COVINGTON, LA – A former Causeway police sergeant was found guilty of malfeasance and guns theft.

On Thursday, May 23, 46-year-old William “Billy” Jones, Jr. was found guilty by a St. Tammany Parish jury.

Jones had been accused of stealing cocaine, two guns, and $6,300 in cash from the evidence room he supervised three years ago.

“Mr. Jones held one of the most trusted positions in law enforcement, safeguarding the evidence seized during arrests,” Montgomery said. “This was a betrayal of that trust. But I congratulate the honest law enforcement officers and Assistant District Attorney Jessica Brewster, who uncovered this crime, and Assistant District Attorneys Angelina Valuri and Holly McGinness, who delivered justice.”

Brewster, who oversees the Assets and Forfeitures Division of the District Attorney’s Office, testified during the trial that a defense attorney in another case contacted her in November 2016 to inquire about $6,300 in cash that the Causeway Police had seized six months earlier.

State law requires law enforcement agencies to notify the District Attorney’s Office within 10 days of a seizure.

But Brewster said she had not been notified of that seizure, and when she attempted to contact Jones, he avoided her calls, emails, and text messages.

After several unsuccessful attempts to reach Jones, Brewster contacted the Causeway Police, and the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office was brought in to investigate.

Jones was also found to have stolen seized guns, and the investigation uncovered missing cocaine.

Jones, a law enforcement officer for 25 years, was wearing his uniform when he sold the guns to a Washington Parish convenience store owner.

Investigators recorded a confession from Jones, but he testified during the trial that the confession was a lie.

Jones is being charged with malfeasance in office and two counts of theft of a firearm, and he faces up to 5 years in prison for malfeasance and up to 10 years in prison for the firearms theft.