CID field office occupying former SMSO Breaux Bridge substation

The former St. Martin Sheriff’s Office substation at 437 W. Mills Ave. is now a field office for Louisiana State Police investigators operating around Acadiana.
The seven-acre compound that formerly housed state prisoners and local trusties, will function as a headquarters for LSP natural disaster and hazmat responses as well as the day-to-day activities of the investigators, said Col. Mike Edmonson, LSP superintendent.
The Criminal Investigation Division (CID) comprises four squads: Detectives, Narcotics, Special Crimes, and Insurance Fraud/Auto Theft. Moving in also is an Investigative Support Section (ISS) field office, which consists of intelligence, analytical support,and technical support unit.
These functions were previously headquartered at 113 Borman Dr., near Lafayette Regional Airport.
The move does not affect LSP’s patrol function in the area, which operates out of Troop I headquarters at the intersection of Pont Des Mouton and Interstate 49 in Lafayette.
The location nearer to Interstate 10 is especially important, Edmonson said.
He noted that a lot of illegal narcotics and hazardous materials move through Acadiana on I-10 every day.
St. Martin Sheriff Ronny Theriot, himself a retired State Police captain, praised the cooperation between agencies that made the move possible.
“We want to be part of the community,” Edmonson said.
The property was bought by Sheriff Charles August Fuselier and converted into a facility for Louisiana Department of Corrections inmates, the warehousing of which was once a money-making operation for the sheriff’s office. Sheriff Theriot closed the jail when the economics reversed and housing state prisoners became a losing proposition.
Theriot made a portion of the property available to Parish Government for a new multi-purpose building housing, among other functions, the parish Council on Aging.
The property is still is owned by the St. Martin Parish Law Enforcement District. Louisiana State Police is leasing it.
It will serve as an Acadiana “branch” of LSP Region II, which consists of Troop I (Lafayette), the parishes of Acadia, Evangeline, Iberia, Lafayette, St. Landry, St. Mary, St. Martin and Vermilion; Troop C (Gray), parishes of Assumption, Lafourche, St. James, St. John the Baptist and Terrebonne; and Troop D (Lake Charles), parishes of Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron and Jefferson Davis.
There are nine State Police troops organized within three regions.