ST. MARTINVILLE, La. (AP) - A state judge has sentenced a former Breaux Bridge police officer who was convicted of perjury and malfeasance earlier this year to five years of supervised probation.
District Judge Paul deMahy said he weighed the fact that Raymond Calais had no prior history of criminal conduct in deciding against imposing a prison sentence. He told Calais Thursday that he wanted to give him "one chance" to regain the community's trust.
The Advocate reports Calais resigned last year after questions arose about his investigation of Stephan Barker, who was arrested in the September 2010 armed robbery of Russell's Food Mart.
Calais testified during a court hearing last year that the store's manager had inadvertently seen a photo monitor in the police station that showed Barker being interviewed by police. The store manager later picked Barker out of a photo lineup.
The store manager, who was summoned to the hearing, testified that Calais brought him to the station and told him to watch the monitor before showing him the photo lineup.
Barker's defense attorney argued at the hearing that prosecutors should be blocked from using the lineup because the store manager likely chose Barker as the suspect because he saw a detective interviewing the man.
A judge later blocked prosecutors from using the photo lineup as evidence against Barker.
Calais' defense attorney, Harold Register, argued in court that Calais made a mistake.
"At this point, he just wants to get on with his life," Register said, adding that Calais is now gainfully employed and wants to continue to support his family.
DeMahy said during the sentencing hearing that Calais was "overzealous in his investigation, and when he was caught in the act of being overzealous he attempted to protect himself by lying. He did use his position and status to facilitate the commission of this crime."
The judge said there is no evidence that Calais had consistently engaged in similar offenses.
If Calais fails to complete conditions of his probation, he could face a possible maximum sentence of 20 years on the perjury charge and up to five years on the malfeasance charge.