UPDATE: Former DeRidder mayor gets new trial date

Published 3:50 pm Wednesday, February 4, 2026

Former DeRidder Mayor Misty Roberts will face a new trial beginning Feb. 23, following an arraignment that was held in the 36th Judicial District Court Wednesday morning.

Roberts, with her defense team, appeared in court to enter her plea of not guilty to two felony charges of indecent behavior with a juvenile and carnal knowledge of a juvenile.

A misdemeanor charge of contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile that was previously filed against Roberts was not mentioned during the arraignment.

A preliminary exam hearing is set for Feb. 12, and Ad Hoc Judge D. Kent Savoie requested that new summons and questionnaires be sent out to begin the process of
selecting a new panel of jurors.

Before Roberts’ arraignment, Savoie recalled the previously selected panel of jurors and potential jurors to formally release them from duty after declaring a mistrial for proceedings that began on Jan. 27.

“It was the court’s hope that we would have been able to move forward (with the trial), but unfortunately that could not happen,” Savoie told jurors.

Jury selection was still underway when proceedings paused as Roberts’ attorneys, Adam Johnson and Todd Clemons, requested a writ with the Third Circuit to quash a previous indictment that added the indecent behavior with a juvenile felony charge. The appellate court opined that the indictment, which had occurred during a grand jury hearing presided over by a Beauregard Parish judge one month after being recused by the Louisiana Supreme Court, was null. In response, the state submitted a bill of information with the Beauregard court to update the charges to include the indecent behavior charge. Roberts’ defense team argued against the validity of the filing and sought clarification from the appellate court.

As arguments mounted, Savoie expressed his concern that he had grounds to declare a mistrial, but he stayed that motion as both sides took their arguments to the state’s high court. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court denied both appeals, allowing the mistrial to stand.

Roberts was arrested in 2024 on allegations of having sexual relations with a juvenile. The arrest occurred two days after she resigned from office as DeRidder mayor.