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Suspended City Marshal Brian Pope reports to jail

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LAFAYETTE, La. (KATC) — Suspended Lafayette City Marshal Brian Pope turns himself in on June 28, 2019.

Suspended Lafayette City Marshal Brian Pope was booked into jail on Friday afternoon, but bonded out soon after.

Pope was ordered to report to jail before noon today to start serving his one year sentence.  Pope arrived at LPCC ten minutes before his deadline. He spent about an hour being processed and was released on a $25,000 bond.

On June 19, Judge David Smith heard Pope’s motion for acquittal on one count of perjury, which he then granted. The three other motions, also for acquittal, on malfeasance charges, were denied.

Smith then sentenced Pope to serve a three year sentence in the Lafayette Parish Jail for each of his three felony convictions. Smith then suspended all but one year of those sentences, and ordered restitution, court fees and community service.

On Thursday, Pope asked the court to set bail so he can remain free while he appeals.

On Friday, Smith signed off on a post-conviction bond for Pope in the amount of $25,000. Smith added two conditions to the bond, which are that Pope must submit to GPS monitoring and obey a curfew from 8 p.m. – 6 a.m., except for any working hours.

Federal court records also indicate that on June 11, Pope settled a civil lawsuit filed against him by Steven Wilkerson, who was co-chair of a failed attempt to recall the suspended city marshal. While it is unclear what amount the lawsuit was settled for, Wilkerson originally demanded $1,000,000 for violating Wilkerson’s civil rights.

Pope returns to court on Thursday, July 25, and Monday, Aug. 1, for his two next cases alleging 19 counts of malfeasance in office against him.