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Investigation into Pointe Coupee jail employee firings and resignations over

7 years 10 months 2 weeks ago Monday, May 09 2016 May 9, 2016 May 09, 2016 12:09 PM May 09, 2016 in News
Source: WBRZ

POINTE COUPEE - The investigation following the firing of two employees and the resignation of three from the Pointe Coupee Parish detention center has ended on Monday, according to according to the Pointe Coupee Sheriff’s Captain Steve Juge.

An investigation that started Apr. 26 led up to the terminations and resignations earlier this month. The case was then put in the hands of the District Attorney.

According to Juge, no new arrests or charges have been made since the investigation closed.

The warden said one employee,  27-year-old Darnell Van Buren, was arrested for malfeasance in office after a tip was received that revealed he was in sexual communication via text messages and pictures with a female inmate.

Van Buren's bail is $10,000 and was set by Judge James Best.

"When you become an employee of the Sheriffs office, you take an oath, you are held to a higher standard, and this charge for malfeasance in office is because that person is a commissioned deputy," Pointe Coupee Sheriff Bud Torres said.

Another female employee was aware of the inmate having a cell phone and did not take it away, and as a result she was also fired.

Additionally, a shift sergeant resigned before being fired.

In a separate incident, a male employee allegedly conspired with an inmate to bring contraband into the prison. He also resigned before being fired.

According to Sheriff Torres, since the district attorney is looking into the case, more charges are possible.

"We are sending all of the charges for the sexual misconduct or inappropriate behavior with the inmates to the district attorney for review, and depending on their opinion, we will see if any more charges are forthcoming," Sheriff Torres said.

Further, a female employee resigned after failing a lie detector test, however the details into her incident are not available at the time of this post.

The identities of the other employees have not been released at the time of this post.

 

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