– St. Martin Parish officials expressed disappointment after learning that former Lafayette Parish officials including Mayor-President Josh Guillory will face no criminal charges from the District Attorney’s office for the 15th Judicial District for their role in removing a spoil bank in St. Martin Parish and taking the dirt directly across the Vermilion River to build a nine-foot levee on the Lafayette Parish banks of the river in 2022.
First Assistant District Attorney Frederick Welter wrote in a letter to the Louisiana Legislative Auditor dated Feb. 9 that the 15th Judicial District Attorney’s Office under Don Landry, “declines to pursue any criminal prosecution of any public officials or public employees of Lafayette Consolidated Government” over the findings of an investigative report by the legislative auditor dated Aug. 13, 2025.
That legislative auditor’s report led to allegations of malfeasance and public bid law violations related to the 2022 removal of a spoil bank in St. Martin Parish.
“I’m very surprised that he would not find, after reading the Legislative Audit report,” Parish Council Chairman Chris Tauzin said. “I find it very heartwrenching. I would think there was some criminal activity that went on there.”
After the Legislative Auditor’s report came out in August of 2025, former St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars took the opportunity to address the Parish Council about what had led up to the auditor’s report concerning the Lafayette Consolidated Government’s removal of spoil banks in 2022 that protected the Cypress Island community.
Charges
The Legislative Auditor’s office released its findings after investigating the secret removal of the natural flood barriers one night in February of 2022 under Guillory’s administration, leaving the Cypress Island community subject to potential flooding.
According to public records, LCG awarded a contract to the lowest bidder, Rigid Construction, in December of 2021 for as-needed excavation and disposal work across the parish. The scope of the contract was expanded in February of 2022 with millions added to the budget.
Rigid Construction then removed about six feet of earth from a spoil bank on the St. Martin Parish side of the Vermilion River one night, without permits from the Corps of Engineers or permission from St. Martin Parish, and placed the material along the river banks in Lafayette Parish.
The Legislative Auditor’s investigation concluded that Guillory and his administration likely violated state and federal laws and Lafayette’s Home Rule Charter, including public bid laws.
But the letter from the 15th JDC DA’s office referred to the actions as “mistakes” that were made and that the assistant DA would not be able prove beyond a reasonable doubt that anyone acted with criminal intent required to obtain a conviction.
“A mistake is when you show up in a guy’s front yard to dig a ditch, and you dug the wrong ditch,” Tauzin said. “(Guillory) applied for permits. He pulled the permits when he saw that he wasn’t going to be able to get the Corps of Engineers’ permits. This is all public record. He applied for those permits and then they backed out of the permitting deal because (they said) they were going to study the modeling. Next thing you know, we find out that they worked night and day, 24 hours around the clock and they pulled all the dirt off of our side and put it right across the river, directly on the other side, on their side, and built a 9-foot levee behind Oakbourne Country Club.
“I don’t understand how Don Landry can say that wasn’t considered criminal activity.” Tauzin said.
