ST. GABRIEL — Two Elayn Hunt Correctional Center employees were arrested on malfeasance charges, and two others were placed on leave, the Louisiana Department of Corrections said Wednesday.

The Iberville Parish Sheriff's Office arrested registered nurse Canecia Burrell and Sgt. Christiana Hardin. Burrell worked with DOC since August 2025, and Hardin worked at DOC since March 2025. According to the Iberville Parish Sheriff's Office, the pair is accused of communicating with inmates through social media and not telling their supervisors.

Two other EHCC correctional officers have also been placed on investigative leave pending further review into alleged wrongdoing

“Contrary to news organizations who attempt to take credit or attribute these ongoing efforts to their media reporting, the Department has consistently been doing the work to weed out bad employees and address contraband head on,” DOC Secretary Gary Westcott said. “My leadership team and I have made it abundantly clear that any type of malfeasance in office is absolutely unacceptable and we will hold those staff members accountable.”

The two arrests came after a DOC news conference on Monday, where leadership addressed employee misconduct.

Secretary Westcott said Monday that there were likely "a handful of bad employees" within the organization, but that the bulk of those assigned to prisons were dedicated to caring for incarcerated individuals.

On Tuesday, three state prison employees were fired following allegations that they introduced contraband.