Tangipahoa Parish warns of ‘pink cocaine’ as families mourn loved ones lost to overdoses
TANGIPAHOA PARISH, La. — A grieving family is speaking out about a new deadly street drug.
You may remember, earlier this week, drug agents and the Tangipahoa sheriff’s office put out a warning about Tusi, also called pink cocaine, killing four people in the last month in Tangipahoa Parish.
Now the family of a young victim is talking about the loss.
The grave site in Livingston is still freshly dug. The pain of a mother’s broken heart feels eternal.
“I miss my baby girl. I’ll always miss her. It will never be the same without her,” said Ruth Agard, of her deceased daughter.
Joella Joy Agard was only 27 and the mother of four. One has special needs.
“She had a really big heart. She showed me a lot of forgiveness and love,” said Julie Turbeville, Joella’s sister.
The family knew she had struggled in the past with addiction, but her big sister Julie says Joella was on a path of recovery.
“She was on the other side of it. She was working towards doing well. Sobriety, yes, she had four years,” said Turbeville.
Then something called Tusi, or pink cocaine, hit the streets of Tangipahoa Parish. The DEA says it is extremely dangerous, a cocktail of a variety of street drugs, usually with the deadly opioid fentanyl in it. In one month alone, it’s taken the lives of four in Tangipahoa. Joella was one of them.
“It’s wrong. It’s dangerous and it’s killing people,” said Agard.
“She deserved to have someone there helping her, and drugs aren’t a help,” said Turbeville.
The grieving family is telling Joella’s story because they don’t want other families to have to live with such a devastating and sudden loss, or for other young children to have to grow up without a mom.
“I miss her a lot. My sister is a good person. She had a family and friends, people who love her,” said Turbeville.
The Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office is seeking any information you may have to identify the individuals selling these drugs. You can call their office or Crimestoppers.
By state law, people who sold the drugs to Joella or the others who have died can be charged with second-degree murder.
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