2-9-24
A MAN, WHO WAS SHOT ON ROBIE CIRCLE IN ABBEVILLE LAST NIGHT, DIED AT A LOCAL HOSPITAL. VERMILLION PARISH SHERIFF MIKE COUVILLON SAYS THE VICTIM IS NINETEEN-YEAR-OLD DYLAN MICHAEL WALKER OF NEW IBERIA. A SIXTEEN-YEAR-OLD FROM ABBEVILLE HAS BEEN ARRESTED ON CHARGES OF FIRST-DEGREE MURDER AND ARMED ROBBERY. COUVILLON SAYS THE JUVENILE HAS A CRIMINAL HISTORY WHERE HE PLED GUILTY TO NUMEROUS BURGLARIES, FELONY THEFTS AND STOLEN GOODS COMPLAINTS AND WAS WEARING AN ANKLE MONITOR IN LIEU OF DETENTION WHEN HE WAS ARRESTED.
A LAFAYETTE JURY FOUND THIRTY-NINE-YEAR-OLD ZACHARY MARKEY ADAMS GUILTY OF SECOND-DEGREE MURDER. HE WAS CONVICTED FOR THE MARCH TWENTY-TWENTY-TWO SHOOTING DEATH OF TWENTY-NINE-YEAR-OLD JALEN WALKER, WHO WAS THE FATHER OF THREE CHILDREN. THE SHOOTING HAPPENED AFTER AN ARGUMENT BETWEEN THE TWO AT THE BRIDGEWOOD MOBILE HOME PARK ON CARMEL DRIVE. ADAMS FACES A MANDATORY LIFE SENTENCE AT HARD LABOR WHEN HE IS SENTENCED ON MARCH THIRTEENTH.
A federal judge has ruled that state House and Senate boundary lines drawn up by the Louisiana Legislature in 2022 dilute Black voting strength in violation of the U.S. Voting Rights Act. U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick’s ruling on Thursday blocked the use of the House and Senate district maps in future elections. The order gave the state a not-yet-specified “reasonable period of time” to draw up new districts. Dick’s filing noted that the state’s voting-age population is about 33% Black.
THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND DEVELOPMENT HELD A ROAD SHOW IN LAKE CHARLES, ALLOWING SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA PARISH OFFICIALS TO GIVE INPUT ON IMPROVEMENTS THEY’D LIKE TO SEE. THE MAIN FOCUS WAS KEEPING A TOLL FOR A NEW I-TEN BRIDGE AFFORDABLE FOR DRIVERS, ONCE IT’S CONSTRUCTED. MAYOR NIC HUNTER TALKED ABOUT THE NEED FOR IMPROVEMENTS ON RYAN STREET, MAKING IT AESTHETICALLY PLEASING, SINCE IT’S THE BACKBONE AND SPINE FOR LAKE CHARLES AND A WELCOME MAT FOR MCNEESE STATE UNIVERSITY. CAMERON PARISH POLICE JUROR MAGNES MCGEE SAYS HIGHWAY TWENTY-SEVEN IS IN NEED OF IMPROVEMENTS SINCE IT HAS BEEN SUBMERGED UNDER WATER DURING FLOODING.
A LAFAYETTE WOMAN HAS BEEN ARRESTED FOR ALLEGEDLY STARTING A FIRE INTENTIONALLY IN A BATHROOM AT THE SANTA ROSA APARTMENTS AT TWO HUNDRED MERCHANTS BOULEVARD ON JANUARY FOURTH. FOURTEEN PEOPLE WERE DISPLACED AND A DOG WAS KILLED IN THE FIRE. TWENTY-FIVE-YEAR-OLD JAMSINE NOLAN WAS BOOKED INTO THE LAFAYETTE PARISH CORRECTIONAL CENTER ON TWELVE COUNTS OF AGGRAVATED ARSON AND ONE COUNT OF AGGRAVATED CRUELTY TO ANIMALS. THE FIRE IS STILL BEING INVESTIGATED.
ONE BICYCLIST IS DEAD AND ANOTHER CRITICALLY INJURED AFTER A HIT-AND-RUN CRASH JUST AFTER EIGHT WEDNESDAY NIGHT ON WEST WASHINGTON STREET IN NEW IBERIA. WITNESSES TOLD POLICE THE CAR INVOLVED IN THE HIT-AND-RUN WAS WHITE AND HAD FOUR DOORS. INVESTIGATORS SAY THE CAR LIKELY HAS DAMAGE TO THE FRONT END. ANYONE WHO HAS INFORMATION IS ASKED TO CALL IBERIA PARISH CRIME STOPPERS AT THREE-SIX-FOUR-TIPS.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry officially called for a highly anticipated crime-focused special legislative session on Thursday that could overhaul the state’s current criminal justice system, reversing reforms that happened under Landry’s Democratic predecessor. Among the two dozen tough-on-crime-related items on Landry’s broad agenda are expanding methods to carry out death row executions, restricting parole eligibility, harsher penalties for carjackings, “immunity from liability” for law enforcement based upon a certain criteria and publicizing some juvenile court records. The Republican has long vowed to crack down on crime in Louisiana — a state that in recent years has had one of the highest homicide rates in the country.
A SAINT MARTINVILLE MAN SAYS PERSONAL ITEMS BELONGING TO HIS DECEASED SON WERE STOLEN FROM A STORAGE UNIT A FEW MONTHS AGO AT CITY STOR AND LOCK. GARY PRINCE SAYS A MILK CRATE OF GAME CAMERAS THAT BELONGED TO HIS SON, JORDAN, WERE TAKEN. HE TELLS KLFY THAT THAT IT’S SO SAD THAT SOMEONE WOULD GO RUMMAGING THROUGH THEIR MEMORIES AND HE SAYS IT BROKE THEIR HEARTS ALL OVER AGAIN. SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS SHOWED TWO PEOPLE STEALING THE ITEMS AND SAINT MARTINVILLE POLICE HAVE ARREST WARRANTS OUT FOR THE SUSPECTS.
