2-14-17
OVERALL CRIME WAS DOWN BY FIVE PERCENT IN THE CITY OF LAFAYETTE LAST YEAR IN COMPARISON TO 2015, WHEN CRIME WAS DOWN TWO PERCENT FROM 2014. THERE WERE ONLY TWO CATEGORIES OF CRIME THAT DID NOT SEE A DECREASE: BURGLARIES, WHICH WERE DOWN ONE PERCENT, AND THE NUMBER OF REPORTED RAPES, WHICH STAYED THE SAME AT 19. THERE WERE 16 HOMOCIDES IN 2016, DOWN FROM 20 IN 2015, BUT STILL MUCH HIGHER THAN IN 2014, WHEN THERE WERE NINE HOMOCIDES. THERE WERE ALMOST 600 FEWER ARRESTS OF ADULTS LAST YEAR, AND 67 FEWER ARRESTS OF THOSE UNDER 18 YEARS OF AGE.
THREE WOMEN HAVE BEEN ARRESTED IN CONNECTION WITH AN ARMED ROBBERY AT A RESIDENCE IN WESTLAKE, AND THE CALCASIEU PARISH SHERIFF’S OFFICE IS LOOKING FOR A FOURTH SUSPECT. SEVERAL WOMEN ENTERED THE RESIDENCE ON JANUARY 28TH AND TOOK THE VICTIM’S WALLET, BEFORE SHOOTING HIM IN THE LEG AND LEAVING THE RESIDENCE. LATER THE VICTIM’S CREDIT CARDS WERE USED AT SEVERAL LOCAL BUSINESSES, AND, USING VIDEO SURVEILLANCE, SUSPECTS WERE IDENTIFIED. ARRESTED WERE 26-YEAR-OLD CRYSTAL L. STEWART OF LAKE CHARLES, 27-YEAR-OLD GLADYS GOODIE OF LAFAYETTE, AND 21-YEAR-OLD MICHAELA F. BEAM OF LAKE CHARLES, AND AUTHORITIES ARE SEARCHING FOR 22 YEAR-OLD ANDREA N. MARTIN OF LAKE CHARLES.
A FORMER STATE LEGISLATOR HAS DIED. ARMAND BRINKHAUS WAS 81. HE SERVED AS A STATE REPRESENTATIVE AND SENATOR REPRESENTING ST. LANDRY PARISH BETWEEN 1968 AND 1996. A MASS OF CHRISTIAN BURIAL WILL BE HELD FRIDAY AT ELEVEN AT ST. CHARLES CATHOLIC CHURCH IN GRAND COTEAU.
Gov. John Bel Edwards urged lawmakers to use Louisiana’s “rainy day” fund to help eliminate a $304 million budget gap as the House and Senate opened a deficit-closing special session called by the governor. Edwards told lawmakers Monday night that their mission was to stabilize the budget “while adequately funding the programs and services the people of Louisiana consider to be priorities.” He said with little more than four months left in the budget year, taking nearly $120 million from the rainy day fund to help fill the gap was a responsible approach. House Republican leaders have shown resistance to using the reserve account, saying the state should cut more deeply instead.
LAFAYETTE FIRE DEPARTMENT INVESTIGATORS HAVE DETERMINED THAT A HOUSE FIRE ON MADISON STREET ONE WEEK AGO WAS INTENTIONALLY SET. INVESTIGATORS BELIEVE THE FIRE WAS SET ON THE EXTERIOR OF THE BUILDING AND SOMEONE WAS SEEN RUNNING FROM THE SCENE. NEIGHBORS TOLD THE FIRE DEPARTMENT THAT THE HOUSE HAD BEEN VACANT FOR ABOUT THREE WEEKS. ANYONE WITH INFORMATION IS ASKED TO CALL THE FIRE DEPARTMENT AT 291-87-16.
A CONSTRUCTION PROJECT ON THE I-210 BRIDGE IN LAKE CHARLES IS EXPECTED TO GO OUT FOR BIDS IN NOVEMBER WITH WORK TO BEGIN NEXT YEAR. PLANS ARE TO REDECK 930 FEET OF THE BRIDGE’S MAIN SPAN. ONCE THE WORK BEGINS, IT IS EXPECTED TO LAST ABOUT TWO YEARS. THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND DEVELOPMENT IS WORKING ON PLANS FOR THE PROJECT DEALING WITH LANE CLOSURES AND HOW TO COMPLETE THE WORK IN THE MOST EFFICIENT MANNER.
A FORMER DETECTIVE WITH THE VILLE PLATTE POLICE DEPARTMENT WAS SENTENCED MONDAY FOR FILING A FALSE REPORT TO COVER UP A CIVIL RIGHTS VIOLATION. JULIE DARCE HAS MORE.
VOICER D :20
A EUNICE MAN, ACCUSED OF BREAKING INTO A WOMAN’S HOME AND STEALING HER LIFE SAVINGS, WAS CAUGHT AND ARRESTED AT A LAKE CHARLES CASINO ON FRIDAY. THE BURGLARY HAPPENED ON DECEMBER THIRD AND MORE THAN 100 THOUSAND DOLLARS WAS STOLEN. THE ST. LANDRY PARISH SHERIFF’S OFFICE RECEIVED TIPS THAT LED THEM TO ARREST 45-YEAR-OLD CHADRICK JUNE LAVERGNE, WHO, THEY SAY, ADMITTED TO THE BURGLARY DURING AN INTERROGATION. DEPUTIES SAY THE MONEY WAS USED TO GAMBLE AT LOCAL CASINOS, AND TO BUY DRUGS AND A SPORTS CAR.
