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State Police will investigate Elayn Hunt misconduct allegations following WBRZ Investigative Unit report
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BATON ROUGE — Gov. Jeff Landry announced Monday he has asked state police to investigate the Department of Corrections—specifically allegations of a rampant drug problem at Elayn Hunt Correctional—following a report by WBRZ's Investigative Unit.
"Some of the allegations in the reporting that's been done on activities that have been going on inside of Hunt is extremely concerning to me," he said.
The WBRZ Investigative Unit has done reports at length about drugs at the facility—most recently speaking to an inmate who told us how easy they are to get.
"Every week there's like one to three fentanyl overdoses since August of last year," said the inmate, whose identity we are protecting. "On a daily basis, you can have anywhere from 10 to 12 intoxications."
Landry says he was unaware of the issue until watching our reports.
"Over the weekend I had a number of conversations with (LSP) Colonel Hodges and I have instructed them to begin an investigation into the allegations that appeared in the WBRZ report and other reports that came from that particular story," Landry said.
The Department of Corrections has been difficult to get answers from. While they confirmed there is an investigation into a certain inmate who at one point was allowed to leave the premises on an ATV, it took three emails to get drug-related death stats for this year, which they say is at two. The inmate we spoke to says he knows of five prisoners who have died from drug overdoses recently.
Landry wants answers as well.
"We're going to ensure that our prison system here in Louisiana is tightened up," he said.
All of this comes after the surprise resignation of longtime DOC secretary Jimmy Leblanc, who on Friday said he would be stepping down due to health concerns. Landry also said that there will be active discussions over the next week to find a replacement for LeBlanc, whose resignation will be effective on Thursday.
"I don't believe these two things are in any way connected," Landry said. "I think Secretary Leblanc has decided it's time for him to go based on his health."
DOC referred us to the Governor's Office for comment on the investigation.
State Police say they are "expanding" their investigation into Hunt, saying they were already looking into misconduct, however, would not reveal when that initial investigation began.
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