FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 7, 2023
Lacombe Man Pleads Guilty to Repeated Failure to Properly Register as a Convicted Sex Offender and is Sentenced to 11 Years in Prison
COVINGTON—District Attorney Warren Montgomery reports that on Monday, August 7, 2023, Lionel Sonnier, 37, of Lacombe, Louisiana, pled guilty to the repeat offense of failure to properly register as a convicted sex offender and to illegal possession of stolen things before District Judge William H. Burris. The defendant had 10 prior felony convictions including five for failure to properly register as a convicted sex offender. Judge Burris sentenced Sonnier to 11 years in prison without the benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence.
The defendant is a convicted sex offender and Louisiana law requires him to register with the St Tammany Parish Sex Offender Registry any vehicle that he drives. In September of 2021, a St. Tammany Parish deputy received a hit on a stolen license plate on a vehicle being driven by the defendant. Sonnier was pulled over and told the Sheriff’s deputy that he had just been released from jail and taken possession of the truck. However, a bill of sale found in his wallet indicated the truck was transferred to him on April 1, 2021. Additionally, video evidence obtained during a separate investigation indicated that Sonnier had previously stolen the license plate from a retail store parking lot.
Assistant District Attorney Iain Dover prosecuted the case.