By Joel Thompson
The Advocate, Baton Rouge, La.
OPELOUSAS, La. — A weathered cinder block sits on a shelf in St. Landry Parish Sheriff Bobby Guidroz’s office — a reminder, he says, of deteriorating conditions at the parish jail and a December escape by three inmates who chipped through a wall.
Guidroz said the escape exposed long-standing problems at the jail in Opelousas, which opened in the mid-1980s.
“We have 13 cells without functioning locks. There are holes in the ceiling. Toilets don’t work. Air conditioning units don’t work. It’s a mess,” Guidroz said.
The escape and the jail’s condition have sparked a public dispute between Guidroz and Parish President Jessie Bellard over responsibility for jail maintenance, staffing and the use of taxpayer money dedicated to jail operations. At issue are competing claims about whether deteriorating infrastructure or inadequate supervision led to the escape — and which office is accountable for fixing problems at the aging facility.
Maintenance and staffing
The jail is supported by a dedicated property tax that generates about $800,000 annually for maintenance expenses. Guidroz has said the money is not being spent properly and that the Sheriff’s Office does not control the funds.
Bellard disputes that claim, arguing the escape was the result of staffing and supervision failures, not inadequate maintenance spending.
“If the deputy was watching like they’re supposed to be, they never would have gotten on top of that bunk,” Bellard said. “They didn’t do this in a day or two. It happened over time. Proper cell checks would have caught it.”
Bellard also said the jail is understaffed despite what he said is a roughly $14 million reserve held by the Sheriff’s Office.
“One deputy on a floor with around 100 inmates is impossible,” Bellard said. “The previous administration had two deputies and a rover making regular checks. We didn’t have people breaking out of the jail.”
A broader dispute
The disagreement over the jail is the latest flashpoint in a broader political standoff between the two elected officials, who have clashed publicly over budgeting, inmate housing and oversight responsibilities.
The dispute has at times spilled into public meetings and media appearances.
“Frankly, he’s an idiot,” Guidroz said of Bellard during a December meeting. “He doesn’t know how to manage a budget.”
Bellard responded earlier this week, saying, “He talks about things he doesn’t know anything about.”
While both have criticized each other sharply in recent months, officials on both sides say the underlying disputes are rooted in long-standing questions about authority and accountability rather than personal animosity.
After the December escape, Bellard pointed to an earlier inspection that found no structural deficiencies in the jail building. Guidroz said that argument mischaracterizes his concerns.
“I never claimed the building was going to collapse,” Guidroz said. “I’m saying they don’t spend the money to fix what’s inside of it.”
The jail dispute unfolds against the backdrop of an ongoing legal battle between the Sheriff’s Office and parish government over the housing of St. Landry Parish inmates outside the parish. The lawsuit, filed last year, centers on who has authority — and financial responsibility — for inmate placement and jail operations.
Since the lawsuit was filed, the number of parish inmates housed outside St. Landry Parish has dropped to three, according to officials, while the Sheriff’s Office has expanded agreements to house state inmates in parish facilities.
Multiple deficiencies
A Louisiana Department of Health inspection conducted Jan. 12 cited multiple deficiencies, including toilets in disrepair and the lack of written approval for a renovation project. Wall damage was listed as a repeat violation but classified as noncritical to inmate health and safety.
Bellard said many maintenance issues are addressed when they are reported but said access limitations slow repairs.
“When they report a problem, we fix it,” Bellard said. “Our maintenance staff can’t access most floors without a deputy present, and sometimes there aren’t not enough deputies available.”
Guidroz countered that relying on one maintenance worker for a three-story jail is insufficient.
More than 200 maintenance requests remain unresolved, though most were submitted Dec. 17 and 18, according to Sheriff’s Office Chief Information Officer Shane Garrard . Garrard said earlier requests were canceled and reentered into the parish’s system after officials determined some completed repairs had not been properly documented.
Parish officials said they received 111 maintenance requests between Jan. 24 and Nov. 14, 2025 . Because all open requests were canceled in mid-December, officials said it is difficult to determine how many were addressed before the reset.
Guidroz also contends that the jail’s dedicated tax revenue is being improperly spent on expenses such as salaries, food and clothing rather than building repairs. Bellard said maintenance and repair costs are paid from the parish government’s general fund.
Guidroz said the Sheriff’s Office is prepared to act if conditions do not improve.
“If they’re not going to fix it, we will,” he said. “The condition of this place is unacceptable.”
As of publication, it was unclear what maintenance work, if any, the Sheriff’s Office plans to undertake independently.
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