10-6-23
A KAPLAN POLICE OFFICER WAS FIRED AND THEN ARRESTED FOR USING EXCESSIVE FORCE DURING A TRAFFIC STOP. KAPLAN POLICE OFFICER PATRICK DOUCET WAS CHARGED WITH FILING A FALSE REPORT, MALFEASANCE IN OFFICE AND AGGRAVATED BATTERY WITH A DANGEROUS WEAPON. POLICE CHIEF JOSHUA HARDY TELLS KLFY TV HE WAS REVIEWING PAPERWORK YESTERDAY MORNING WHEN HE NOTICED FLAWS IN DOUCET’S REPORT, WHICH LED HIM TO REVIEW THE BODY CAM FOOTAGE FROM THE TRAFFIC STOP. HARDY SAYS DOUCET WAS VERY AGGRESSIVE AND USED EXCESSIVE FORCE ON THE MAN BEING STOPPED, WHO HAD ASKED WHY HE HAD BEEN PULLED OVER.
LAFAYETTE POLICE ARE INVESTIGATING A FATAL HIT-AND-RUN THAT HAPPENED LAST NIGHT IN THE THIRTEEN HUNDRED BLOCK OF WEST WILLOW. A FEMALE PEDESTRIAN, WHO WAS WALKING WEST, WAS STRUCK FROM BEHIND BY THE DRIVER OF A WHITE PICKUP TRUCK. THE DRIVER FLED THE SCENE AND HEADED TOWARD AMBASSADOR CAFFERY. POLICE ARE TRYING TO IDENTIFY THE SUSPECT AS WELL AS THE PEDESTRIAN.
A KEEL LAYING CEREMONY WAS HELD YESTERDAY IN CAMERON PARISH TO MARK THE BEGINNING OF THE CONSTRUCTION OF TWO NEW FERRIES. ONCE COMPLETED, THEY WILL OPERATE ON THE LOWER PORTION OF THE CALCASIEU RIVER. IT WILL ELIMINATE A ONE HUNDRED MILE DRIVE FROM ONE SIDE OF THE RIVER TO THE OTHER. D-O-T-D SECRETARY ERIC KALIVODA SAYS IT’S CRITICAL FOR BUSINESS INTERESTS AND COMMERCIAL FISHERMEN TO HAVE A RELIABLE, PREDICTABLE FERRY SERVICE AND IT ALSO PROVIDES A CONVENIENCE FOR TOURISTS AND RECREATIONAL FISHERMEN.
A YOUNG BOY WAS STRUCK BY A SCHOOL BUS MOMENTS AFTER CLASSES ENDED WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AT SOUTH CROWLEY ELEMENTARY. SUPERINTENDENT SCOTT RICHARD TELLS KLFY TV THAT A GROUP OF STUDENTS WERE WALKING HOME WHEN THE SCHOOL BUS TURNED AND STRUCK ONE OF THEM. RICHARD SAYS THE BUS DRIVER IMMEDIATELY PROVIDED AID, AS THEY ARE TRAINED TO DO, UNTIL EMERGENCY PERSONNEL ARRIVED AND THE BOY WAS TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL. HE SAYS THEY ARE INVESTIGATING WHAT HAPPENED AND PROVIDING RESOURCES, COUNSELORS AND SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS TO HELP STUDENTS WHO MAY HAVE WITNESSED WHAT HAPPENED.
VOTERS IN SCOTT WILL BE DETERMINING THE FATE OF A NEW ONE CENT SALES TAX IN THE UPCOMING ELECTION. THE MONEY RAISED FROM THE TAX WOULD GO TOWARD THE CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW FIFTY MILLION DOLLAR SEWAGE PLANT. MAYOR JAN SCOTT RICHARD SAYS THE CURRENT PLANT IS NEARLY THIRTY-FIVE YEARS OLD AND IT’S TIME FOR A CHANGE, ESPECIALLY WITH THE GROWTH THE CITY HAS HAD OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS. RICHARD SAYS IF THE TAX DOES NOT PASS, IT COULD CAUSE RESIDENTS AND BUSINESS OWNERS TO HAVE AN INCREASE IN WATER BILLS.
A JENNINGS MAN WAS ARRESTED FOR SUBMITTING MORE THAN TWO HUNDRED FRAUDULENT STATE INCOME TAX RETURNS IN TWENTY-TWENTY AND TWENTY-TWENTY-ONE. INVESTIGATORS WITH THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE SAY ANTHONY LARANCE CANDLER SENIOR CLAIMED DEDUCTIONS FOR MORE THAN FOUR HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS IN FABRICATED BUSINESS EXPENSESS. CANDLER’S CLIENTS TOLD INVESTIGATORS THEY DID NOT PROVIDE DOCUMENTATION FOR THOSE CLAIMS AND SAID CANDLER SUBMITTED THE RETURNS WITHOUT THEIR KNOWLEDGE. CANDLER HAS BEEN CHARGED WITH FILING OR MAINTAINING FALSE PUBLIC RECORDS, ILLEGAL TRANSMISSION OF MONETARY FUNDS, AND COMPUTER FRAUD.
NEW IBERIA POLICE ARRESTED TWO PEOPLE IN CONNECTION WITH A SHOOTING THAT HAPPENED ON JULY FIFTEENTH, WHICH LEFT A THREE-YEAR-OLD GIRL WITH CRITICAL INJURIES. JUST AFTER MIDNIGHT, SHOTS WERE FIRED FROM A VEHICLE INTO A HOME OCCUPIED BY SEVERAL PEOPLE. POLICE WERE ABLE TO IDENTIFY THE VEHICLE AND SUSPECTS AND OBTAINED ARREST WARRANTS IN EARLY AUGUST. ON MONDAY, THEY ARRESTED A JUVENILE ON SEVEN COUNTS OF ATTEMPTED FIRST-DEGREE MURDER AND EIGHTEEN-YEAR-OLD CRAIG DEROUEN ON SEVEN COUNTS OF PRINCIPLE TO ATTEMPTED FIRST-DEGREE MURDER.
SAINT MARTINVILLE POLICE HAVE OPENED UP A MORE THAN THIRTY-YEAR-OLD COLD CASE IN WHICH A WOMAN WENT MISSING. JUDY ANN GARY WENT TO HOSPITAL DRUG STORE PHARMACY ON NORTH MAIN STREET TO PICK UP A PRESCRIPTION FOR HER MOTHER. WORKERS AT THE PHARMACY BELIEVED SHE GOT INTO A FOUR-DOOR GREEN CAR AND SHE HASN’T BEEN SEEN SINCE. POLICE CHIEF RICKY MARTIN SAYS IT’S DIFFICULT REOPENING THE CASE BECAUSE IT’S BEEN SO LONG AND THEY HAVE TO GO BACK AND FIND PEOPLE, PLUS THEY HAVE NO PHYSICAL INFORMATION AS A LEAD.
