Clay Schexnayder, former speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives, was charged with felony theft Wednesday in connection with a missing piece of historic cypress that had been on display at the State Capitol and was last seen at his legislative office in Gonzales.
An East Baton Rouge Parish grand jury handed down an indictment against Schexnayder, 56, accusing him of felony theft and malfeasance in office. The felony charge applies to items having a value of $25,000 or more.
The Advocate first reported in September on the disappearance of the 20-foot by 6-foot piece of cypress, taken from a tree believed to have been nearly 1,300 years old when it was harvested in 1936 from the swamps of Lake Maurepas. The board was gifted to the state in 1955 by Walter Stebbins and placed in a showcase on the ground floor of the State Capitol until about 15 to 20 years ago.
Stebbins’ grandson, Dr. Julius Mullins of Baton Rouge, reached out to state officials to help locate the missing cypress. He got his first break in the case when he saw Schexnayder on television being interviewed at his office, and the cypress board was in the background.
Schexnayder told the newspaper one of his predecessors as speaker, Rep. Chuck Kleckley of Lake Charles, had given him the board in 2013 for his legislative office because Schexnayder represented Ascension Parish, the area where the cypress had grown. Kleckley has said he doesn’t recall that account of how the board ended up in Schexnayder’s possession.
Schexnayder, who reached his term limit last year, did not respond immediately to a call and text message. He told WAFB-TV on Wednesday he doesn’t know what happened to the board after he vacated his office.
“I left the board and computer stuff there for the state to pick up,” Schexnayder said. “I left it there like any representative does. What happened to it, I don’t know.”
The property manager of the strip center that included Schexnayder’s office told The Advocate his employees did not remove it.
Attorney General Liz Murrill, who was among the state officials Dr. Stebbins asked for assistance to find the cypress piece, sought the indictment against Schexnayder.
“You don’t get to keep State property. It doesn’t belong to you,” Murrill said through her spokesman.
Schexnayder said he has only received one call from the attorney general’s office about locating the cypress, adding that he is willing to work with the agency to recover it.
“I’m very shocked and would have thought they would have followed up with me or had a sitdown meeting,” he said. “I told them I was willing to help them find it, but there’s been no follow up.”
Schexnayder, a Republican, held the House speaker’s post from 2020-24 with the backing of Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards. He had represented House District 81, which included Ascension, Livingston, St. James and St. John the Baptist parishes, since 2012.
Although the House Republican Caucus and state GOP power brokers endorsed Rep. Sherman Mack, R-Albany for the speaker’s role, Schexnayder emerged as a compromise candidate who gained votes from all 35 House Democrats and 23 Republicans. Mack received the other 45 Republican votes.
In 2023, Schexnayder ran for Louisiana secretary of state and finished fourth in the primary election.
During his time as speaker. Schexnayder created controversy when he hired his stepsons to remodel his two apartments in the Pentagon Barracks housing that lawmakers use. The state refused to pay for the work, leaving Schexnayder responsible for covering the $48,000 cost.