BATON ROUGE — The Louisiana Attorney General’s Office’s agents arrested a Baton Rouge-area State Trooper following allegations of multiple domestic abuse incidents and then lying for the investigations into them.
Based on a referral from Louisiana State Police, agents with the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation began looking into allegations that James Jefferson III, 41, of Baton Rouge was abusing his spouse. The investigation surrounds multiple incidents of alleged abuse that Jefferson committed against his spouse of 15 years in 2025.
This is the trooper’s second arrest. Jefferson was arrested by BRPD officers in February 2025 on allegations of domestic violence. According to arrest documents, both Jefferson and his wife told responding officers that there was no physical altercation, but that they were having an argument. Both a witness and video surveillance gave more details into the incident.
The allegations are that Jefferson physically abused her on multiple occasions and that he directly influenced and/or interfered with law enforcement investigations into the alleged abuse.
Agents corroborated the allegations of physical abuse and that he had “direct influence on law enforcement investigations where he was a suspect,” according to Attorney General Liz Murrill’s office.
During their investigation, agents obtained records and statements showing that Jefferson allegedly gave false information when he filed records within the 19th Judicial District Court. He’s also accused of destroying evidence that captured the domestic violence he allegedly committed and that he gave false statements to law enforcement officers, per the AG’s Office.
On March 31, agents arrested Jefferson on the following charges, with the dates of the alleged crime included:
- Aggravated Second Degree Battery (committed Nov. 1, 2025)
- Filing False Public Records (committed Nov. 1, 2025, and Dec. 29, 2025)
- Obstruction of Justice (committed Feb. 5, 2025; Feb 20, 2025, and Nov. 1, 2025)
- Domestic Abuse Battery in the Presence of Minors (committed Nov. 1, 2025)
- Domestic Abuse Battery by Strangulation (committed March 23, 2025)
He is booked in the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison. No bond has been set at this time.
“It’s always unfortunate when we have to arrest a law enforcement officer, but no one is above the law. Thank you to Colonel Hodges and State Police for fully cooperating with our ongoing investigation. Thank you as well to District Attorney Hillar Moore and his office for collaborating with my office on this case,” said Attorney General Liz Murrill.
“Our mission demands that every member of the Louisiana State Police exemplifies the highest level of professionalism and integrity. The residents and visitors of Louisiana should expect nothing less, and we will continue to hold ourselves accountable to those standards every single day,” said Colonel Robert Hodges, Louisiana State Police Superintendent. “We appreciate the professionalism demonstrated by the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office and we value our cooperative, working relationship with them. We fully support their ongoing investigative process.”
The investigation is ongoing. Jefferson is on administrative leave, pending the investigation.
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