5-1-19
A Mississippi bank is buying a Louisiana bank and also expanding its Texas footprint. Hancock Whitney Corp. of Gulfport announced Tuesday that it will buy MidSouth Bancorp of Lafayette for $213 million in stock. MidSouth has been losing money, struggling with bad loans. MidSouth sold more stock, closed branches and sold off some loans. But it again posted a loss Tuesday, losing $6.6 million in 2019’s first quarter.
THE MURDER TRIAL OF 26-YEAR-OLD DEVIN JAHMAL HOLEFIELD OF LAKE CHARLES CONTINUES TODAY. HOLEFIELD IS ACCUSED OF KILLING 31-YEAR-OLD GARY OBRIEN IN JULY OF 2017 DURING AN ATTEMPTED ROBBERY ON SIMMONS STREET. PROSECUTOR CHARLES ROBINSON SAYS OBRIEN WAS TARGETED BECAUSE HE SOLD DRUGS. THREE OTHER PEOPLE HAVE PLED GUILTY TO ATTEMPTED ROBBERY IN THE CASE AND ARE EXPECTED TO TESTIFY IN HOLEFIELD’S TRIAL.
A FORMER ST. LANDRY PARISH PRIEST WAS SENTENCED TO SEVEN YEARS IN PRISON AFTER PLEADING GUILTY TO SEXUALLY ABUSING A 16-YEAR-OLD ALTER BOY FOUR YEARS AGO. 76-YEAR-OLD MICHAEL GUIDRY CONFESSED IN JUNE AFTER THE BISHOP OF THE LAFAYETTE DIOCESE ANNOUNCED THE ALLEGATION. IT HAPPENED WHILE GUIDRY WAS SERVING AS PRIEST AT ST. PETER’S CHURCH IN MORROW. THE VICTIM, OLIVER PEYTON, SAYS GUIDRY GOT HIM DRUNK SEVERAL TIMES AND HE ONCE WOKE UP TO FIND GUIDRY MOLESTING HIM.
Louisiana senators have agreed to legalize sports betting within the footprint of the state’s casinos and racetracks. The measure by Republican Sen. Danny Martiny would be more restrictive than sports wagering in some other states. But Martiny says it will help Louisiana’s gambling industry compete. The Senate voted 24-15 Tuesday for the proposal, sending it to the House for consideration. No one spoke in opposition during floor debate, but critics have argued the bill would worsen gambling addiction in Louisiana.
Louisiana would follow other conservative states in seeking to ban abortions if a fetal heartbeat is detected, typically around the sixth week of pregnancy, under a bill that took its first steps in the Senate. Senators on a judiciary committee voted 5-2 Tuesday to advance the proposal to the full Senate for consideration. But they rewrote the measure so the prohibition only would take effect if a federal appeals court upholds a similar law in Mississippi. Sen. John Milkovich, a Keithville Democrat, says he brought the bill to lawmakers “to protect children.” The legislation does not include an exception if the pregnancy was caused by rape or incest.
THE LAFAYETTE PARISH SCHOOL BOARD DIPPED INTO ITS RAINY DAY FUND FOR THE FIRST TIME IN OVER A DECADE. DALFRED JONES HAS MORE.
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INTERSTATE TEN IN WESTLAKE WAS CLOSED YESTERDAY AFTER A PERSON MADE A BOMB THREAT ON A MEGABUS. IT WAS LATER DETERMINED BY STATE POLICE THAT THE PERSON WHO MADE THE THREAT WAS ON THE BUS. THE BUS WAS EVACUATED AND THE PERSON WHO MADE THE THREAT WAS TAKEN INTO CUSTODY. THE INTERSTATE WAS REOPENED LAST NIGHT AFTER THE BUS WAS CHECKED OUT AND CLEARED.
POLICE ARE SEARCHING FOR PEOPLE WHO STOLE TOILET PAPER FROM INTERSTATE TEN NEAR BREAUX BRIDGE. THAT WAS THE SITE OF A MAJOR ACCIDENT ON MONDAY INVOLVING SEVERAL TRACTOR TRAILERS, INCLUDING ONE THAT WAS CARRYING A FULL LOAD OF TOILET PAPER, WHICH GOT SPILLED ALONG THE INTERSTATE. BREAUX BRIDGE POLICE SAYS SOME THIEVES PULLED UP TO THE AREA AND HELPED THEMSELVES TO SEVERAL PACKAGES. THEY ARE POSTING PICTURES OF SOME OF THE THIEVES AND ARE ASKING THE PUBLIC’S HELP IN IDENTIFYING THEM.
