LAPLACE — Three juveniles arrested this week for defacing more than 30 vehicles set off a firestorm of local outrage when they were released within hours of their arrests, a controversy that put St. John Sheriff Mike Tregre at odds with Judge J. Sterling Snowdy’s office.

Tregre said the juveniles were arrested at separate times after vehicles in the Carrollwood and Belle Terre Village areas of LaPlace were spray painted Monday night, creating damage that ranged from $500 into the multi-thousands per vehicle. According to Tregre, two of the suspects were released from jail within an hour of their arrest to their parents and one was released ten hours later to a grandparent.

A fourth juvenile was also arrested, but Tregre said it was for a curfew violation, while the others were charged with criminal damage to property.

“How can I, as sheriff, continue to keep St. John safe if we are just going to catch and release within one hour,” Tregre said.

“I live here. I have lots of friends and family that live here. That is just not a good decision to release them like that.”

Tregre pointed the finger for the decision at Juvenile Probation Officer Samantha Wilson, who works in Snowdy’s office.

Snowdy is one of three judges in the 40th District Court who rotate duty months in St. John the Baptist Parish. July is one of Snowdy’s duty months, and one of the duties is serving as a magistrate for juvenile offenders.

One of the primary tasks is to determine whether to detain a child or release him or her back to a parent or guardian following a juvenile’s arrest.

Each judge has a juvenile probation officer, and Wilson serves in that role for Snowdy. When a juvenile is apprehended in St. John Parish, the jail contacts the juvenile probation officer for disposition, and that officer collects as much information as possible as quickly as possible to perform an assessment.

“The judges have given those (juvenile probation officers) a certain amount of authority to detain in our names or release in our names,” Snowdy said.

If a juvenile is ordered detained, the court must hold a Continued Custody Hearing in the next 72 hours to determine whether detention will be longer or if the suspect will be released to a guardian.

In the case of this week’s vandalism, the suspects were not all brought in at the same time. Snowdy said Wilson decided to detain the first suspect, and the court held a Continued Custody Hearing.

Juvenile proceedings are closed to the public, and the names of those involved are not made part of the public record.

“At the end of that (first) hearing, certain things occurred,” Snowdy said. “Perhaps, based on the reasoning — the officer was there — (Wilson) may have reacted to the apprehension of the second and third juvenile consistent with the ruling in the hearing.”

After the hearing, Snowdy said the first juvenile was released to a parent with “stringent restrictions.”

Snowdy said he feels the system has “worked pretty well for a number of years.”

A message left at Snowdy’s office asking Wilson for comment was not returned.

Tregre said the Sheriff’s Office pays to reserve several spots in the Assumption Parish Sheriff’s Office juvenile detention center and he felt the suspects arrested for the vehicle vandalism should have been held there for a few reasons.

Tregre said it is discouraging for his officers when their efforts to make an arrest are trumped just a few hours later when a suspect is released.

He also said the names of the suspects in this case were widely circulated on social media and he feared for their safety if someone who’s vehicle was damaged sought retribution.

“It is disheartening to me and demoralizing to the officers when decisions are made for juveniles (and they are) simply given house arrest instead of at least being held until their court appearance,” Tregre said.

“As sheriff, it is difficult to get crime under control and keep officers motivated to fight crime when this happens.”