CONVENT — A former St. John the Baptist Parish deputy who was fired and arrested for perjury last year is back on the job, this time serving in the St. James Parish Sheriff’s Office.

St. James Parish Sheriff Willy Martin Jr. said Cody Malkiewicz joined the office this month and moved through the riding partner phase to work without a partner quicker than the average new hire.

Malkiewicz made headlines in April when he was charged with perjury relating to his testimony at a preliminary hearing that followed a July 2014 drug bust on Interstate 10 in St. John the Baptist Parish.

At the time, St. John Sheriff Mike Tregre said Malkiewicz was booked with perjury, stemming from false courtroom testimony provided Oct. 9, 2014, in Edgard.

Tregre said St. John District Attorney investigators met Feb. 3, 2015, with Sheriff’s Office Internal Affairs investigators and shared details of the perjury.

Martin said he knew of the case before hiring Malkiewicz, adding he had first hand information pertaining to the case and knew the accusations had been cleared.

“People who I trust and I think have a pretty good record of evaluating people came to me and recommended (Malkiewicz,)” Martin said.

According to Martin, Malkiewicz had applied to the St. James Parish Sheriff’s Office before he was cleared but was not hired then because the sheriff’s concerns were not satisfied.

During the interview process, Martin said, Malkiewicz presented documentation indicating he was cleared of the accusations.

St. John the Baptist Parish District Attorney Bridget Dinvaut said the perjury charges against Malkiewicz have been expunged, indicating Judge J. Sterling Snowdy signed off on the expungement Dec. 4, and it was filed with the St. John Clerk of Court’s Office Dec. 7.

“Cody Malkiewicz was placed on pre-trial intervention, which is our diversion program,” Dinvaut said. “That occurred after we reviewed the evidence in the case, and we consulted with Mr. Malkiewicz and his defense council. Mr. Malkiewicz absolutely accepted the responsibility for his part in the offense.”

Dinvaut said charges were deferred through the pre-trial intervention, meaning they would not prosecute him.

“We felt like in the interest of justice, the pre-trial intervention was an applicable and eligible program for (Malkiewicz) to be in,” Dinvaut said. “After completing the program, you are eligible to apply for expungement. (Malkiewicz) applied for an expungement, and it was granted.”

When reached for comment this week, Tregre said he did not have anything to say about Malkiewicz.

Attempts to reach Malkiewicz for comment this week were unsuccessful.

 

The bust

Malkiewicz posed for pictures in July 2014 in front of more than 100 pounds of marijuana, which he and others said he seized during a lawful traffic stop on Interstate 10.

His K-9 Odeke was by his side, credited with helping alert deputies to a traffic stop that netted 120 pounds of marijuana and nearly $18,000, plus led to the arrests of Adam Landry and Miranda Davis.

Just a few months later Malkiewicz was charged with perjury relating to his testimony at a preliminary hearing that followed the July 2014 I-10 bust.

Following Malkiewicz’s arrest, Tregre described his actions as “embarrassing” and “illegal.”

Sheriff’s Office officials said at 4:47 a.m. July 12, 2014, Malkiewicz conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle for improper lane use after he said he saw the car swerving and driving erratically on Interstate 10 east bound near exit 209 in LaPlace.

The driver, his female companion and three children were in the vehicle. While speaking with the driver, Malkiewicz smelled marijuana coming from the vehicle and his K-9 Odeke alerted on the vehicle, according to reports from authorities.

Lt. Monty Adams said the recovered money was hidden in canisters of Kool-Aid and other grocery item canisters that had been fashioned to unscrew at the bottom to hide money. Adams said the canisters were placed inside of grocery bags, along with other legitimate groceries, so the couple could carry drugs and money to and from their car without being detected.

Tregre said the three children in the vehicle were sitting on top of the huge packages of marijuana in the backseat. The investigation of the couple moved to their home in Slidell, where Tregre said St. Tammany Parish officers found 3.9 pounds of heroin and a small amount of marijuana.

The charge

According to Tregre and David Belfield III — the attorney for Landry and Davis — Malkiewicz provided inaccurate testimony during an October 2014 preliminary hearing relating to charges filed against Landry and Davis.

Tregre said Malkiewicz’s radio traffic and phone conversations concerning the reason he pulled Landry over were “obviously inconsistent” with his court testimony.

Belfield was more emphatic in his take on Malkiewicz’s testimony.

“The whole thing that he said on the stand was a big, fabricated lie,” Belfield said.

“The first words out of his mouth were a lie. If he said hello, he was lying.”

Malkiewicz claimed his K-9 alerted on the smell of narcotics, but Belfield said Landry indicated the dog never barked or indicated anything, and simply walked around the car.

“It was a tip that they got, and they were going to stop this car,” Belfield said. “There was no legal reason to stop this car, so he made up some stuff to get the stop.”

Belfield said Dinvaut threw out the cases against Landry and Davis.

Tregre said another deputy involved in the case — Lt. Daniel Moldander, a shift supervisor — was fired because “he failed to assist another agency that was asking for assistance.”