Ex-officer gets 4 years for stealing from evidence room

COVINGTON, La. (AP) — A former Louisiana police sergeant has been sentenced to four years in prison for stealing from the evidence room he supervised.

District Attorney Warren Montgomery says 46-year-old William Jones Jr. got concurrent four-year sentences for one count of malfeasance in office and two of theft of a firearm.

Jones worked for the department that polices the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, a 24-mile (39-kilometer) bridge between Metairie (MET-uh-ree) and St. Tammany Parish.

Montgomery said Friday that a St. Tammany Parish jury convicted Jones in May, and he was sentenced Thursday.

Jones was accused of stealing cocaine, $6,300 cash and two guns. He was fired after his arrest three years ago.