Former Tangipahoa Parish Employee Arrested for Malfeasance in Office

Donald Hammons, age 56 and a former Tangipahoa Parish maintenance employee, has been arrested in connection with actions he took while assigned to the Tangipahoa Parish Jail. Hammons was booked today (August 16, 2024) on one count of Malfeasance in Office. He had been a Tangipahoa Parish Government employee, assigned to conduct maintenance at the parish jail from 2010 until the sheriff’s office administration change in July of this year.

Once new leadership took over at the jail, it was learned that back in 2021, Hammons had taken a trustee inmate from the jail back to the inmate’s home in order to buy weapons from the inmate. When he was brought in for questioning, Hammons admitted to the allegation and voluntarily surrendered the weapons involved. Hammons has been terminated from his employment with the parish.

“Sheriff Sticker and I have promised to work as a team, and as such, we are united in our efforts to ensure the Tangipahoa Parish Jail succeeds. Our TPG family knows that we expect excellence everyday in all that we do, and integrity is an absolute, not an option. I am deeply disappointed by the actions of this former employee; however, there is no place in Tangipahoa Parish Government for this kind of behavior,” Parish President Robby Miller said.

“Security has been our top challenge at the jail, and therefore, our top priority,” said Sheriff Gerald Sticker, “In those efforts to improve security, we have not only made personnel changes but increased training and certifications as well as instituted changes in general access by parish employees. Our citizens should be encouraged that our leadership team identified this crime and that our partnership with parish government resulted in quick action to address this specific situation. Together we will continue to work to make improvements toward safety and security at the jail.”