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Sheriff's office employee accused of stealing thousands, given special treatment as she was booked into jail
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PORT ALLEN - West Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's employee Mandy Miller received special treatment Friday when she was booked into the parish jail on serious felony charges after she admitted to stealing thousands of dollars from the department.
The WBRZ Investigative Unit was there as Miller surrendered. She pulled up around 2:15 p.m. Friday and went to the Sheriff's Training Center where she hung out for about 45 minutes. Miller then pulled into the parking lot of the jail, and was escorted in by WBRSO employee Kevin Deval. Sources say Deval and Sheriff Mike Cazes' son-in-law Dale Simoneaux orchestrated a plan to make things easy on her, to help avoid media attention.
Why she was allowed to hang out at the training center before she turned herself in on serious charges, hasn't been answered by sheriff's office. WBRZ reached out to Sheriff Mike Cazes but did not get a response back.
Miller's alleged theft came to light last fall when thousands of dollars went missing. An investigation by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor, State Police and the FBI went on for months. Sources said the LLA turned over their case to law enforcement over the past few days.
Sources said $150,000 was missing from the West Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office. Miller was tasked with processing traffic ticket payments, and public records show she was earning $72,000 in that role.
District Attorney Tony Clayton told the WBRZ Investigative Unit that justice will be served in this case.
"I do not plan on convening a grand jury on this one if the evidence is strong," Clayton said. "This is a case I can make a call on my own. If it's evidence that is clear cut, then I don't need a grand jury to make it. I need the evidence to prosecute. I need to show the fraud, how the fraud took place, under what circumstances."
Sources said she was booked on malfeasance in office counts and felony theft.
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