ASSUMPTION PARISH, La. (WAFB) - Louisiana State Police voided two traffic citations issued to a driver in Assumption Parish just hours after they were written. Body camera video obtained by the I-TEAM shows the driver told troopers his wife works as the administrative assistant to State Police Colonel Robert Hodges.
The I-TEAM spent months going back and forth with State Police to obtain the video. It shows a June 2025 traffic stop in which a trooper and a field training officer pulled over a truck for crossing the center line.
“The reason why I stopped you today is you crossed over the center line two different times,” Trooper Joffrion told the driver. “Any reason for that?”
The man and his wife told troopers they had just left a bar in Pierre Part and had picked up pizza on their way home.
About 60 seconds into the stop, the driver told troopers that the woman in the passenger seat works for the head of Louisiana State Police.
“Whatever you are about to do is 100% fine with me,” the driver said. “My wife is Robert’s administrative assistant.”
The Robert he referred to is State Police Colonel Robert Hodges, the head of the state’s premier law enforcement agency.
When asked if he had been drinking, the driver said he had started drinking “a little while ago” and acknowledged having a drink in the truck.
“That’s my second drink in the truck right now,” he said.
The driver then identified his wife by name, unprompted.
“She’s Veronica Schexnayder,” he said. “She’s Robert Hodges’ assistant.”
Troopers told the driver they would administer a field sobriety test. Body camera video shows troopers also asked whether the passenger had been drinking.
“Yes, not as much as me, but yes,” the driver said. “A beer or two.”
Troopers said the driver passed the roadside field sobriety test. However, because he had an open container and admitted to drinking, he was issued citations for open container and improper lane use. Body camera video shows a trooper pouring out the driver’s drink before the citations were signed.
“I don’t think you are impaired to drive, but that drink has to be poured out,” a trooper said. “He’s going to write you a ticket.”
The driver signed the citations.
“I’m citing you for improper lane use and open container,” a trooper told him. “It’s not an admission of guilt.”
The Troop C commander voided both tickets the following day. When the I-TEAM asked state police how many other open container tickets they have dismissed, the response was “not very many.”
State Police said the Troop C commander used his own discretion in voiding the tickets, citing two reasons: troopers had told the driver early in the stop they would let him off with a warning, and the driver should have been cited for driving left of center rather than improper lane use.
Troopers the I-TEAM spoke with said those reasons do not hold up to scrutiny.
State Rep. C. Denise Marcelle said the circumstances of the dismissal are unlike anything she has seen.
“I’ve never seen a ticket just disappear in thin air,” Marcelle said.
Marcelle previously sat on a committee that sought answers from State Police regarding the handling of the Ronald Greene case. Greene died in State Police custody in 2019, a case that exposed what investigators described as a pattern of cover-ups at the agency’s highest levels. Marcelle said she has remained skeptical of the agency since that time.
She said decisions to dismiss tickets are typically reserved for a district attorney — something that did not happen in this case.
“I don’t know anybody whose ticket gets dismissed immediately,” Marcelle said. “I’ve never seen that happen before. And so, no, I believe that it was special treatment given.”
Marcelle said the body camera video — which the I-Team obtained through a public records request — makes the favoritism visible.
“If the video doesn’t show up, nothing happens with the ticket,” she said. “The ticket is just washed clean.”
“The community understands that there’s a different level for them as it is for people who know people,” Marcelle said. “But to see it in your face is a little different.”
“When you get pulled over by state police, you’re going to have to pay the ticket or face whatever consequences there are,” she said. “And it should be the same for everybody. And unfortunately, as we can see, it is not.”
State Police Colonel Robert Hodges and agency media representatives declined to be interviewed for this story but issued a written statement. The statement maintained that the Troop C commander independently reviewed the citations and used his own discretion in voiding them.
The I-TEAM noted that the video was not released until days before Colonel Hodges is set to step down as head of the agency.
Watch the full traffic stop video here: https://www.wafb.com/2026/07/22/i-team-driver-mentions-wifes-connection-lsp-colonel-ticket-tossed-hours-later/
