Avoyelles Parish, LA (1/23/2023) – On December 12, 2022, the Avoyelles Parish Sheriff’s Office (APSO) received a complaint reporting criminal offenses committed by an APSO Booking Officer that was employed at the APSO DC-1 Jail Facility. An investigation was immediately initiated.
On January 6, 2023, shortly after speaking to an APSO Investigator, 22-year-old Hope Theriot of Simmesport, LA resigned and ended her employment at APSO.
The investigation revealed that Theriot used the authority of her position to compel or coerce a 1st-time offender to provide her with funds she was not entitled to.
On January 23, 2023, pursuant to an Arrest Warrant issued by a 12th Judicial District Court Judge, Theriot was arrested by APSO Deputies for Abuse of Office, Extortion, and Malfeasance in Office and booked at the APSO DC-1 Jail Facility. The bond was set at twenty thousand dollars ($20,000.00).
Sheriff David L. Dauzat wants the People of Avoyelles to know that we take our oath of office seriously. We hold ourselves to a higher standard. The public has entrusted us to perform our duties in a lawful manner with honesty and integrity. This type of behavior will not be tolerated.
Note: All persons named or shown in photographs and/or videos as suspects in a criminal investigation, or arrested and charged with a crime, have not yet been convicted of that criminal offense and all persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
