Facebook photos result in charge

A 32-year-old Patterson man, who is an inmate at the parish jail, was charged July 29 in a contraband investigation that began when photos from inside the jail were posted on Facebook, St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Traci Landry said in a Tuesday news release.
Alvin T. Louis, 32, of Patterson and an inmate at the St. Mary Parish Law Enforcement Center, was charged July 29 with contraband in penal institutions prohibited (possession of contraband in a penal institution).
The charge is the result of an investigation into pictures of Louis on Facebook, Landry said. In the pictures, Louis can be seen holding a cell phone, she said.
Landry just sent in the arrest Tuesday because it had just been brought into her office, she said. Investigators were able to determine that the photos posted on Facebook showing Louis holding a cell phone were taken inside the jail, Landry said.
The investigation of the incident is “pretty much done,” she said. The jail continues to do regular, random searches, and the sheriff’s office will publicize any future contraband arrests, Landry said.
On the St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office website, Louis is in jail on other charges including attempted second degree murder, possession of firearm by a felon, a parole violation, second degree battery, aggravated battery and second degree battery.
In a July 29 article in The Daily Review, St. Mary Parish Sheriff Mark Hebert said sheriff investigators were trying to determine if more than 100 posts to an inmate’s Facebook account from July 16 to July 21 were made by Louis or possibly by someone on the outside who had access to his account.
Five inmates at the jail were charged July 7 with bringing contraband into the jail in connection with a case where inmates uploaded videos and photos to social media websites.
It is against prison policy and state law for an inmate to possess a cellphone or to personally participate in social media exchanges while they are in jail. Possession of contraband in a prison could bring up to a five-year sentence upon conviction. Less severe is a three-year-old state law for participating in social media while incarcerated, which could net a 30-day jail term.