ABOUT THE SHERIFF

Sheriff Timothy Soignet, born in Houma and is the youngest of five children of Magdelene and Raoul Soignet. After graduating from H.L. Bourgeois High School in 1985, he proudly enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and was sent to Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego, California.  He attended Infantry Training School at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina and served as an Infantryman in 6th Marine Regiment. 

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In September of 1988, Timothy was meritoriously promoted to Corporal before being assigned to 1st Battalion 6th Marines as a Squad Leader to participate in the contingency operations and support of Operation Just Cause in the Republic of Panama in August of 1989. During this deployment he was chosen as Non-commissioned Officer of the Year. Upon completion of this deployment, he was reassigned to 6th Marines Anti-Tank Platoon as a Section Leader. 

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In November of 1990, Timothy was deployed to Southwest Asia to participate in Operation Desert Storm/Desert Shield, He served as a section Leader with Combined Anti-Armor Teams where he was combat promoted to Sergeant. His return from deployment in May of 1991 resulted in his reporting to Drill Instructor School at Parris Island, South Carolina, where he served as a Drill Instructor with the 3rd Recruit Training Battalion "Mike" Company and trained and made over 500 recruits into Marines.

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In September of 1993, he returned to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, where he served as a Platoon Sergeant with the 8th Marine Regiment Anti-Tank Platoon. He conducted and led several Joint Task Force 6 Missions involving counter-drug operations alongside United States Border Patrol on the Arizona border which led to drug seizures and prevented drug trafficking on the border.

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In January of 1996, Timothy was assigned to the Marine Corps Security Forces for joint duty with the Navy as their training Cadre.  He served as the subject matter expert in anti-terrorism, force protection, base defense planning and firearms training in Southwest Asia, Bahrain. Additionally, he participated in the support of military Operation Southern Watch and Operation Vigilant Sentinel. 

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In April of 1998, he was assigned to Weapons and Field Training Battalion, Marine Corp Recruit Depot, Parris Island, South Carolina, and was assigned as a Primary Marksmanship Instructor, Combat Marksmanship Instructor, Chief Marksmanship Instructor, and Company Gunnery Sergeant.  These assignments made him responsible for training thousands of Marine recruits in marksmanship.

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In February of 1999, Tim was commissioned as a Warrant Officer and attended officer training in Quantico, Virginia. Upon completion of training, he was assigned as a Platoon Commander/Range Officer and Officer-in Charge of Marksmanship Training Unit, Parris Island, South Carolina. He was in command of over 200 Marine personnel during his tenure who were responsible for training 18,000 Marine recruits annually and operated a multi-million-dollar training facility. 

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In August of 2002, while serving as Chief Warrant Officer, Timothy was additionally assigned as Officer-in-Charge of the Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island Rifle and Pistol Team. In March of 2006, Timothy retired from the United States Marine Corps after serving more than 20 years.

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After his retirement, Timothy returned to Houma, Louisiana, where he embarked on a full-time position with the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff's Office. On March 13th of 2006, he attended Terrebonne Parish Regional Law Enforcement Academy and was assigned as a Uniformed Patrol Deputy, Field Training Officer (FTO), and Special Weapons and Tactics operator (SWAT) Sniper for over two years before being permanently assigned to the training academy in 2008 as an Academy Staff Instructor, Firearms Instructor, and SWAT Operator Sniper. During that time, he wrote a Patrol Rifle Curriculum adopted by Louisiana Peace Officer Standards and Training (P.O.S.T.) which is now the standard being used by all Law Enforcement Agencies in the State. Since 2008, he served as the Lead P.O.S.T. Firearms Instructor in the Patrol Rifle platform as the subject matter expert in the state. He served on the Louisiana P.O.S.T. Firearms Retainer Committee. 

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In July of 2012, he was assigned as the Director of the Terrebonne Parish Regional Law Enforcement Academy, Commander of the SWAT Team, and Commander of the Honor Guard. In April of 2013, he was promoted to the rank of Captain.  He wrote Use of Force Policies, K-9 Policies and Special Operations policies in civil disturbances. He wrote and implemented Critical Incident Training (Active Shooter) Program for Law Enforcement, churches, businesses, school teachers, and school administration in Terrebonne Parish. December of 2018 he was promoted to the rank of Major and assigned as Uniform Patrol Commander. 

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He is married to Melanie Soignet who is a Registered Nurse at Terrebonne General Medical Center and together they have three children Aaron, Haley, and Jessie, a grandson Bryson, and a granddaughter Marie. Two of their children also served honorably in the United States Marine Corps.

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He has also volunteered his time as a Houma-Terrebonne Toys for Tots coordinator for the past 8 years. He is a member of the Houma-Terrebonne Marine Corps League, American Legion, Brothers in Blue, and The National Rifle Association.

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Timothy began his role as the Sheriff of Terrebonne Parish on July 1, 2020.