A former St. Landry Parish law enforcement officer is back in criminal court again.
Raseim Fredericks, 30, who has worked for the Church Point Police and Basile Police but is not working in law enforcement now, is accused of impersonating an officer.
In the past, we've reported about his arrests and convictions for domestic abuse, false impersonation and and resisting an officer.
Now, he's accused of flagging down the Mayor of Grand Coteau in July 2023 - two days after Grand Coteau's former police chief was booked on multiple charges, including malfeasance and obstruction.
The mayor told St. Landry Parish Sheriff's deputies that Fredericks had police lights on his Toyota, and approached him with a police radio in his hand to identify himself as a "special investigator," court records show.
As they talked, Fredericks allegedly told the mayor he was working the police chief's case but "wasn't at liberty" to say which agency he worked for. He exchanged numbers with the mayor so they could talk later.
A couple days after that Fredericks texted the mayor to meet, but the mayor became suspicious, did a google search and found multiple articles about him. That's when the mayor called the sheriff's office.
The St. Landry Parish detective who looked into the case called Frederick's wife - a Sunset Police Officer - and asked her what agency her husband was working for. She told the deputy he wasn't employed as an officer.
The detective found Fredericks and talked to him and after that he arrested him.
Ten months later, the St. Landry Parish District Attorney's Office filed a Bill of Information formally charging Fredericks with false impersonation of a police officer. He was arraigned on that charge Wednesday, and entered a plea of not guilty. His next court date is set for later this month.
We've reached out to the District Attorney's Office and to Fredericks' attorney, Elbert Lee Guillory, for comment on this case. We'll update this story if we receive any responses.
Here's a timeline of Frederick's arrests and convictions:
September 2016 - Frederick is arrested in Tampa, Florida and booked with domestic violence battery and aggravated assault with a firearm. This charge was dropped in November 2016.
September 2017 - Frederick's wife files a petition for protective order against him, alleging he assaulted her. At this time, she says he's working for the Bunkie Police Department.
July 2018 - Fredericks is arrested and booked with domestic abuse strangulation. Following a Gwen's law hearing, he's released on a $5,000 bond. He's formally charged with Domestic Abuse Battery in August 2018. Here's our story about that.
November 2018 - Fredericks is arrested and booked with terrorizing, false information about arson and false impersonation. Here's our story about that.
March 2019 - Fredericks is booked with resisting an officer.
September 2019 - Fredericks pleads guilty to three charges to clear three cases. He pleads guilty to resisting an officer, simple battery and false impersonation. In exchange, the government drops charges of terrorizing and false information of a planned arson. He was sentenced to six months in jail, suspended, and one year of active supervised release.
December 2020 - A protective order is signed preventing Fredericks from going near his wife and children; he's arrested on a domestic violence charge. https://www.katc.com/news/acadia-parish/officer-on-leave-after-another-domestic-violence-arrest
September 2021 - Fredericks is formally charged with domestic abuse child endangerment for December 2020 arrest
January 2022 - Fredericks pleads guilty to domestic abuse child endangerment; is sentenced to two years in jail, suspended, and two years active supervised probation.
July 6, 2023 - Fredericks' attorney files a motion to set aside the conviction on the December 2020 arrest, with no objection from the state the motion is granted.
July 13, 2023 - The Grand Coteau Police Chief is arrested and booked with distribution of marijuana, theft, obstruction and malfeasance in office.
July 15, 2023 - Fredericks allegedly flags down the Grand Coteau Mayor, in the incident described above.
May 22, 2024 - Fredericks is formally charged with false impersonation of a police officer in connection with the July 15 incident.
July 3, 2024 - Fredericks is arraigned on the bill of information filed in May.
