UPDATE: Former Assistant District Attorney Gary Haynes made his first court appearance Friday in his federal bribery and obstruction case.
Haynes was indicted last month, accused of conspiracy, bribery and obstruction charges. To read the indictment, scroll down. He's accused of using his position over the 15th Judicial District Attorney's Pretrial Diversion program to solicit bribes from companies that provided required programs to people who participated in the program.
On Friday, Haynes appeared in court with his attorney, Lake Charles attorney and former federal prosecutor Todd Clemons, who entered formal not-guilty pleas to each of the six counts pending against him.
If convicted on all six charges, Haynes faces a maximum sentence of 60 years in prison and fines of up to $1.5 million or more; the conspiracy to launder money allows a fine twice the value of any money he's convicted of trying to launder.
On Haynes' behalf, Clemons waived formal reading of the indictment by the court.
Magistrate Judge Carol Whitehurst asked prosecutors if they were asking for Haynes to be jailed prior to trial, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Luke Walker said they were not. However, he said the government did object to Haynes' request that he be allowed to keep his passport.
Walker said it's his understanding that Haynes wanted to be able to travel internationally, and Clemons added that Haynes has interests in property in Panama. While Haynes has no plans to travel internationally now, he might need to do so in the future, depending on how long the pretrial period takes, Clemons said.
Both sides told the judge they'd like to have a hearing on the subject later, to present evidence for her to consider.
After a brief break, Whitehurst ordered Haynes to surrender his passport. She said if Haynes needs to travel, the parties can schedule a hearing and if she changes her mind about it, the conditions of his release can be modified then.
Whitehurst told Haynes he could remain free on an unsecured $25,000 bond, and gave him several standard orders for his behavior prior to trial, including that he have no contact with any of his co-defendants in the case, and that he possess no firearms.
The judge said she would schedule a telephone conference so the parties can discuss a schedule for the pretrial events.
The indictment alleges that Haynes, 66, of Lafayette, conspired with Dusty Guidry, Leonard Franques, and others to solicit bribes and kickbacks and to accept things of value while Haynes was an Assistant District Attorney in the 15th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.
Guidry and Franques already have pleaded guilty, along with a business owner, Joseph Prejean. Franques pleaded guilty on January 12, 2024, to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds. Guidry pleaded guilty on March 23, 2023, to two counts of conspiracy to commit bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds and one count of bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds. Prejean pleaded guilty in December 2023 to conspiracy to commit bribery of a public official in the Lafayette Parish District Attorney's Office. All three men are scheduled to be sentenced later this month.
According to the indictment, Haynes oversaw the D.A.’s Office’s Pretrial Intervention (PTI) program–a program that offered an alternative to criminal prosecution for certain criminal offenders. Haynes approved defendants to participate in the program and then directed them to take classes from Franques’ companies.
Haynes is charged with conspiracy to commit bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds, bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds, two counts of using his cell phone in aid of bribery, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and obstruction of justice.
After his indictment, we reached out to Clemons, who sent us the following statement:
"Gary is relieved that he can finally commence the process of clearing his good name. Gary is a good and hardworking man. He served the citizens of Lafayette Parish with distinction for many years. He has lived under the cloud, and the enormous stress, of overtly being investigated by our federal government for well over two years.
"The prosecutors authored an Indictment that tells a false story. A falsehood created by weak and less than honorable men pressured into cooperating with the Department of Justice. Gary Joseph Haynes is an honorable man of integrity. He will stand tall and fight these false allegations until he is exonerated by twelve of his peers."
Here's a copy of the indictment against Haynes:
KATC Investigates has been covering this case for more than two years. To read more background, click here and here.
