BATON ROUGE - A Louisiana State Police trooper who allegedly covered up evidence and coerced a domestic violence victim to repeatedly lie to law enforcement investigating him was arrested Tuesday. 

Trooper James Jefferson III, 41, was taken into custody by the attorney general's office. 

According to new documents obtained by the WBRZ Investigative Unit, Jefferson allegedly strangled his wife and hit her with his car before pressuring her to lie about the incidents to investigating officers. 

The WBRZ Investigative Unit reported on Jefferson's previous domestic violence arrest in February when he got into a fight with his wife outside a home along Lake Sherwood Avenue South. 

Officers found surveillance video of the February incident that included audio. Police said they could hear the victim yelling: "He's punching me," and "Don't throw me on the ground." Documents said the altercation happened while a 7-year-old child was in the back seat of the truck. 

Jefferson was booked for domestic abuse battery with child endangerment, but the district attorney declined to prosecute because the victim asked to drop the charges. New documents say the victim was pressured by Jefferson in that incident and others to lie to investigating officers. 

According to an arrest warrant, Jefferson texted the victim while she was meeting with the DA to "Hurry tell them u mentally off... U had episode."  

Documents say that it wasn't the only instance of Jefferson forcing the victim to lie to police. 

In November, Jefferson allegedly pushed the victim, grabbed her by the hair and pulled her to the ground before getting in his truck and accelerating toward her. The report says the victim was struck and pinned between two cars before passing out. 

Investigators interviewed two children who were there at the time of the alleged incident. The children told law enforcement they believed the victim was dead. 

The warrant says, when officers arrived, both Jefferson and the victim said it was a traffic crash and not a domestic violence incident.

Jefferson allegedly sent a text message about the incident, saying "But we ain't talking about truth. We're talking about the crash report."

The victim said she wanted to tell the truth about what happened, "but did not do so at the urging of James Jefferson III." The victim was given two traffic tickets. 

The WBRZ Investigative Unit was at the scene when Jefferson was arrested. He will be booked for domestic aggravated assault by strangulation, domestic abuse with child endangerment, aggravated second-degree battery, obstruction of justice and filing false public records. The alleged incidents spanned from Feb. 5, 2025, to Dec. 29, 2025. 

State Police said Jefferson is currently on administrative leave. He worked in LSP's Gaming Control unit and has been employed at LSP since 2007.