SERVING ASCENSION, ASSUMPTION & ST. JAMES PARISHES

Prairieville Man Pleads Guilty in Connection with String of Carwash Burglaries

          On March 9, 2020, Gene McCauley of 37225 Charlotte Ave. Prairieville, LA., age 41, pled guilty to Simple Burglary (6 counts). McCauley was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Phil Maples, and presiding over these matters was the Honorable Judge Thomas Kliebert. This guilty plea was the result of a plea agreement with prosecutors following a series of local carwash burglaries.

          Between January 22, 2018 and May 31, 2018, detectives with the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office responded to multiple carwash burglaries throughout the east Ascension Parish area. During the course of an extensive investigation, detectives suspected the same individual to have committed all of the burglaries based on the same mode of operation. Detectives learned that the suspect would gain entry by cutting a hole in the roof to access the storage building. Once inside, the suspect would use tools to break open the coin boxes and steal the money inside. While the last burglary was being committed on May 31, 2018, patrol deputies were dispatched to the area in reference to a burglar alarm. Upon arrival, deputies caught a male subject identified as Gene McCauley in the act. Based on the time period and identical characteristics of each crime scene, detectives were able to secure a warrant of arrest for McCauley and charged him in connection with all of the area carwash burglaries. McCauley was subsequently booked into the Ascension Parish Jail.

           Upon entering a guilty plea to the above-mentioned charges, pursuant to the plea agreement with prosecutors, McCauley was sentenced to 8 years with the Louisiana Department of Corrections with credit for time served.