LAPLACE — St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s Office Deputy Cody Malkiewicz posed for pictures nine months ago 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.

This week, Malkiewicz posed for a different picture — his booking mug shot. He is now charged with perjury relating to his testimony at a preliminary hearing that followed the July 2014 I-10 bust.

Sheriff Mike Tregre said Malkiewicz was booked Wednesday with perjury, stemming from false courtroom testimony provided Oct. 9 in Edgard.

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

Tregre said those findings were presented to him, and Malkiewicz was fired the next day.

This week’s arrest represents a dramatic fall from grace for Malkiewicz, who less than a year ago was displayed for news reporters and community members as an example of quality police work.

Today, Tregre describes Malkiewicz’s actions as “embarrassing” and “illegal,” while the defense attorney for Landry and Davis said every lieutenant, sergeant and narcotics officer associated with the case should be fired because they all signed off on the report.

The bust

Sheriff’s Office officials said at 4:47 a.m. July 12 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 lanes 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.

Detectives seized more than 120 pounds of marijuana and nearly $18,000 in cash.

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. He said when the adults were arrested, he and his staff brought the children to Sheriff’s Office headquarters, where they ate a McDonald’s breakfast, colored and watched a movie until one of their aunts picked them up.

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.

At the time, it was announced Malkiewicz had recently returned from a specialized drug detection training that better educated officers on how to conduct patrols and stop drug activity.

Malkiewicz said in July he “couldn’t have made the stop without the training.”

The charge

According to Tregre and David Belfield III — the attorney for Landry and Davis — Malkiewicz provided inaccurate testimony during an October 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.

“Everybody associated with this car knows that was a made up story that he gave. He said on the witness stand that it was him and another cop that was on the scene on the interstate, but my client said that he was surrounded by about nine or 10 different cars. They came from all directions, marked and unmarked cars.”

The fallout

Belfield said the cases against Landry and Davis were thrown out by St. John Parish District Attorney Bridget Dinvaut.

Attempts to reach Dinvaut for comment were unsuccessful.

Belfield said his clients still face charges in St. Tammany Parish.

“Certainly, I believe that all cases involving (Malkiewicz) should be reviewed,” Belfield said.

“But (Malkiewicz) was the rookie on this case, the baby, and the narcotics division for St. John the Baptist Parish was involved in this case. It’s my belief that everybody that is associated with this case ought to be fired, just like (Malkiewicz) was. You have lieutenants, sergeants and narcotics that signed off on the report. Not only did he lie, but the report that they submitted was a lie.”

Tregre said local authorities have looked into previous cases Malkiewicz was associated with and found nothing inappropriate to report at this time.

“The district attorney is doing the same thing,” Tregre said. “There is nothing else that is showing any evidence of perjury at this time.”

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.”

At the time of the bust in July, Tregre said the Sheriff’s Office would receive 60 percent of the seized cash, equaling $10,800, and the D.A.’s office and parish criminal justice system would split the remaining 40 percent.

Tregre said he would use his office’s portion of the money to fund narcotics training.

On Thursday, Tregre said the case is going to proceed in the federal system and those funds are still being detained.

The drugs

Tregre described Malkiewicz’ actions as “disappointing. It’s embarrassing, and it is also illegal, which will not be tolerated.”

However, the sheriff believes Landry and Davis were in possession of illegal drugs and he is asking the U.S. Attorney’s Office to take over the case.

Belfield said deputies found drugs in the car, but that is not the issue.

“In criminal cases, if you want to take a person’s freedom, then you have to do it the right way,” he said. “If you follow the rules, then the courts are going to allow you to take away a person’s freedom, put them in jail and possibly — in some cases — take their life.

“So you have my client on trial for breaking the law, when you in turn are breaking the law and trying to prosecute him. That’s not what America is about.”

— Staff members Gladys Davis Mulkey and Stephen Hemelt contributed to this report.