By Paige Nash
Homer Police Department (HPD) Chief Van McDaniel has posted bail and is back in office ready to get to work despite his recent arrest by the Louisiana State Police (LSP) on charges of malfeasence 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.
One obstacle McDaniel is now facing is a shortage of officers. Sergeant Arnold Stephenson was also arrested by LSP on charges of possession of Schedule I (ecstasy) with intent to distribute and illegal carrying of a weapon. Although Stephenson was transferred from the Claiborne Parish Detention Center to a Lincoln Parish facility the same day of his arrest and bonded the following day, he has not returned to work at the police department.
A second officer, 20-year-old Latedrick (Ted) Robinson of Homer, is currently jailed at the Lincoln Parish Detention Center.
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.
He was arrested a few months later on May 11 by the Lincoln Parish Sheriff’s Office for two counts of false personation of a police officer and two counts of carrying a firearm or dangerous weapon by a student or nonstudent on school property, at school-sponsored functions or in a firearm-free zone.
According to McDaniel, Robinson is still a commissioned law enforcement officer and said he works security for a seperate company, which is allegedly what he was doing when the arrest took place on Grambling State University campus.
A couple of weeks ago on October 24, 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According to their record details, Robinson’s probation set to end in June of 2028, has been revoked.
This information has been provided by a law enforcement agency as public information. Persons named or shown in photographs or video as suspects in a criminal investigation, or arrested and charged with a crime, have not been convicted of any criminal offense and are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.