Prosecutor on leave after arrest in New Iberia
A prosecutor with the 16th Judicial District Attorney’s Office has been placed on paid administrative leave after she was arrested Saturday morning in New Iberia, District Attorney Phil Haney said Monday.
Renee Louviere, 37, of New Iberia, was booked into the Iberia Parish Jail on one count of resisting an officer, according to an Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office booking report.
The incident occurred at 1:51 a.m. during a traffic stop at East St. Peter and Julia streets, according to the incident report.
Louviere, a prosecutor in the St. Martin Parish District Attorney’s Office, and Randolph Roig, 46, of New Orleans, were passengers in a vehicle driven by Brian Weimer, 35, also of New Orleans.
Capt. Ryan Turner, spokesman for the Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office, said Weimer was stopped for careless operation of a vehicle.
The incident report states that during the stop, Louviere opened the door and asked why the vehicle was stopped.
She then stood up and started to “speak very loudly … questioning the stop,” the report says.
Louviere and Roig were arrested and booked into jail on one count each of resisting arrest, Turner said.
The incident report released by the Sheriff’s Office on Monday did not include any details about Roig’s arrest, including why he was arrested.
Louviere and Roig were released after they each posted bail of $500.
Weimer was issued a summons for one count of careless operation of a vehicle, Turner said.
District Attorney Phil Haney, whose office covers St. Martin, Iberia and St. Mary parishes, said Louviere was placed on administrative leave with pay beginning Monday morning.
“We are aware of an incident and we have taken steps to make sure that our office is removed from any prosecutorial decision making,” Haney said. “As far as the rest of the matter, it is a personnel matter.”
He said his office is still awaiting information on the circumstances surrounding Louviere’s arrest.
“We want to make sure that due process is given,” Haney said.
Haney said Louviere has been with his office for several years.