Perjury charge dropped against former Lafayette city marshal's attorney
The perjury charge against the attorney who represented the Lafayette City Marshal's Office under former leader Brian Pope has been dropped by the Louisiana Attorney General's Office.
Charles Middleton was indicted in November 2016 on a perjury charge. Prosecutors with the 15th Judicial District Attorney's Office, which Keith Stutes then led, accused Middleton of lying under oath during a grand jury session.
The bill of indictment said Middleton lied "by denying that he knew who 'Redmond' was while in truth and fact he knew that 'Redmond' was Jason Redmond."
The charge was dismissed last month by Assistant Attorney General M. Joseph LeBeau.
"I just immediately thanked God in prayer for that (dismissal). Ever since I got arrested, I prayed that justice would prevail and this would be exposed," he said. "It really devastated my life, my law practice and I've even had problems with my family."
"It's like I've been pulling a wagon of boulders around for six years with a black cloud over my head. So I feel free. I'm immensely thankful to God and my wife."
The charge stemmed from a criminal investigation into Pope, who was convicted in 2018 of using city marshal money to hire attorneys for personal use.
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Redmond was a political consultant and testified in Pope's 2018 trial that Pope's campaign contributed to the PAC he was a director of at the time. Redmond said Middleton reached out to him to help file a motion to unseal Lafayette Parish Sheriff Mark Garber's divorce records. At the time, Garber was running for office.
Redmond said he determined he and the group had no legal standing to file the motion. Middleton billed the Marshal's Office for the legal motion but told the grand jury he later determined the motion was not part of marshal business and reimbursed the office, according to transcripts.
During a grand jury session, Middleton testified that he didn't know who Redmond was and the invoice should have used someone else's name.
Middleton told the Daily Advertiser he never met Redmond.
The perjury charge was brought by the 15th Judicial District Attorney's Office but Middleton's attorney argued Stutes and Assistant District Attorney Alan Haney should be recused because they participated in the grand jury and would be material witnesses.
His attorney also argued that Middleton was never told he was a target because of his testimony, a violation of state law.
A judge agreed and the case was assigned to the Louisiana Attorney General's Office.
An assistant attorney general wrote in a fact stipulation that Middleton was not the target of the grand jury nor was he issued a target letter. At the time of the grand jury session, neither the legal advisor to the grand jury nor the grand jury had emails showing communication between Middleton and anyone named or referred to as Redmond.
After Middleton's testimony, the grand jury discovered "Redmond" was Jason Redmond when they were shown emails between Middleton and Redmond. Redmond then testified before the grand jury.
Middleton said it was malicious prosecution and he plans to take legal action against "the people who I know had something to do with this or who was part of the conspiracy to try to take me out."
Contact Ashley White at adwhite@theadvertiser.com or on Twitter @AshleyyDi.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Perjury charge dropped against ex-Lafayette city marshal attorney
