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Date set for vow declaration of former police officer who allegedly lied about his arrest in 2023

A former Alexandria police officer accused of exaggerating the charges against a man accused of shoplifting has been given a trial date in December.

Jim Odee Lewis is charged with abuse of office. He was arrested by Louisiana State Police on August 4, 2023, after the department asked LSP to conduct an investigation into Lewis's arrest of the unidentified suspect.

During a pretrial conference Wednesday morning, Ninth District Court Judge Greg Beard set a trial date for Lewis, 53, for Dec. 11.

Although he was arrested for abuse of office and damaging public documents, he was only charged with abuse of office. He has pleaded not guilty.

According to Louisiana State Police at the time of his arrest, on March 10, 2023, Lewis arrested someone who allegedly shoplifted at a local store. After returning the merchandise and learning the value of the stolen goods, Lewis allegedly inflated that value on his report so the suspect could be charged with a felony instead of a misdemeanor.

Federal lawsuit: Couple sues Alexandria police over traffic stop and interrogation they say was unjustified

Arrest of Jim Lewis: Alexandria police officer arrested and charged with lying to arrest a person for a crime

The criminal case is not the only lawsuit Lewis faces. He is a defendant – along with another officer and the city of Alexandria – in a federal lawsuit accusing the officers of violating the civil rights of a driver and passenger following a traffic stop at the intersection of Jackson Street and Dorchester Drive on June 15, 2022.

Mario Rosales and Gracie Lasyone, represented by attorneys with the Virginia-based nonprofit Institute for Justice, filed the lawsuit in November 2022. They claimed Lewis and Samuel Terrell stopped them after Rosales turned left from Jackson Street onto Dorchester Street.

The reason for the stop was because Rosales had not used his turn signal, but dashboard camera footage showed that he had indicated, the lawsuit says. He received a ticket for failure to indicate, among other things.

This charge was later dropped, it says.

The officers reportedly questioned the two about drug possession, illegally searched Rosales, and prohibited the two from recording the encounter on their cell phones.

The case is still pending, although Lewis was granted a stay while his criminal case is ongoing. The plaintiffs have requested a review of that decision.

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