Former St. Landry Deputy Arrested on Multiple Other Charges Including Fully Remodeling a Trailer with Public Funds

A former St. Landry Parish deputy who was arrested for allegedly using public money has been arrested again for multiple charges of doing the same thing.

What Is 37-Year-Old Eliot Patrick Bertrand Alleged to Have Done?

St. Landry Parish Sheriff Bobby Guidroz says the allegations against former officer Eliot Bertrand are as follows:

• He stole scrap metal from the Sheriff's Office which he then sold for profit.
• He used taxpayer money from the department to purchase a used 20-foot horse trailer.
• He used a purchase order from the department to have renovations made to the trailer.
• He used a purchase order from the department for repairs to his ATV.
• He used a purchase order from the department to get a part for a family member's car then charged them for repairs.

Guidroz says he bought a 2014 Big Valley Trailer and fixed it up by using jail trustees.

The Sheriff says Bertrand falsified multiple purchase orders to buy the parts needed to upgrade his Polaris Sport 100 ATV which cost the taxpayers $1,905.57.

He was arrested for Theft greater than $25,000, Access Device Fraud in the amount of $15,600, Injuring Public Records, and Malfeasance in Office.

Sheriff Guidroz says,

One of the most disturbing aspects of a police administrator's job is discovering personnel within your command violating the law and your trust. Our position is a position of public trust, and when we find that public trust is violated, we must be transparent and take swift action, and in this case as well as other cases, that is precisely what we did.

 

Why Was Bertrand Arrested on Wednesday, October 5 of This Year?

Bertrand was out on an $8,000 bond after being arrested in early October on the following charges:

• Theft
• Injuring Public Records
• Malfeasance in Office