BATON ROUGE — A woman who was fired from the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office in 2019 allegedly misrepresented herself as a current law enforcement officer to prematurely terminate her lease at a Baton Rouge apartment complex without paying a fine; she was arrested Friday.

According to EBRSO, 45-year-old LaTonya Claiborne sent a letter to Cobblestone Apartments on Essen Lane, where she had lived since January 2026.

Claiborne then allegedly asked the complex to release her from her lease because she needed to move for work. She then provided management with a letter dated April 19 that said her assignment with the sheriff's office was changing and she needed to find housing "more suitable for her updated work requirements." 

Deputies said the validity of the letter was called into question because it was signed "sincerely M Woodston," but after an employee roster search, it was learned that no one with the last name Woodston was employed at the sheriff's office. Additionally, the letterhead used on the letter was not the standard one used by the sheriff's office, as well as including a Gmail address instead of the standard "ebrso.org" email.

EBRSO deputies added that Claiborne worked at the sheriff's office in 2018 but was fired in 2019 after she failed to return to work.

Deputies say that Claiborne forged the letter to defraud Cobblestone to avoid paying a $2,370 breach of lease fee.

When Claiborne moved into the complex, she indicated she worked for the Clinton Police Department, so she could receive a 3% off her monthly rent. Clinton Police confirmed that she worked as a school resource officer until she resigned in February, citing medical reasons. 

Claiborne was booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on Friday morning on forgery and false personation of a peace officer charges.