10-22-21
INTERIM LAFAYETTE POLICE CHIEF WAYNE GRIFFIN HAS BEEN PUT ON ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE AFTER HE WAS ACCUSED OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT. MAYOR PRESIDENT JOSH GUILLORY SAYS THEIR HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER WILL LEAD A FAIR AND IMPARTIAL INVESTIGATION INTO THE ALLEGATIONS. HE SAID IN A PREPARED STATEMENT THAT HIS ADMINISTRATION HAS ZERO TOLERANCE FOR SEXUAL HARASSMENT. MAJOR MONTE POTIER WILL TAKE OVER COMMAND OF THE LAFAYETTE POLICE DEPARTMENT UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.
SKELETAL REMAINS FOUND IN LATE AUGUST NEAR RAYNE HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED AS THIRTY-YEAR-OLD DEION HOLLIER, WHO WAS LAST SEEN ON AUGUST THIRD. A PERSON CUTTING GRASS FOUND THE REMAINS ON LILLIAN G. PIERCE DRIVE. THE REMAINS WERE SENT TO THE L-S-U FACE LAB AND THE STATE POLICE CRIME LAB WHICH FOUND THEY WERE A POSITIVE MATCH FOR HOLLIER. AN INVESTIGATON IS UNDERWAY TO DETERMINE THE CAUSE OF DEATH.
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards’ top homeland security adviser is resigning, and the governor named the agency’s chief deputy to the position. James Waskom is on medical leave until January, when he’ll formally leave the position he’s held since the start of the Edwards administration in January 2016. Casey Tingle will take over as director of the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. Tingle has been with the homeland security agency since 2009.
The mayor of Lake Charles says hundreds of commercial buildings damaged last year by Hurricane Laura are being condemned or marked for demolition. The American Press reports that Lake Charles Mayor Nic Hunter told the City Council on Wednesday that he realizes business owners have needed time to work with insurance companies and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, but he says people who live or work near those buildings also must be considered. To address this issue, The City Council doubled the daily fine for unsecured commercial properties to $1,000 in certain instances. It also cut in half the 24 months previously allowed for commercial buildings to be boarded up.
COMMUNITY LEADERS ARE CALLING ON ALL IN GREATER SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA TO TAKE PART IN A LAFAYETTE BOYCOTT. CAROLINE MARCELLO HAS MORE.
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THE IBERIA PARISH SHERIFF’S OFFICE HAS FORMED AN UNDERWATER SEARCH AND RECOVERY TEAM. THE TEAM INCLUDES FOUR PRIMARY DIVERS, TWO SAFETY DIVERS AND COMMUNICATIONS SUPPORT PERSONNEL. ONE OF THE DIVERS, PAUL BUSWELL, TELLS KLFY TV THAT THE AREA THEY ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR INCLUDES A HUGE AMOUNT OF WATERWAYS. HE SAYS THE NEWLY FORMED TEAM WILL MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE IN RESPONSE TIME WHERE, IN THE PAST, THEY HAD TO RELY ON DIVE TEAMS FROM OTHER PARISHES OR CONTRACT DIVERS.
CAROLINE MARCELLO HAS THE LATEST STATEWIDE COVID-NINETEEN NUMBERS.
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PORT BARRE POLICE ARE SEARCHING FOR A RUNAWAY TEENAGER, ONE WHO HAS A HISTORY OF RUNNING AWAY. THE MOTHER OF SEVENTEEN-YEAR-OLD Z’KERIA FRANCIS SAYS SHE LAST SAW HER ON SATURDAY WHEN SHE RETURNED HOME FROM THE RICE FESTIVAL IN CROWLEY. POLICE SAY Z’KERIA HAS CONTACTED HER MOTHER AND TOLD HER SHE WAS IN HOUSTON. ANYONE WITH INFORMATION IS ASKED TO CALL PORT BARRE POLICE.
