime Enforcement Squad were at a hotel assisting the Northeast Missouri Task Force and Missouri State Highway Patrol Division of Drug and Crime Control on an unrelated matter. While at the hotel, the ACES officers observed two children, under the age of 7, unattended in a vehicle. It was discovered the children’s caregiver was in a nearby room. 

Ivy, the registered guest of the room, left before officers contacted him. During the investigation,  a search warrant was obtained for Ivy’s room. Large amounts of cut fentanyl and uncut fentanyl were found, along with a firearm. 

The Pike County (Mo.) Sheriff’s Department obtained information on Wednesday regarding Ivy’s location. Hannibal officers went back to the hotel and saw Ivy enter a different room, and he refused to come out. Additional Hannibal Police Department officers and a negotiator arrived on scene. Ivy eventually surrendered without further incident. 

“This arrest will most definitely result in lives being saved,” Police Chief Jacob Nacke said in a press release. “To date, this is the Hannibal Police Department’s largest suspected fentanyl seizure. This investigation showcases the team effort used in so many drug investigations. We continue to make fentanyl investigations a top priority, and we will work to stop the flow of this devastating drug into our communities.” 

Ivy remains in the Marion County Jail on $100,000.00 cash only bond.