A St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s detective was terminated as the result of an undercover drug operation in Eunice, according to Sheriff Bobby Guidroz.
The story about the termination of William “Billy” McCauley broke on the website Louisiana Voice.
The St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Division conducted an undercover operation in Eunice on Feb. 19, Guidroz said in a news release.
“The operation culminated in the arrest of Dustin B. Johnson, also known as “Goldmouth.” Johnson’s address was given as 110 East Ardoin Street, in Eunice. Detectives executed a search warrant at the home of Johnson and recovered ‘multiple’ cell phones during the search
“Johnson was taken to away be interviewed and debriefed by St. Landry Parish narcotics detectives. Johnson gave narcotics detectives information during the interview regarding a St. Landry Parish detective being on his payroll for $500 per month for information.
“Johnson identified the detective as Billy McCauley. Additionally, Johnson stated he was selling illegal narcotics to Billy McCauley’s wife. Johnson indicated that if the cell phones seized were analyzed, officers would find his claims to be true. Johnson also said he was paying an unknown Eunice Police officer as well for information.
“A search warrant was obtained on the phones seized at Johnson’s residence. The phones were analyzed by the St. Landry Parish Information Technology Unit for evidence. Once the phones were analyzed and evidence was gathered McCauley was placed on unpaid leave pending the criminal investigation.
“No criminal charges were filed due to Johnson refusing to further cooperate in the criminal investigation,” Guidroz stated.
Contacted in Facebook message, McCauley replied, “Only statement I will give right now is the allegations of me supplying a drug dealer information in exchange for money is not true. It never happened.”
Eunice Police Chief Randy Fontenot also issued a news release about the termination.
“After speaking to investigators, the sheriff and public information officer, I have been assured that there is no evidence to indicate or reason to believe that an officer of the Eunice Police Department is involved in the stated allegations. The investigators indicated that the information concerning the Eunice officer was second hand hearsay which could not be corroborated. No evidence was found or produced to substantiate allegations that a Eunice officer had any involvement. Phone records Johnson claimed would support his claims also failed to produce evidence that a Eunice police officer was involved, although evidence was found to support the claims of McCauley’s involvement,” Fontenot stated.
He added, “According to the Sheriff’s Office, I was not contacted prior about the Eunice Officers’ alleged involvement because of the lack of evidence to believe the allegations were true.”