DENHAM SPRINGS (WBRZ) - The Denham Springs Police Department is changing procedures after two trustees managed to take counterfeit cash and drugs from the police station.
Now, no trusties are allowed in the building. The theft happened weeks ago, but policies are now being changed."There was an area they could get access to, and it was found property and stuff like that," Captain Patrick Knab said. "We were cleaning the flooded property out to destroy it."
The trustees, James Hood and William Scott, were repairing the flood-damaged police station. We've learned they tried to buy cigarettes with the stolen cash and when they got caught authorities found razor blades, a screw driver and a spoon in their possession.
"We completely locked down the entire area where they were working," Knab said. "We changed our policy that no one goes in that area. No civilian personnel goes in that area without an officer."Captain Patrick Knab said they were using trustees inside as a cost-saving tactic, but that won't happen again. "We were using trustee labor," Knab said.
"We were trying to save the taxpayers' money by using labor we could get without charging for to rebuild the building from flood damage."
Hood and Scott lost their trustee status. Both men face drug and theft charges.