Deputy arrested again for robbery

An Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Division officer implicated in a series of local burglaries has been arrested on new charges of possession of stolen property valued at more than $1 million, Sheriff’s Office authorities said Monday.

 Jerrel A. Tauzin, 32, was arrested Nov. 15 after investigators found he was in possession of a laptop computer stolen in September from Breaux Brothers Enterprises, a shipbuilding company in Loreauville.

Breaux Brothers personnel said the computer, which has since been recovered, contains valuable vessel designs they estimated to be worth more than $1 million.

Tauzin was booked into the Iberia Parish Correctional Center and is being held on $150,000 bond.

The arrest, Tauzin’s second in two months, comes amidst a criminal investigation that could lead to more charges against the former narcotics agent in the near future. Iberia Parish Sheriff Louis Ackal said Monday the Sheriff’s Office is preparing to charge Tauzin with at least 10 additional burglaries.

Ackal said Tauzin stole so many items he rented a storage facility to accommodate them. After obtaining search warrants, officials recovered stolen goods as evidence in the storage facility and in Tauzin’s home, Ackal said.  

Tauzin was first arrested Oct. 30 after admitting to police he burglarized the home of a vacationing acquaintance.

In that burglary, Tauzin was charged with breaking into a residence on General Middleton Street and stealing a .40-caliber pistol along with three 9mm magazines, two Pelican flashlights worth about $50 each, a 4-wheel-drive radio controlled Revo 33 truck and an estimated $1,000 in accessories for the truck.

Tauzin was fired from the Sheriff’s Office after his October arrest. Officials said the investigation is ongoing and many details, such as the breadth of the burglaries, remain unclear.

As Tauzin worked undercover and was involved in a number of cases, the 16th Judicial District Attorney’s Office has been reviewing its cases on an individual basis to determine the impact Tauzin’s investigation might have on pending litigation, 16th Judicial District Attorney Phil Haney said.

Tauzin worked as a narcotics agent for more than two years before his termination. Prior to his employment with the Sheriff’s Office, he worked in the corrections division of the Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office for nearly 11 years.