ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST PARISH, La. — A father and daughter were arrested by the St. John Sheriff's Office last week for allegedly perpetrating a scheme where they claimed ownership of homes that were not theirs in an attempt to evict residents, according to a press release from the parish sheriff.
Lewis Giles Jr., 50, and his 23-year-old daughter Kayla LaShawn Giles, both of LaPlace, are accused of falsifying or forging land ownership deeds of homes that were not theirs, in an attempt to seemingly evict or remove the proper owners of the properties from the public record.
After receiving complaints in April and June about possible fraud and filing of false public records, detectives said they determined Giles Jr. was responsible and together with a team of SWAT officers, arrested him and his daughter in LaPlace on June 15.
Giles Jr. was charged with criminal conspiracy, 15 counts of injuring public records, 15 counts of forgery, and 15 counts of filing false public records. The press release said that Giles Jr. has been arrested six times since 2003 for various charges including assault, domestic abuse battery, molestation of a female, and more.
Kayla Giles was apprehended after initially resisting arrest, according to the press release. She was charged with criminal conspiracy, two misdemeanor counts of false swearing, two felony counts of perjury, 15 felony counts of injuring public records, 15 counts of filing or maintaining false public records, misdemeanor flight from an officer by vehicle. two counts of aggravated assault with a motor vehicle upon a peace officers, misdemeanor misrepresentation during booking, careless operation, and 15 felony counts of forgery.
Both were released on June 15. Sheriff Mike Tregre warned the public about the potential of Giles Jr. continuing his scheme in the press release.
“Mr. Giles may be looking to take someone’s home...again, right now. He will actually challenge you - even fight you - for your own home,” Tregre said. “That causes me great concern...People need to be aware of this type of activity in our local neighborhoods and surrounding communities...He will move into and try to take ownership of an empty home.”
► Get breaking news from your neighborhood delivered directly to you by downloading the new FREE WWL-TV News app now in the IOS App Store or Google Play.
