Vermilion Parish, La. - Since January 2023, Vermilion Parish Sheriff’s office has charged or received complaints regarding 207 juveniles. The recent rise in cases has set off alarm bells across the parish.
Vermilion Parish Sheriff Mike Couvillon told KATC they need a juvenile center in Vermilion Parish. Couvillon went on to say that the recent rise was a result of older kids influencing young teenagers to commit the crime. He said, “the older kids are using them to commit a crime knowing that their penalties would be less than if they actually did it themselves.”
Earlier this month, a 16-year-old from Abbeville was arrested and charged with one count of first degree murder and one count of armed robbery while he was allegedly wearing an ankle monitor.
“If this individual kills anyone wearing this ankle monitor, a blind man can see it doesn’t work,” Couvillon said.
Abbeville Resident Michael O’Bryan knows all too well about associating himself with the wrong crowd. He was released from Vermilion Parish jail today after completing a 14-month sentence.
“Being young like that and seeing what the older people are doing out here in Abbeville, the younger people are trying to make a name for themselves,” Michael said.
The recent incident involving a 16-year-old allegedly killing another teenager while wearing an ankle monitor has many wondering what can be done to fix this problem. Sheriff Couvillon says housing juveniles in a parish jail is not that simple. According to the sheriff, it cost $200.50 to house a juvenile compared to $4.50 for individuals 18 years and older.
With this new administration, Sheriff Couvillon is hoping for a better tomorrow. “The new governor is already putting things in place to be stricter on criminals and especially juveniles and I’m hoping to see the end of the light,” he said.
A second juvenile tied to the incident involving the teen on an ankle monitor was arrested. The incident remains under investigation.
