WAFB Channel 9, Baton Rouge, LA |Officers admit to taking dead man's wallet

Officers admit to taking dead man's wallet

BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) - Two St. Gabriel police officers turned themselves in to Louisiana State Police Thursday morning after allegedly stealing money from a dead accident victim.

Troopers identified the men as Keith Snowten and Rodrick Wesley. Both men admitted to taking money.

One of the officers apparently reached in and stole the wallet of a man who died in a traffic crash on Aug. 8. That officer then gave half of the money to the other one for his silence. The wallet had nearly $2,000 in cash inside.

Officials did not say which officer they believe initially took the wallet. Both officers were charged with theft and malfeasance in office.

"To come across this here, it's a police officer," said Trooper Russell Graham. "It does affect us and it's something we take personally because we take pride in our jobs."

St. Gabriel Police Chief Kevin Ambeau expressed disappointment. He said it is hard enough to tell a family they lost a loved one. He said in this case, on top of that he also had to the family the people hired to protect them actually hurt them more.

Family members of the victim are devastated and angry. They said from the beginning they suspected someone took cash from the victim's wallet, but it was not until an estranged girlfriend of one of the officers called authorities that investigators were able to trace what happened.

State police investigated the matter for three weeks.

The victim died after crashing into the woods.

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