Skip to Main Content

Administration

DSC_1458.jpg

Sheriff

Blaise Smith

 

 

Sheriff Blaise Smith is a U.S. Army Combat Veteran having served in the Vietnam War. Sheriff Smith has 47 years of experience in Law Enforcement, as a Reserve Officer, Part Time Officer, and Full Time POST Certified Officer. He retired from St. Mary Parish Sheriff's Office in December of 1994 at the rank of Chief Inspector. He served in Chitimacha Tribal Police Department, working up to the Chief of Police. Sheriff Smith also held a Federal Commission through the Department of Interior for the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

 

Sheriff Blaise Smith is resident of Centerville, Louisiana. He is married to Karen McGoff and they have six children, fifteen grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

Sheriff Blaise Smith was sworn in as Sheriff of St. Mary Parish on Tuesday, December 18, 2018.

 

 

 

DSC_3368.jpg

Chief Deputy

Gary Driskell

 

After graduating from Morgan City High School, Chief Deputy Gary Driskell joined the United States Army serving actively until 1990. He then joined the reserve and was called up for Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm. During his military career, he worked as an MP and reached the rank of Sergeant. Driskell joined the St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office in 1990 at the parish jail. Since then, he has worked his way up through the ranks being promoted to supervisor in each division he was assigned; the St. Mary Parish Law Enforcement Center, Uniformed Patrol Section, Narcotics Section, and Criminal Investigation Section. On January 8, 2018, Driskell was promoted to Chief Deputy and will assist Sheriff  Smith by promoting overall agency efficiency. Chief Deputy Driskell is responsible for supervising personnel and managing the overall daily operations of the agency.

 

 

 

 

 

John Kahl, Jr..jpg

Lt. Colonel

John Kahl

 

After graduating from Hanson Memorial High School, Major John Kahl pursued a degree in criminal justice at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. In 1995, he began his career in law enforcement with the Lafayette Sheriff’s Department, working at the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center. In 1997, Kahl was hired as a Patrol Officer with the Broussard Police Department where he worked until being hired with the St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office as a Narcotics Agent in 1998.

Since his time with the St. Mary Parish Sheriff's Office, Kahl has been assigned to the Louisiana State Police West District Narcotics Division, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Task Force, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Safe Streets Task Force.

In 2012, Kahl was promoted to the rank of Captain overseeing the Criminal Investigation Section, Narcotics Section, Special Response Team (SRT), Dive Team, and the Federal Liaison Division. In July of 2016, he was promoted to Major and oversees the Criminal Investigation Section.

In 2020, Kahl was promoted to the rank of Lt. Colonel. 

 

 

 

 

 

IMG_2628.JPG

Major 

Nick Rogers 

 

A graduate of Berwick High School, Captain Nick Rogers began his career in law enforcement in 2002 when he joined the St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office. That same year, Rogers graduated from the Louisiana P.O.S.T. Academy and worked as a road deputy. In 2006, Rogers was promoted to the Narcotics Task Force. As a narcotics agent, he successfully completed an F.B. I. Instructor Development Course and was promoted to Lieutenant in the Patrol Division. During his time in the Narcotics and Patrol Divisions, Rogers attained multiple instructor certifications including Rapid Response to Active Shooter, TASER, and Standardized Field Sobriety Test. With those certifications, Rogers shares his expertise and experience by teaching fellow law enforcement officers attending the St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office Regional Training Academy. In 2010, Rogers was promoted to the Criminal Investigation Division as a Detective and was re-assigned to serve as a detective in the Marine Section in 2012. In 2014, Rogers led operations at the St. Mary Parish Law Enforcement Center in Centerville before returning to the Marine Section. Rogers was promoted in 2018 to command the Uniformed Patrol Section. Rogers built the Uniformed Patrol Section back up to the high standard that the St. Mary Parish Sheriff's Office requires of the Patrol Section. He was assigned to lead the Investigations Division in 2019. 

In January 2020, Rogers was promoted to the rank of Major and became the Warden at the St. Mary Parish Law Enforcement Center.