A longtime Louisiana sheriff has resigned after he was convicted of drunkenly battering one of his critics in a bar.
St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Randy Smith admits he was drunk when he grabbed Bobby Couvillion by the neck in front of his wife at Keith Young’s Steakhouse in Madisonville last month — then pulled him to the ground and repeatedly punched him.
Couvillion — a regular critic of the sheriff’s — was left concussed and with messed-up front teeth.
Smith pleaded guilty to second-degree battery and public intoxication on Wednesday — and agreed to resign that day from his 10-year post as sheriff as part of a plea deal, WVUE reported.
He will also be placed on probation for two years — but is still eligible to collect his pension, District Attorney Collin Sims said.
“He acted out, and as a result of that sobriety issue, we’re giving him an opportunity and a path that we afford every other citizen in this parish to earn a misdemeanor if they address the issue that caused it,” the DA said.
The sheriff had drunk several alcoholic drinks at the restaurant when he approached Couvillion, who was sitting at the bar with his wife, from behind. The attack only ended when bar staff and patrons pulled him away.
“Today justice has been served for the residents of St. Tammany Parish and the State of Louisiana,” Couvillion said outside the courthouse after Smith’s guilty plea and resignation.
A second man, St. Tammany Parish bail bondsman Gregory Saurage, allegedly pointed out Couvillion to Smith at the bar and gestured for the sheriff to attack him, according to investigators. He has been charged with principal to second-degree battery.
Couvillion suffered a concussion and his two front teeth were moved from their normal position, according to a medical report in Smith’s arrest warrant.