Warrant issued for former Kaplan Police Chief

KAPLAN - There is a warrant out for the arrest of former Kaplan Police Chief Boyd Adams.
Adams failed to appear in court for a trial docket on Monday at the Vermilion Parish Court House.
Adams’ lawyer was in the courtroom, but not Adams.
Judge Ed Broussard issued the warrant for Adam’s arrest, because he was not in the courtroom.
Three years ago, Adams turned himself in to the Louisiana State Police after they discovered that Adams was unable to provide receipts or records documenting his use of over $19,000 of Kaplan Police Department funds. Investigators were able to determine that Adams allegedly used nearly $7,000 of the amount for personal purposes.
In September of 2017, Adams was charged with a violation of Theft over $5,000 and Malfeasance in Office.
The Legislative Auditor’s investigation found 149 transactions, which equaled to $17,140 in a Kaplan Police Recreation Account.
Out of the $17,140 in transactions, a total of 59 transactions worth $7,650 had no documentation explaining the reason for the cash deposits.
The audit cited several instances of sloppy accounting and of possible improper use of public funds.
Among them include: The chief cashed checks for $200 and $500, drawn on police department accounts, and wrote a $280 check from a police department account to repay an officer who covered the chief’s phone bill.
Auditors noted that 38 minutes after Adams cashed the $500 check in 2014, he made a $500 deposit in his bank account.
Adams told auditors that the cash from the $200 check was deposited in his department’s “cash bag” and was for an undisclosed undercover operation.
Auditors said Adams had no documentation for cashing the $500 check, but the chief said it was not connected to the $500 deposit he made to his account on the same day.
Adams told the auditors that the deposit was from the repayment of a $500 loan he made to a mother to buy school supplies and clothes for her children.
The former chief also told the auditors that he put $280 into the police department’s cash bag to cover the $280 check he wrote to the officer who paid his phone bill.
According to the audit, a log for withdrawals and deposits from the cash bag showed a $280 deposit from the chief. Still, auditors questioned the accuracy of many of the transactions recorded in that log and they could not find any other records to confirm repayment.
Much of the questionable spending was made using two bank accounts that other city officials said they did not know about, until last year.
Adams said both accounts were set up years ago by his predecessors, a statement that the auditors confirmed.
The accounts have since been closed, and all police department funds are held in authorized city accounts.
Adams was the Kaplan police chief since 2010 before, his arrest in 2017. He is no longer living in Vermilion Parish.