COVINGTON —- St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Randy Smith pleaded guilty in court in Covington Wednesday in a drunken attack on a man at a Madisonville restaurant on May 29.
As part of that plea deal, Smith resigned as sheriff and retired from the sheriff’s office.
“I made a mistake and now I’m facing those consequences,” he told Judge Reginald Badeaux.
He pleaded guilty to second-degree battery and misdemeanor disturbing the peace by public intoxication.
District Attorney Collin Sims said his office made the deal with Smith quickly to allow the sheriff’s office to move on from the disruption caused by Smith’s arrest. He said that, particularly with a tax renewal for the sheriff’s office on the ballot Saturday, it was important to resolve the sheriff’s situation.
“They don’t need to have their funding hanging in the balance and we don’t need to have a protest vote against an individual when we’re looking for fund hard-working men and women of the department who have families,” Sims said.
He said the attorney general’s office and the victim agreed with the plea deal.
“Everyone was in agreement that this was the appropriate conclusion of the case,” Sims said.
Sims said Bret Ibert would serve as acting sheriff until an election to replace Smith is held. Ibert was promoted to chief deputy on Monday after the abrupt resignation of Chief Deputy Jeff Boehm.
When asked by a reporter whether Boehm was under criminal investigation for his handling of the sheriff’s office response to the sheriff’s restaurant fight, Sims only said “no comment.”
In court, Smith spoke softly and answered Badeaux’s questions about his understanding of the charges against him and what a guilty plea would mean for him. When he allowed Smith to make a statement, Smith apologized to the citizens of St. Tammany Parish, to the staff of the sheriff’s office and to his family. He mentioned that he was “standing up” for his family at the time of the crime.
Smith said he had to “face the consequence of my own mistake.”
“It’s something that’s tough. I don’t take it lightly,” he said.
Badeaux gave Smith a suspended sentence of two years on the battery charge and 90 days on the disturbing the peace charge.
He ordered Smith to complete a specialty court program dealing with sobriety, to pay a fine of $500 plus court costs for each crime, and put him on probation for two years.
If he successfully completed probation, he can return to the court and have his felony conviction replaced with a misdemeanor simple battery conviction.
Sims said the program, which will be handled by a judge in the 21st Judicial District, is difficult.
“If he does not complete the program and graduate all phases of the program, he will remain a convicted felon,” Sims said at a news conference after the hearing.
At the request of Eric Hessler, Smith’s attorney, Badeaux said he would be willing to end Smith’s probation early if all the plea deal conditions are met. The program could be completed in 15 to 18 months, according to the district attorney’s office.
Among those conditions are paying for his supervision by the state probation office and potentially wearing an akle monitor that detects alcohol consumption by monitoring sweat.
Bobby Couvillion, the victim of Smith’s attack at Keith Young’s steak house, spoke to reporters briefly after the hearing: “Today, justice has been served for the citizens of St. Tammany Parish and the state of Louisiana.”
He thanked the district attorney’s office and the attorney general’s office and its bureau of investigation, which handled the case after deputies learned that the sheriff was the suspect.
In a written victim impact statement Couvillion submitted to the court, he said “I am grateful that the truth came to light and that justice was not swept under the rug simply because of who was involved. No one – regardless of their position or title – should be able to use force against an innocent person without consequence. This outcome sends that message clearly.”
Couvillion said the investigation was through and professional.
“I had faith that if the facts were allowed to speak for themselves, the right outcome would follow. That faith was rewarded,” he said. “A sheriff who attacks a private citizen without provocation has betrayed every voter who put him in office and every deputy who serves honorably under his command.”
Smith turned himself into the Tangipahoa Parish jail on June 4 with his attorney by his side. He was in and out within an hour.
Investigators said Couvillion was celebrating his birthday at Keith Young’s steak house when the sheriff yanked him backward off a bar stool, threw him to the ground and punched him. Couvillion had a concussion and his front teeth were “displaced,” according to Smith’s arrest warrant.
After Smith’s arrest, Gregory Jules Saurage was arrested as a principal to second-degree battery. He is accused of pointing out Couvillion to Smith.
Sims said Wednesday that his office is reviewing the case against Saurage, who is scheduled to be in court in August.
MORE: Gregory Jules Saurage is facing one count of principal to second-degree battery.
Just a day before Smith’s court appearance, the second in command at the St. Tammany Sheriff’s Office resigned. With Smith’s retirement effective at 1 p.m., Deputy Chief Bret Ibert is promoted to Chief Criminal Deputy, Chief Civil Deputy and Second in Command. Ibert will serve as interim sheriff until a new sheriff is elected.
Sources tell UWK State Police Colonel Robert Hodges, who announced he is retiring in Fall 2026, is speculated to run for St. Tammany Parish Sheriff.
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