“There’s a new sheriff in town”

As the old saying goes, “there’s a new sheriff in town.”
Charles Guillory was sworn in as Evangeline Parish Sheriff on Monday, June 29, and took office on Wednesday, July 1, to replace Sheriff Eddie Soileau who served the parish for the past 12 years.
For Guillory, it was all business from the minute he took the oath of office from 13th Judicial District Court Division B Judge Chuck West.
“I have a tough job ahead of me,” Sheriff Guillory said during his remarks. “My job is going to be challenging. I do need more revenue. I have no narcotics unit and no school resource officer. I have no juvenile officer and no sex offender officer. I have 10 patrolmen for the whole parish. I need at least seven on duty per shift to really make our parish safe.”
As for revenue, Sheriff Guillory stated the main cash flow comes from property taxes, however, the millage allocated to the sheriff’s office as not been raised since 1977. The remainder of the revenue comes from fines collected on criminal and traffic offenses.
Despite the challenges, Sheriff Guillory stated he plans on implementing a drug task force with a representative from each of the law enforcement bodies in the parish serving on it. “Drugs are tied to just about 100 percent of the crime,” the sheriff said.
Sheriff Guillory concluded his remarks by offering a solution to the problems facing the communities here in the parish and across the nation.
“We need to pray,” he expressed. “All of the things that are going on is ungodly. It’s not holy. It’s up to people in the community to stick together and work together to come up with a solution.”
Among those joining Sheriff Guillory for the morning ceremony were members of his family, employees from Department of Probation and Parole, several chiefs of police, District Attorney Trent Brignac, Clerk of Court Randy Deshotel, Assessor Dirk Deville, Chief Deputy Assessor Josh Fontenot, Evangeline Parish 911 and Office of Emergency Preparedness Director Liz Hill, and employees from the Evangeline Parish Sheriff’s Office.