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Trooper who allegedly hid evidence, coerced domestic violence victim to lie indicted on 13 charges
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BATON ROUGE - A Louisiana State Police trooper who allegedly covered up evidence and coerced a domestic violence victim to repeatedly lie to law enforcement investigating him was formally charged.
Trooper James Jefferson III, 41, was indicted by a grand jury for 13 charges: two counts each of domestic abuse battery with child endangerment , obstruction of justice, and malfeasance in office, five counts of violations of a protective order, and one count each of domestic abuse battery by strangulation and domestic abuse battery with a dangerous weapon.
The attorney general’s office, which is prosecuting the case jointly with the East Baton Rouge Parish district attorney’s office, said Jefferson is not in custody and is currently considered at large.
The WBRZ Investigative Unit previously reported on Jefferson’s domestic violence arrests. Abuse allegations spanned from Feb. 5, 2025, to Dec. 29, 2025.
In February, Jefferson was arrested after getting into a fight with his wife outside a home along Lake Sherwood Avenue South.
Officers found surveillance video of the February incident that included audio. Police said they could hear the victim yelling: "He's punching me," and "Don't throw me on the ground." Documents said the altercation happened while a 7-year-old child was in the back seat of the truck.
In that case, Jefferson was booked for domestic abuse battery with child endangerment, but the district attorney declined to prosecute because the victim asked to drop the charges. Documents say the victim was pressured by Jefferson in that incident and others to lie to investigating officers.
According to an arrest warrant, Jefferson texted the victim while she was meeting with the DA to "Hurry tell them u mentally off... U had episode."
Documents say that it wasn't the only instance of Jefferson forcing the victim to lie to police.
In November, Jefferson allegedly pushed the victim, grabbed her by the hair, and pulled her to the ground before getting in his truck and accelerating toward her. The report says the victim was struck and pinned between two cars before passing out.
Investigators interviewed two children who were there at the time of the alleged incident. The children told law enforcement they believed the victim was dead.
The warrant says that when officers arrived, both Jefferson and the victim said it was a traffic crash and not a domestic violence incident. Jefferson allegedly sent a text message about the incident, saying "But we ain't talking about truth. We're talking about the crash report."
The victim said she wanted to tell the truth about what happened, "but did not do so at the urging of James Jefferson III." The victim was given two traffic tickets.
The WBRZ Investigative Unit was at the scene when Jefferson was arrested.
After he bonded out of jail, Jefferson was ordered to wear a GPS ankle monitor and stay away from the victim’s home and work. According to new court documents, Jefferson allegedly broke that agreement and was indicted on five additional counts of violating a protective order.
State Police said Jefferson is currently suspended without pay. He worked in LSP's Gaming Control unit and has been employed at LSP since 2007.
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