LAFAYETTE, La. (Claire Taylor/ The Advertiser)- Brian Pope, Lafayette’s suspended city marshal, entered a written plea of not guilty Monday to 17 malfeasance in office charges.

A grand jury indicted Pope in December on the 17 charges. He is accused of misusing  more than $84,000 in public funds between Jan. 5 and Oct. 4, 2018.

he malfeasance charges appear related to Pope allegedly keeping fees and garnishments as part of his salary after he received an attorney general opinion that the money belongs to the marshal’s office, not the marshal himself.

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