LAFAYETTE, La. — Former Lafayette City Marshal Brian Pope reported to jail on Wednesday to begin serving his one year sentence two years after he was convicted of felony malfeasance in office charges by a district judge.
According to the Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office, Pope was transferred to the LaSalle Detention Center after being processed at the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center.
LPSO says that Pope was transferred to the LaSalle Detention Center for his own safety and well-being. They add that this is in large part due to his previous service with the Lafayette City Marshal’s Office, which is a law enforcement agency responsible for making arrests in this jurisdiction.
Last month, a district court judge sentenced Pope to his original sentence for his 2018 felony conviction, which is three concurrent years in the parish jail for each of his three convictions with all but one year suspended.
Pope was brought to the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center from the Lafayette Parish Courthouse after his sentencing, but then released after only spending an hour in jail. At that time, his attorney told us that he would remain out on his original bond until he reported back to jail today, Nov. 4.
At that time, the Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office told us that Pope was released on a $25,000 bond until Nov. 4, when he will report back to Lafayette Parish Jail to serve his sentence.
Pope still faces multiple malfeasance charges in two separate indictments; one accuses him of pocketing marshal fines that should have been used on the office's operations, and another accuses him of using marshal funds to pay for two conference trips, then turning in the receipts for reimbursement from the city and pocketing that money.
Pope was suspended early on in these cases, but still tried to run for the post in yesterday's election. Two judges ruled his candidacy was invalid.
To read the background on Pope's legal issues, which began with a lawsuit filed by The Independent newspaper over public records, click here.
