Willie Edwards Jr., a longtime cast member of the History Channel series Swamp People, was arrested in Bayou Blue, Louisiana, after Iberville Parish deputies raided a home and turned up materials they say were stolen. Edwards, 44, was booked alongside Elgin Floyd, the homeowner, and a third man who deputies found hiding inside the residence during the search.
The raid began after deputies received a report of stolen materials in the area, according to the Iberville Parish Sheriff's Office. That report led investigators to obtain a search warrant for Floyd's house, and once inside, detectives said they discovered items that had been stolen. As Boston 25 News reported, Edwards was accused of stealing materials from a Louisiana home, and both he and Floyd were charged with felony theft and illegal possession of stolen things.
A third man, 43-year-old Trent Tullier, was found hiding inside the Bayou Blue residence when deputies executed the warrant, per the same account. Tullier was arrested on outstanding warrants rather than the new theft-related charges filed against Edwards and Floyd. Floyd separately was also charged with obstruction of justice. Sheriff Brett Stassi confirmed that Edwards was arrested at Floyd's Bayou Blue home, and the investigation remains ongoing.
What the Charges Actually Mean Under Louisiana Law
Both felony counts hinge on the value of the recovered property. Under Louisiana Revised Statute § 14:67, theft becomes a felony once the value of misappropriated goods hits $1,000 or more, carrying penalties of up to five years in prison and fines as high as $3,000 for items valued between $1,000 and $5,000, according to the Louisiana State Legislature. A companion statute, Louisiana Revised Statute § 14:69, covers illegal possession of stolen property, defined as intentionally possessing or concealing something of value a person knows or reasonably believes was stolen, with penalties that scale alongside the theft statute based on total value, per the same legislative code.
The two charges were filed in the Bayou Blue case. No dollar figure for the recovered materials in the Bayou Blue case has been disclosed, and it remains unclear exactly what was seized.
A Family With Deep Roots on Swamp People
Edwards appeared in 117 episodes of Swamp People, according to IMDb, on a series that followed people from a remote part of Louisiana who spend one month each year hunting alligators. The show premiered on the History Channel in 2010 and ran into its 2024 seasons before Edwards's arrest, drawing a network-record 4.2 million viewers for its original debut, according to a report from LENA LAMORAY.
The Edwards name carries weight in Iberville Parish well beyond the reptile-hunting reality genre. Willie Edwards Jr.'s father, William “Junior” Edwards Jr., was one of the show's original stars, known as the “King of the Swamp,” and died at 61 in July 2025 after battling stage 4 colon cancer, according to an obituary posted on Legacy.com. He was a Bayou Sorrel resident who enjoyed hunting and fishing.
The family has also endured tragedy on the show's home turf before. Another Swamp People personality, Randy Edwards, died at 35 in a rollover crash on Highway 75 in Bayou Sorrel, according to WBRZ. Randy had appeared on the series before the crash. William “Lil Willie” Edwards IV is one of Junior's grandchildren, according to Wide Open Country.
Edwards's Arrest
Edwards was arrested. The Edwards family is known for its connection to the alligator-hunting reality genre.
As of now, the investigation into the Bayou Blue theft remains open, and no additional details on the value or nature of the recovered materials have been released.
