One Louisiana man is accused of pulling the oldest trick in the book to get an inmate illegally released from jail— and it worked. But that’s just the beginning of the story.
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The alleged ruse began in April, when Adrian James St. Romain allegedly called the Calcasieu Correctional Center in Lake Charles, a city about 200 miles west of New Orleans, claiming to be a local judge. He is accused of calling the jail to reduce the bond of inmate Demond Lynn Delahoussaye Sr, per reports.
The man on the phone was successfully “able to verbally reduce an inmate’s bond” to be “released on recognizance,” the sheriff’s office said. Delahoussaye Sr. had enjoyed freedom for two months.
It wasn’t until Delahoussaye, who was in jail for aggravated assault according to court records, appeared for a court hearing on July 17. That’s when authorities “discovered the release had been granted under false pretenses” and the 46-year-old was immediately re-arrested and “booked back into the Calcasieu Correctional Center.”
But that’s not all.
St. Romain, 42, was reportedly dedicated to following through with the alleged scheme. He’s accused of calling the jail two more times in July, “again impersonating a judge in an effort to set another fraudulent bond on the same inmate.” He was unsuccessful, but detectives began investigating the suspicious calls. St. Romain was eventually named as the suspect who had been calling.
On Tuesday (Sept. 9), St. Romain was arrested on an unrelated warrant. He’s been charged with false impersonation, assisting escape, attempted simple escape, and injuring public records. The relationship between Delahoussaye and St. Romain is unclear.
Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Kayla Vincent said, per KPLC 7, it’s not out of the ordinary for judges to call in bond reductions over the phone, but the specific protocols must be followed.
“We have policies in place and have already made changes to ensure this type of situation does not happen again,” Calcasieu Parish Sheriff Stitch Guillory said. “This was an honest error that occurred due to lack of training, and we have addressed it.”
As of Wednesday (Sept. 10), St. Romain’s bond hasn’t been set.
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