A Washington Parish grand jury indicted Bogalusa Mayor Tyrin Truong on Thursday, charging him with malfeasance in office, theft valued at between $5,000 and $25,000, and two counts of public intimidation, according to the northshore District Attorney’s Office.
Doug Freese, the chief of the Criminal Division for 22nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office, which includes Washington and St. Tammany parishes, confirmed the charges in a phone interview. Freese said further information on the charges would be forthcoming.
Truong did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday afternoon. The District Attorney’s office says Truong is scheduled to be arraigned on Nov. 10.
In January of this year, Truong was arrested by the Louisiana State Police as part of a multi-parish drug investigation and accused of transactions involving proceeds from drug offenses, unauthorized use of a moveable and soliciting for prostitutes.
At the time of the arrest, District Attorney Collin Sims alleged Truong “organized entertainment with a prostitute” at an AirBnb in Atlanta. He claimed the AirBnb was rented using public money. Sims did not provide further details at the time and did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.
Truong in previous interviews has strongly denied the charges. He has claimed his prosecution is racially and politically motivated, as he sought to shake up the city of about 10,000 people.
In August, Bogalusa’s former public works director, James Patterson, pleaded guilty in state court in Washington Parish to a charge of malfeasance and claimed he helped “cover up” an improper plumbing repair by city workers on Truong’s mother’s home.
Bogalusa city workers allegedly installed a 4-inch sewer pipe under Truong’s mother’s home in April 2023. Patterson estimated the repairs were worth at least $5,000.
After photographs began circulating on Facebook of the alleged repair, Patterson claimed he created a back-dated work order that made it seem like Truong’s mother’s plumbing had been damaged by city workers, according to a copy of his plea agreement.
Patterson’s plea agreement made clear he was a witness for the state against Truong, according to Patterson’s lawyer, Roy Burns of Covington.
“It’s not true and I’ll let the lawyers handle that part,” Truong told Times-Picayune in an interview in September, when asked about the allegedly improper plumbing repair.
In January 2023, Truong became the youngest mayor in the state when he was inaugurated at 23 years old, after easily beating the incumbent Mayor Wendy O’Quin Perrette in a 2022 election.
Please check back with Nola.com for more on this is a developing story.
