Sheriff-elect Becket Breaux has announced several key hires for his command staff when he takes office on July 1.
“I’ve selected individuals with extensive experience, dedication, training and a like-minded vision to move our parish forward,” he said. “Sheriff Ronny Theriot has graciously welcomed me and my team in making a seamless transition.”
Key personnel named by Breaux include:
•Harold Jean Batiste Jr. to be chief deputy.
A graduate of St. Martinville Sr. High and Southern University, Jean Batiste holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology and an associate degree in law enforcement. He is retired from a 29-year career with the Louisiana State Police where he gained extensive experience and training in narcotics, criminal investigation, leadership and management.
•Darren Doré will continue as the department’s chief financial officer.
Also a graduate of St. Martinville Sr. High, Doré earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Southwestern Louisiana (UL) and served the city of St. Martinville for nearly 20 years before joining the Sheriff’s Office in 2004.
•Danielle Champagne Guidry will be Breaux’s executive administrative assistant.
A graduate of Breaux Bridge High, she attended UL-Lafayette before launching an 11-year career as an accountant.
Guidry served as Breaux’s office manager during his campaign for the sheriff’s office.
•Terry Guidry, who is currently the director of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (OHSEP) for the parish, will have the title of Support Services Division commander/OHSEP director.
Guidry began his career with the Sheriff’s Office in 1992 as a correctional officer and rose through the ranks to major.
He currently also supervises special service, fleet and maintenance, and the Marine Patrol Division. In addition, Guidry is a coroner investigator, is certified as a Louisiana Emergency Manager Professional, and has completed the Governor’s OHSEP Command College.
•Mark Hebert, the retired St. Mary Parish sheriff, will serve as executive officer of Administrative Services.
Hebert began his career in law enforcement in 1983 and has worked as a patrolman, shift supervisor and SWAT agent. He was also a warden over the corrections division where he developed one of the nation’s first pilot programs for re-entry and instituted a full-time GED program along with a work release program.
•Ginny Higgins, a 22-year veteran of the St. Martin Sheriff’s Office, will continue as Public Affairs Division commander.
Higgins holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Southwestern Louisiana (UL) and an associate degree in legal secretarial studies from St. Mary’s Dominican College in New Orleans. She holds certifications in domestic violence, crisis intervention and negotiation.
She is a graduate of the P.O.S.T. Academy and Juvenile Officer Academy, and of the National Victim Assistance Academy. She has served as an elderly services officer and school resource officer. She is also a member of the FBI’s Joint Child Abduction Rapid Deployment Team.
•E.J. Melancon will continue as warden/Corrections Division commander. A 24-year veteran of the St. Martin Sheriff’s Office, he has served as a criminal investigator, narcotics agent, patrol supervisor, Training Academy instructor and as supervisor of the warrants service bureau.
He is a member of the Sheriff’s Emergency Response Team, the Louisiana Sheriff’s Task Force and the U.S. Marshal Gator Task Force.
An Army National Guard veteran with 11 years of service, Melancon was a mechanized infantry soldier with tours in Belize and Iraq.
•Chris Owens will serve as Enforcement Services Division commander.
Owens studied criminal justice at UL-Lafayette and began his career with the Lafayette Police Department in 1988, where he received the 100 Club Award.
He moved on to the Louisiana State Police where he was named Trooper of the Year. In 2016 he joined the Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office where he supervised the school resource unit, communications, crime analysis, uniform crime reporting, marine patrol, K-9 and crash reconstruction.
