The city of Abbeville received a notice from the Iberia Parish Sheriff's Office that its inmates need to be removed by June 30.
The city currently holds five spots to house people convicted of misdemeanors in Iberia Parish's jail.
According to Abbeville city leaders, the Iberia Parish Sheriff's Office said the inmates currently housed there are being too disruptive.
Abbeville City Court Judge Richard Putnam said this presents an issue for the city.
"It's a rare instance when I sentence somebody to anything over 30 days, but I do. It doesn't happen often, but it does happen, and when that happens we will have no place to go," Putnam said.
He said the city uses the Iberia Parish jail for misdemeanor crimes.
"We don't generally have a ton of prisoners at any one time, but what we do have are people who haven't been to court in years who we finally get our hands on. So, it's not going to work to serve them with a subpoena and let them go because we'll lose them again and they'll be flapping in the wind. So that's basically what we use the jail for. That, and shoplifters," Putnam said.
For now, they are still looking for a solution.
"I don't know how we're going to do this. We will, but I don't know how. I mean we have some irons in the fire. We'll see if they pan out, and in the meantime, we'll just keep trying," Putnam said.
Abbeville's Chief of Police Mike Hardy was unavailable for comment. We reached out to the Iberia Parish Sheriff's Office, but have not heard back.
