Authorities in Louisiana say a man pulled off an elaborate impersonation scam, posing as a judge to lower an inmate’s bond and secure his release before law enforcement caught on.
The suspect, identified as 42-year-old Adrian James St. Romain, is now facing a string of felony charges, including false impersonation, assisting escape, attempted simple escape, and injuring public records.
The Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office announced his arrest this week, noting that St. Romain was initially taken into custody on an unrelated warrant before investigators connected him to the audacious scheme.
According to investigators, the case dates back to April 2025, when someone phoned the Calcasieu Correctional Center claiming to be a local judge. Authorities say the caller was “able to verbally reduce an inmate’s bond” to “Released on Recognizance.”
The inmate in question, 46-year-old Demond Lynn Delahoussaye Sr., was subsequently “released on that fraudulent bond” in June, according to KPLC.
But the deception unraveled when Delahoussaye appeared in court on July 17, where officials quickly realized his prior release had been orchestrated under false pretenses. He was “immediately arrested and booked back into the Calcasieu Correctional Center,” the sheriff’s office said.
Court records show Delahoussaye was originally jailed on aggravated assault charges. The nature of his relationship with St. Romain remains unclear.
Authorities believe St. Romain was not finished. Detectives allege he “attempted two more calls in July, again impersonating a judge in an effort to set another fraudulent bond on the same inmate.”
Those attempts failed, and investigators, with the help of the U.S. Marshals Service ultimately identified St. Romain as the suspect.
Sheriff Stitch Guillory praised his team, saying: “We have policies in place and have already made changes to ensure this type of situation does not happen again. This was an honest error that occurred due to lack of training, and we have addressed it.”
He added that the case was handled with caution to avoid tipping off the suspect: “We did not release any information in July once it was discovered due to the fact our detectives and corrections personnel were in the middle of an active investigation. Revealing details too soon could have tipped off the suspect.”
Sheriff Guillory also commended the CPSO Real Time Crime Center for connecting the dots using advanced investigative tools.
As of Wednesday, St. Romain’s bond had not been set.
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