A federal judge in a bribery case against a Lafayette assistant district attorney has ruled that prosecutors may introduce evidence at trial that Gary Haynes attempted to join another bribery scheme but may not mention his wife's bribery conviction years ago.
U.S. District Judge David Joseph of the Western District of Louisiana made the ruling following a Tuesday hearing.
A federal grand jury in September indicted Gary Haynes, an assistant district attorney in Lafayette, with conspiracy to engage in bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds; bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds; use of a facility in interstate commerce in aid of bribery (two counts); conspiracy to commit money laundering; and obstruction of justice.
Investigators allege Haynes, who was in charge of the pretrial diversion program in the 15th Judicial District Attorney's Office in Lafayette, conspired with others to funnel program participants to certain companies that he had deals with.
The pretrial intervention participants would pay the companies to clear their charges and Haynes would receive kickbacks for the referrals, investigators allege.
Haynes also allegedly persuaded others involved in the scheme to destroy evidence.
He is scheduled for trial Sept. 8, court records show.
Haynes' attorney, Todd Clemons of Lake Charles, filed several motions, including some that asked to exclude evidence. Joseph ruled on some of the motions Aug. 19.
Joseph ruled in favor of Haynes on one motion. That ruling prohibits prosecutors from introducing evidence related to the 2012 conviction of Haynes' wife, Barna Haynes, on federal bribery charges in an unrelated scheme involving the same district attorney's office but under a different district attorney.
In his ruling, Joseph wrote that "the minimal probative value of providing the jury with the evidence that the defendant's wife was convicted of a similar scheme is outweighed by the risk of undue prejudice, i.e., jurors believing that defendant is guilty merely by virtue of his wife's conviction or that he and his family regularly engage in criminal conduct."
Joseph ruled against the rest of Haynes' motions that he considered Tuesday. He ruled that:
- Evidence of Haynes' attempt to join another bribery scheme involving the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and some of the same people involved in the current case is admissible.
- Evidence that Haynes accepted bribes from other unindicted co-conspirators is admissible.
- Haynes is not entitled to a list of the government's witnesses.
- Haynes is not entitled to a list of all of his alleged co-conspirators, who prosecutors assert they do not intend to call to testify at trial.