Another DA’s Office in a Jam

This time, it’s Michael Harson’s Fifteenth (Acadia, Lafayette, Vermilion parishes) Judicial District.

DA office worker on unpaid suspension

An FBI investigation involving the 15th Judicial District Attorney’s office has now led to the suspension of an office administrator.

District Attorney Mike Harson acknowledged Barna Haynes has been placed on leave without pay, but he declined to say if her suspension is directly tied to the investigation and only that he felt the action was “appropriate.”

Early media reports have indicated the investigation involves the District Attorney’s Office handling of OWI prosecutions, but both the DA’s office and the FBI have yet to detail the investigation.

Haynes set up meetings between the district attorney and OWI offenders who want to enter the OWI pretrial diversion program or want to get their charges expunged.