Attorney disputes DA's insistence that former Street Crimes unit officer indictments are unrelated to BRAVE Cave - Louisiana news - NewsLocker (2024)

BATON ROUGE - Tuesday, two big developments involving the now-defunct Baton Rouge Police Department's Street Crimes Unit happened in federal and district court. The cases are different, but involve officers from the same unit.At the 19th JDC, four former "Street Crimes" unit officers were indicted on charges related to an incident where they are accused of beating, tasing, and strip-searching a man in a BRPD building, which is nearby the infamous "BRAVE Cave" It was a non-BRPD building where, i

Metro Council approves next steps to revamping River Center

BATON ROUGE - A strategic plan made by Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome to revamp the River Center was approved Wednesday afternoon by the East Baton Rouge Metro Council.The Metro Council unanimously approved the measure to develop a project oversight committee with an end goal to redevelop the River Center to a conference hub with a hotel.Jill Kidder, the CEO of Visit Baton Rouge, was also put on the committee. She hopes this project will kickstart additional renovations downtown. Metro Co

Multiple fire departments work to put out flames at car dealership

NAPOLEONVILLE - Six fire crews worked for hours Wednesday evening to put out a fire at a Napoleonville car dealership. Napoleonville Fire Chief Don Blanchard said his department go a call that the Barbera Chevrolet was on fire around 6 p.m. When his crew got to the scene, flames were already through the roof of the building. Due to wind conditions and a large fuel supply inside the building, the fire spread and grew quickly. Blanchard called in help from firefighters in Painco

First responders working to put out fire at Napoleonville car dealership

NAPOLEONVILLE - First responders in Assumption Parish are working to put out a fire that sparked at a Napoleonville car dealership. The Assumption Parish Sheriff's Office said the Barbera Chevrolet in Napoleonville was completely engulfed in flames.            Crews are on the scene. No information about injuries has been released. No more information was immediately available. Permalink| Comments

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Slidell teacher arrested for relationship with student

SLIDELL - Another Slidell High School teacher was arrested Wednesday after an investigation into her colleague's inappropriate conduct with male students. On April 30, Slidell police officers arrested 35-year-old teacher Alexa Wingerter after finding she had an inappropriate sexual relationship with an 18-year-old student. Police said she also exchanged lewd messages and explicit photographs with the students, as well as buying students alcohol at Slidell bars. Throug

Texas officially introduces Jim Schlossnagle as new baseball coach

AUSTIN, TX - The Texas Longhorns hired a new head coach and sent shockwaves though the college baseball world as the trickle down affect has sent clubs scanning the transfer portal for new talent.Jim Schlossnagle left Texas A&M to take over the Longhorns and a number of Aggie players jumped into the portal to test their options elsewhere.The LSU Tigers may benefit from the influx of new players in the portal as Jay Johnson is looking to reload his roster to make a return trip to Omaha in 20

Police arrest juvenile, searching for man wanted on distribution offenses

HAMMOND - Police are searching for a man wanted on multiple drug distribution charges Wednesday.Romeriez Watkins, 26, of Hammond was seen having a hand-to-hand transaction with two people on foot in his truck on Old Baton Rouge Highway near the intersection of Baker Lane. As detectives attempted to approach the vehicle, Watkins bailed from the pick-up and fled on foot. While searching the area, detectives located a backpack in the same are where Watkins was seen fleeing. Subsequently, a search

One person in critical condition after shooting on Bogan Walk

BATON ROUGE - One person was critically injured in a shooting Wednesday afternoon along Bogan Walk. Officials said the shooting happened near the corner of Bogan Walk near North Adacian Thruway around 6 p.m. The victim was taken to a hospital in critical condition. No more information was immediately available. Permalink| Comments

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Police seeking assistance in locating Hammond missing teen

HAMMOND - The Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office is asking for help in locating a missing 14-year-old girl Wednesday.According to TPSO, Bria Williams was last seen at her home on Krogen Cove Lane in Hammond Tuesday at 10 p.m. Bria is described as a black female with black hair and brown eyes who is approximately 5-foot-10 and weighing 150 pounds. She was last seen wearing black athletic shorts and an oversized purple hooded sweatshirt. Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Bria W

Police locate missing Hammond teen after asking for assistance

HAMMOND - The Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office located a missing 14-year-old girl Wednesday.According to TPSO, the teen was last seen at her home Hammond Tuesday at 10 p.m.  before being located Wednesday night. Permalink| Comments

Gov. Landry vetoes bill that would have pardoned marijuana offenders

BATON ROUGE — Gov. Jeff Landry vetoed a bill Wednesday that would have allowed him to pardon certain marijuana offenders for those caught in possession of small amounts.President Joe Biden has already pardoned federal marijuana offenders, and many other states are following suit.Deputy Director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws Paul Armentano was hopeful for the change."We do not believe that responsible individuals that use cannabis ought to be incarcerate

Donaldsonville man originally convicted of killing wife pleads guilty, sentenced to 25 years in retrial

DONALDSONVILLE — A Donaldsonville man previously convicted in the killing of his wife pleaded guilty to her death in a retrial of the case after the conviction was overturned due to a non-unanimous verdict, the 23rd District Attorney's office said Wednesday.By pleading guilty to manslaughter and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, Jaris Howard, 41, shaved 15 years off his initial 40-year sentence that he was originally convicted of in 2019 for the 2014 killing of hi

Five Metro Council members sue over voting map that they say dilutes Black voting strength

BATON ROUGE — Five members of the East Baton Rouge Metro Council filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday challenging district maps set to be used for this fall's elections, saying their colleagues adopted a plan that dilutes Black voting strength.The five said demographers unfairly packed Black voters into a limited number of districts and, in turn, essentially guaranteed that White council members would hold a majority. There are more Black people in East Baton Rouge Parish than White peop

Hawks set to make No. 1 pick in the NBA draft, and this year there is mystery about who it will be

NEW YORK (AP) — Since the lucky numbers came up for the Atlanta Hawks for a surprising victory in the lottery, speculation centered around Alex Sarr and Zaccharie Risacher of France as the players they would consider for the No. 1 pick.Donovan Clingan hopes he gave them someone else to think about.The center from two-time defending national champion UConn also visited the Hawks and thought he put on a good performance.“So I feel like the workout went well a

A pair of LSU athletes nominated for upcoming ESPY's

BATON ROUGE - A pair of LSU athletes are nominated for ESPY's, ESPN's end of the sports year awards show which will be broadcast live on Thursday, July 11 at 7 p.m. on WBRZ from Los Angeles.LSU football quarterback Jayden Daniels and LSU gymnast Haleigh Bryant were both nominated in their "best college athlete" category and Bryant was a two-time nominee as she is also up for "best breakthrough athlete."New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson is also up for the "best comeback athlete" award af

Livingston council to discuss lawsuit claiming parish skirted zoning regulations for Deer Run subdivision

LIVINGSTON — At a meeting on Thursday, the Livingston Parish Council is expected to discuss a federal lawsuit filed against the parish by a contractor who claimed the parish skirted zoning regulations to unfairly target the development of a Denham Springs subdivision. The proposed 2,000-acre Deer Run development along 4-H Road has faced many roadblocks since developer Ascension Properties sought approval for the subdivision in early 2022.Deer Run was originally planned to hos

Man accused in death of Loranger woman, her daughter transferred to Louisiana jail

POINTE À LA HACHE — The man accused of killing a Loranger woman and her 4-year-old daughter was extradited to Louisiana on Wednesday.Danial Callihan, 36, was listed as in custody at the Plaquemines Parish Detention Center. The inmate list in the jail misspelled his name as Callahan.Callihan was indicted in Tangipahoa Parish on Thursday. Callihan faces two counts of first-degree murder, as well as one count each of aggravated kidnapping of a child and second-degree kidnappin

Baton Rouge-based aviation academy to take over former charter school campus on Plank Road

BATON ROUGE — The former campus of IDEA University Prep will be acquired by a Baton Rouge-based aviation charter school, IDEA announced Wednesday.Helix Community Schools' acquisition of IDEA's Plank Road campus for its Helix Aviation Academy comes a little more than a month after IDEA announced its University Prep campus would shut down at the end of the school year. Helix Aviation's current campus on Airpark Boulevard is a mile north of the former IDEA University Prep.Helix will repu

Livingston deputies: One dead in apparent suicide after Holden RV fire

HOLDEN — Firefighters and deputies were summoned to an RV fire in Holden on Wednesday morning and found a man dead in an apparent suicide, the Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office said.Around 6 a.m., deputies responded to a possible death on George White Road. Officials found an RV on fire when they arrived, and the fire was quickly extinguished.Once deputies went inside the RV, they found a man's body. The Livingston Parish Coroner was on scene and said the death appeared to be a suici

US Supreme Court rejects challenge from Louisiana and others over Biden social media policies

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday sided with the Biden administration in a dispute with Republican-led states over how far the federal government can go to combat controversial social media posts on topics including COVID-19 and election security.By a 6-3 vote, the justices threw out lower-court rulings that favored Louisiana, Missouri and other parties in their claims that officials in the Democratic administration leaned on the social media platforms to unconstitutionally

Detectives seeking information on unsolved 2021 murder

ST. GABRIEL - Police are still searching for answers regarding an unsolved murder that happened in 2021. The St. Gabriel Police Department was called to Timothy Brown's home in December 2021. Brown had multiple gunshot wounds and he died at the scene. Investigators and Brown's family are still looking for answers. Anyone with information about Brown's death is encouraged to call Capital Region Crime Stoppers at (225) 344-7867. Permalink| Comments

For Tesla's futuristic new Cybertruck, a fourth recall

DETROIT (AP) — Tesla is recalling its futuristic new Cybertruck pickup for the fourth time in the U.S. to fix problems with trim pieces that can come loose and front windshield wipers that can fail.Tesla has recalled the stainless steel-clad Cybertruck four times since it went on sale Nov. 30.The new recalls, announced in documents posted Tuesday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, each affect more than 11,000 trucks.The company says in the documents that the front

Baker woman arrested for attempted tax fraud after allegedly using stolen data to file 10 returns

BAKER - A woman attempted to secure over $25,000 in tax returns by filing with stolen personal information. The Louisiana Department of Revenue said Keiasha Brister was arrested Tuesday. Brister was accused of filing ten fraudulent tax returns between February and April of this year using fake payroll and stolen information. The LDR intercepted the returns and stopped Brister from receiving over $25,000 in tax refunds. Brister was booked into the parish prison for ide

Historic 'Catfish Town' building may be torn down

BATON ROUGE - A downtown casino is requesting a historic Baton Rouge building be torn down so the land can be used as a parking lot. The Belle of Baton Rouge requested a demolishment of Catfish Town, a 100-year-old building, to add a parking lot. The request was sent to the Historic Preservation Commission, who denied it because of the historic value of the building."We didn't think the purpose of their plans were worthy of demolishing that important building," board member of

Sports2-A-Days Preview: Southern Lab Kittens

BATON ROUGE - The Southern Lab Kittens took home the Division Four state football title last year in part because of a large senior class that helped push them over the top.Now in 2024, those seniors are gone and the next batch of Kittens are having to prove themselves capable of living up to the standard set before them.Head Coach Darrell Asberry will be breaking in a new quarterback in junior Jerry Botley.  Botley has been in the system learning under last years starter Marlon Brown

Baton Rouge stone shop is on the search for a thief

BATON ROUGE — A business owner is asking the public for help identifying a thief who broke into his custom stone shop on Sunday morning.Owner of Cast Stone Creations Tony Higgins said the thief was caught on camera and got away with several tools and a four wheeler. He believes the thief jumped the fence, went to his toolbox to grab pliers, and then cut a hole to drive the four wheeler out. Higgins said the chain of events has left him feeling unsettled.“I bring my small son

Baton Rouge business is on the search for a thief

BATON ROUGE — A business owner is asking the public for help identifying a thief who broke into his custom stone shop on Sunday morning.Owner of Cast Stone Creations Tony Higgins said the thief was caught on camera and got away with several tools and a four wheeler. He believes the thief jumped the fence, went to his toolbox to grab pliers, and then cut a hole to drive the four wheeler out. Higgins said the chain of events has left him feeling unsettled.“I bring my small son

Webworms weaving their way in and out of your plants; how to get rid of them

BATON ROUGE - Right now in Southeast Louisiana, you'll see lots of fuzzy light blond caterpillars called fall webworms. "In the spring going into the summer, what we've been seeing in the nursery lot and across Baton Rouge is the eastern tent caterpillar or webworm, and they make webs in big leaf trees, in the corners of branches, usually it's up high where you can see it," Beau Mutrie with Louisiana Nursery said.They don't sting, but they enjoy eating tree leaves and creating large we

Web worms weaving their way in and out of your plants; how to get rid of them

BATON ROUGE - Right now in Southeast Louisiana, you'll see lots of fuzzy light blond caterpillars called fall webworms. "In the spring going into the summer, what we've been seeing in the nursery lot and across Baton Rouge is the eastern tent caterpillar or webworm, and they make webs in big leaf trees, in the corners of branches, usually it's up high where you can see it," Beau Mutrie with Louisiana Nursery said.They don't sting, but they enjoy eating tree leaves and creating large we

Residents hopeful Amazon facility will drive economic growth along Florida corridor

BATON ROUGE - Homeowners in the Broadmoor subdivision are welcoming their new neighbor — a $200 million Amazon Fulfillment Center. The facility resides at the location of the former Cortana Mall. Suzanne Alban, who has lived in Broadmoor for nearly two decades, remembers the old mall like it was yesterday."When Cortana was here, it was really, really, really busy," Alban said.David Hinson, a Broadmoor resident of three years, says he's excited to see more economic development