Journal Staff
Recently hired and fired as a Springhill officer, 20-year-old Latedrick Robinson, currently a Homer Police officer, is jailed at the Lincoln Parish Detention Center.
According to Springhill Police Chief, Robinson left Homer Police Department some time after a December 2022 incident that has landed his boss and a fellow officer in trouble for tasing a handcuffed man.
“I hired him, ran a criminal history on him and it showed he had an arrest out of Columbia County, but it didn’t have a disposition,” Lynd said.
The disposition on a criminal record is the current status or final outcome of an arrest or prosecution.
When the chief quizzed him about it, Robinson said he was working at a car dealership, repossessed a car and there was a “misunderstanding and it’s all going to get worked out.”
Lynd said he gave Robinson the benefit of the doubt while investigating the incident. The chief said he learned there was much more to the story.
According to arrest reports, Robinson was arrested and booked into Columbia County, Arkansas on charges of theft of property over $25,000 on January 11, 2023. His bond was set at $500,000.
Lynd suspended Robinson pending resolution of the court case.
“I told him he could come back if it turned out to be nothing,” said the chief. “But I told him if he was convicted of a felony, our relationship was over. He was shortly relieved of duty.”
On May 11, Robinson was arrested by Lincoln Parish Sheriff’s Office for two counts of false impersonation of a police officer and two counts of carrying a firearm or dangerous weapon on school property, at school-sponsored functions or in a firearm-free zone.
Robinson allegedly was providing security for a Grambling State University event, while wearing a Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Department deputy’s uniform.
When he learned this, Lynd said he realized he was missing a body camera that was reportedly found with Robinson.
During the December 2022 tasing incident, Robinson was allegedly wearing a Homer PD-issued body camera that captured Homer Police Chief Van McDaniel and Sergeant Arnold Stephenson tasing Gregory Moak while Moak was on the ground and with his hands cuffed behind his back.
Moak has named Robinson in a lawsuit, as well as Homer Police Chief Van McDaniel, Sergeant Arnold Stephenson and others.
Louisiana State Police conducted an almost-year-long investigation and arrested McDaniel and Stephenson last week.
McDaniel has posted bail and is back in office ready to get to work despite his charges of malfeasance in office and aggravated battery. As an elected official, McDaniel cannot be removed from office unless he is convicted of a felony or resigns of his own accord.
Stephenson was charged with possession of ecstasy with intent to distribute and illegal carrying of a weapon. Although, Stephenson also bailed out of the Claiborne Parish Detention Center, he has not returned to work at the police department.
According to McDaniel, Robinson is still a commissioned law enforcement officer and works security for a separate company, which is allegedly what he was doing when the arrest took place on GSU campus.
On October 24, 2023, Robinson was arrested again by the Claiborne Parish Sheriff’s Office on a fugitive from justice warrant issued by the Lincoln Parish Sheriff’s Office where he is still being housed. A few days later on October 30, a warrant was issued by Columbia County Sheriff’s Office for probation violation of his original theft charge.
According to their record details, Robinson’s probation set to end in June of 2028, has been revoked.
