Ouachita Parish District Attorney’s Office Files Criminal Case Against Frederick Leon “Bo” Boyte

The Fourth Judicial District Court is one of Louisiana’s 43 judicial districts and has original jurisdiction over Ouachita and Morehouse Parishes. The court consists of 11 elected judges and a court administrator. There are currently no criminal charges filed in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana. The district includes several jurisdictional subdistricts, and each has its district attorney. Ouachita Parish is located in northwest Louisiana.

Boyte’s cooperation with law enforcement

The state was required to offer a count of malfeasance as a condition for Boyte’s cooperation with law enforcement. However, Boyte refused, arguing that his cooperation merely reduced his criminal exposure. Further, his cooperation did not reveal any new suspects or superior elected officials. In addition, his lack of cooperation with the government could result in the dismissal of the pending charges.

As an employee of the OPPJ public works department, Todd Dumas, a tree-trimmer and surveyor, testified that in June 2001 Mr. Boyte had asked him to pick up a bulldozer and deliver it to Mr. Williams’ property. Despite Boyte’s claim, Stone testified that he did not use any OPPJ equipment, and rented it from a rental store. Additionally, he was on his day off when he transported the dozer.

Boyte’s cooperation with prosecutors

In a court hearing last month, Boyte’s defense attorneys presented the case to the jury. McGuffie was the second in command to the parish administrator and had the authority to instruct Boyte on the work he was doing. McGuffie admitted calling Boyte to inquire about whether he had permission to use the chain saw trimmers on his power lines and to find out if Stone was employed by the parish. McGuffie denied ordering Boyte to use a police jury employee on private property.

McGuffie contends that the trial court erred by allowing Boyte’s testimony. The state granted Boyte immunity and Boyte was aware of it in the discovery response. By testifying at trial, he violated his immunity. The judge did not object to Boyte’s testimony, even though the state’s defense team did not file a motion to suppress Boyte’s testimony.

Boyte’s cooperation with the investigation into irregularities at the OPPJ

Frederick Leon “Bo” Boyte is under investigation for his involvement in the public works department’s mismanagement. While he was the OPPJ’s public works director, he had never been authorized to use public property. He also did not have the authority to give or sell the equipment that the district attorney’s office used. Instead, he used public funds to fund his businesses.

In court, the judge considered the evidence and the testimony of various witnesses against Boyte. The evidence against Boyte was mostly gathered through independent sources and his lack of cooperation could lead to the dismissal of the case. But this wasn’t the only reason why the judge imposed a sentence on Boyte. Boyte’s cooperation with the investigation into the irregularities at the Ouachita Parish District Attorney’s Office had a mitigating impact on the sentence.

Boyte’s waiver of trial by jury

The case was filed by the Ouachita Parish District Attorney’s Office, which was investigating the public works director at the OPPJ, Frederick Leon “Bo” Boyte. Boyte had previously waived his right to a jury trial. He was sentenced to a year and a half in prison for mismanagement of OPPJ’s public works department.

The public works department of OPPJ and OPPD employee Todd Dumas testified that, in June 2001, Mr. Boyte instructed him to pick up a bulldozer and take it to Mr. Williams’ property. This property contained four dilapidated houses, trees, and junk around them. In 2001, Mr. Boyte told Mr. Williams that he needed his property cleaned. He did it himself using a bulldozer.

Boyte’s involvement with the diversion program

Frederick Leon “Bo” Boyte was a public works director for the Ouachita Parish Police Jury (OPPJ). In a recent investigation of the OPPJ’s mismanagement, the Ouachita Parish District Attorney’s Office discovered several violations committed by Mr. Boyte while he was the director of the OPPJ. The investigation found several violations and the prosecution decided to charge him with one count of malfeasance.

During the sentencing hearing, Boyte was accused of a felony, but the state only needed to prove malfeasance, or an intentional violation, for the charges to stand. The prosecutor argued that the charges were not sufficient, but still maintained they were necessary for the prosecution to prove the crime. However, the district attorney’s office pointed out that the state could have brought up to seven counts of malfeasance if they wanted to.