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STONE ENERGY IN LAFAYETTE ANNOUNCED YESTERDAY THEY HAVE FILED FOR CHAPTER ELEVEN BANKRUPTCY. THEY HAVE PUT TOGETHER A REORGANIZATION PLAN THAT, IF A BANKRUPTCY JUDGE APPROVES, WILL BE IMPLEMENTED IN NINETY DAYS. STONE SAYS THE DEAL WILL WIPE OUT ONE-POINT-2 BILLION DOLLARS IN OUTSTANDING DEBT. STONE ENERGY ANNOUNCED PLANS TO FILE BANKRUPTCY IN OCTOBER, WHICH 85 PERCENT OF INVESTORS WHO HOLD DEBT NOTES IN THE COMPANY HAD APPROVED.
Lake Charles Police Chief Donald Dixon says officers investigating a 29-year-old bludgeoning death have arrested a man who was accused of the killing in 1987 but then released. Dixon didn’t say what evidence led to Wednesday’s arrest of 53-year-old Harry James Richard, whose bond was set at $1.1 million. Nor did he say whether the evidence was related to the exhumation in July of the remains of 75-year-old Noah Breaux. Dixon said Richard wants an attorney before talking to investigators.
A TWO VEHICLE CRASH TUESDAY NIGHT IN VERMILLION PARISH CLAIMED THE LIFE OF AN ABBEVILLE WOMAN. JULIE DARCE REPORTS.
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A judge has thrown out an executive order issued by Louisiana’s governor that was aimed at protecting the rights of LGBT people in state government.
Judge Todd Hernandez ruled Wednesday that Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards’ anti-discrimination order is unconstitutional. The order prohibited discrimination in government and state contracts based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
The decision delivered a significant victory to Republican Attorney General Jeff Landry, who filed the lawsuit challenging the LGBT-rights order.
A man from Lafayette has been sentenced to prison for his role in a conspiracy tied to the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis, in a news release, said Chief U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola on Wednesday sentenced 52-year-old Gregory P. Warren to 17 years in prison and a $25,000 fine.
Warren was convicted on charges of conspiracy to commit identity theft, aggravated identity theft, mail fraud and wire fraud. Authorities say he and a woman from Grand Bay, Alabama, who was also convicted, fraudulently submitted names of more than 40,000 people in litigation related to the spill.
THE 17-YEAR-OLD GIRL FROM LAKE CHARLES, WHO WAS SHOT AND KILLED BY HER BOYFRIEND MONDAY MORNING, WAS FIVE MONTHS PREGNANT WITH A GIRL, WHO WAS ALSO KILLED. THAT’S WHY, IN ADDITION TO SECOND DEGREE MURDER, 18-YEAR-OLD JAMES FREEMAN JUNIOR HAS BEEN CHARGED WITH SECOND DEGREE FETICIDE. THE FAMILY OF THE GIRL, TARIANA DAVIS, SAYS THE FAMILY OF JAMES FREEMAN HAS BEEN GETTING HARASSED SINCE THE SHOOTING, AND THEY’VE CALLED FOR IT TO BE STOPPED. TARIANA’S GRANDMOTHER, CAROL RUDD, SAYS JAMES FREEMAN WILL BE PUNISHED FOR HIS CRIME, BUT HIS FAMILY HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE SHOOTING AND SHOULD BE LEFT ALONE.
BECAUSE OF SEVERE BUDGET PROBLEMS, THE EVANGELINE PARISH SHERIFF IS TALKING ABOUT GETTING OUT OF THE LAW ENFORCEMENT BUSINESS AND FOCUS THE OFFICE SOLELY ON ITS ROLE AS PARISH TAX COLLECTOR. SHERIFF’S OFFICE ATTORNEY JONATHAN VIDRINE SENT A LETTER TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL’S OFFICE SEEKING A LEGAL OPINION ON THE MATTER. THE ATTORNEY GENERAL’S OFFICE SAID THAT THE SHERIFF HAS A LEGAL DUTY TO KEEP THE PEACE AND MAKE ARRESTS, BUT IS NOT LEGALLY REQUIRED TO ASSIGN A CERTAIN NUMBER OF DEPUTIES TO PATROLS OR TO HANDLE LAW ENFORCEMENT DUTIES. ACCORDING TO KATC-TV, SHERIFF EDDIE SOILEAU HAS LAID OFF 21 EMPLOYEES AS OF SEPTEMBER AND PLANNED TO DISMISS AS MANY AS TEN MORE.
The special election to choose Louisiana’s next state treasurer will be held in October. Republican John Kennedy won last week’s runoff election for the U.S. Senate and will be sworn into office Jan. 3. His resignation will trigger the need for a special election to replace him as treasurer. Kennedy didn’t file his resignation paperwork by the Wednesday deadline Gov. John Bel Edwards’ office says was needed to put the special election on the March ballot, so the election will be on the October one.
