By Terry L. Jones
The Advocate
BATON ROUGE, La. — A former Pointe Coupee prison guard has been arrested on a count of malfeasance in office for carrying on an inappropriate relationship with a female inmate, the sheriff’s office said Monday.
Darnell VanBuren was one of five guards at the Pointe Coupee Parish Detention Center who were either fired or resigned in lieu of termination following a string of investigations regarding improper conduct with inmates and accusations guards were sneaking drugs into the jail, a spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office says.
VanBuren was accused of having contact with a female inmate via Facebook messages, telephone conversations and emails.
“The conversations involved things of a sexual nature,” Capt. Steve Juge said Monday. “But there was never any actual physical contact between the two — it was just done over the phone.”
Judge said a female guard was also fired because of a friendship she maintained with an inmate, a violation of the jail’s policy. The guard knew the inmate was in possession of drugs and never confiscated them, Juge said.
The three resignations are connected to an ongoing investigation that was sparked by a tip that prison guards were smuggling illegal substances into the detention center, he said.
Sheriff Bud Torres is set to hold a press conference at 2 p.m. today to speak on the matter.
“All the cases are being reviewed by the District Attorney’s Office for possible criminal prosecution,” Judge said.
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