By CALEB FREY

Staff Reporter

Lutcher — Police Chief Corey Pittman entered a guilty plea to three counts of distribution of five or more grams of cocaine and is facing up to 120 years in prison according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Lutcher was arrested in August following an investigation in which he directly sold crack cocaine to an undercover operative on three separate occasions in June and August of this year.

&#8220The distribution of dangerous narcotics by a law enforcement officer such as Corey Pittman – sworn to protect our citizens – and particularly those actions by a chief of police, is nothing short of horrific,” U.S. Attorney Jim Letten stated in a press release on Pittman.

The first occasion in which Pittman sold narcotics to an undercover operative was June 23, 2005. An undercover operative purchased 22.1 grams of crack cocaine from Pittman for $1,900 in front of the Garyville/Mt. Airy Magnet School in St. John Parish. On August 8, 2005, Pittman was caught on video at a truck stop in Reserve distributing two ounces of cocaine base and 40 tablets of the prescription drug hydrocodone to an undercover operative for $2,000.

On Aug. 12, 2005, Pittman sold 12 grams of crack cocaine to an undercover agent for $900 at a Shell Truck Stop in Reserve.

Pittman’s sentencing is scheduled for March 29, 2006, at 9 a.m., where he faces a minimum mandatory sentence of five years imprisonment and a maximum sentence of 40 years along with a $2,000,000 fine per count.

Lutcher Town Mayor Troas A. Poche is still waiting for Pittman’s resignation before he can fill Pittman’s position because he is an elected official.

&#8220Since now he’s pleaded guilty, he is suspended without pay,” Poche said. &#8220I have my attorney looking into whether we might be able to replace him now without him resigning.”