5-25-15
SOME ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS FROM LAFAYETTE ARE UPSET THAT FIFTY TO SIXTY LIVE OAK TREES WERE CUT DOWN ON STATE PROPERTY WITHOUT PERMISSION. HAROLD SCHOEFFLER OF THE SIERRA CLUB’S ACADIANA GROUP SAYS THEY FOUND OUT IT WAS THE COMPANY THAT IS PUTTING UP A VALUE PLACE HOTEL ON HUGH WALLIS ROAD. HE SAYS THAT SOMEONE IN THE LAFAYETTE PLANNING DEPARTMENT TOLD THEM THAT THE COMPANY WAS UPSET THAT THE CITY WOULD NOT ALLOW THEM TO PUT UP A LARGE SIGN AND CUT DOWN THE TREES SO THE HOTEL COULD BE SEEN FROM HIGHWAY NINETY. SCHOEFFLER SAYS HE FILED A COMPLAINT WITH THE POLICE DEPARTMENT BUT HE EXPECTS NOTHING TO COME OF IT, AND STATE OFFICIALS WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND DEVELOPMENT TOLD HIM THEY WON’T PURSUE THE MATTER.
A MAN USED PEPPER SPRAY TO ROB A WALGREEN’S STORE IN SULPHUR YESTERDAY AFTERNOON. A WITNESS TOLD KPLC TV THAT THE MAN USED PEPPER SPRAY ON A CASHIER AND ON SOMEONE IN THE PHARMACY. THE WITNESS, MARY ANN SMITH OF SULPHUR SAYS THE MAN HAD ON A HOODIE, A BALL HAT AND A BANDANA. POLICE ARE STILL INVESTIGATING AND WILL RELEASE MORE INFORMATION AS IT BECOMES AVAILABLE.
Louisiana State Police say an SUV going the wrong way on U.S. 90 in Iberia Parish hit a pickup truck head-on, killing the truck’s 18-year-old driver. Master Trooper Brooks David (DAH-veed) says Jordan Prince of Loreauville is dead and 31-year-old King Ellis of Jeanerette was severely injured. David says Prince hit the brakes, trying to avoid the crash, but his 1995 Dodge Ram collided with Ellis’s 2006 Dodge Durango about 2:45 a.m. Sunday at New Iberia. David says investigators believe Ellis may have been impaired.
Drivers are again able to renew their licenses and handle other business at Louisiana’s motor vehicles offices. A day after a fire at the state police data center shut down transaction processing, Office of Motor Vehicles locations across Louisiana reopened Friday. The Thursday morning fire disrupted all automated systems at the Department of Public Safety, including the motor vehicles offices. But state police spokesman Maj. Doug Cain said all critical services were back online.
Police in Lafayette say the police chief of a neighboring town has been arrested.
A statement from the Lafayette Metro Narcotics Task Force says Jeanerette police chief Marvin Grogan was arrested Friday night by task force members and state police. The warrant lists charges of malfeasance in office and compounding a felony. The statement gave no details but said the arrest was in connection with a May 14 raid on Lipsticks Gentleman’s Club in Lafayette.
TODAY IS THE FIVE YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE DEATH OF PAUL LEE, WHO WAS SHOT TO DEATH OUTSIDE OF HIS HOME IN LAKE CHARLES. THE FAMILY GATHERED FOR A MEMORIAL SERVICE SATURDAY, WEARING ORANGE, PAUL’S FAVORITE COLOR, AND RELEASING BALLOONS AT HIS GRAVESITE. HIS DAUGHTER, CANDACE LEE, TOLD KPLC TV THAT SHE WOULD LIKE THE PERSON WHO KILLED HER FATHER TO SEE WHAT THEY HAVE DONE. THE CALCASIEU PARISH SHERIFF’S OFFICE IS STILL INVESTIGATING THE CASE BUT HAVE MADE NO ARRESTS.
A man walking on U.S. Highway 167 in St. Landry Parish was struck by a car and killed. State police say 41-year-old Michael Andrus of Palmetto was struck as he attempted to cross the highway’s northbound lanes around 9:30 p.m. Friday. Andrus died at the scene. The driver was found not to be impaired and has not been charged in the accident.
The state attorney general has taken over the investigation of contracting in a St. Mary Parish drainage district. Attorney General’s Office spokesman Steven Hartmann tells KATC-TV that the local district attorney recused himself.
Prosecutors in St. Mary Parish asked the Legislative Auditor’s Office to examine the St. Mary Parish Consolidated Gravity Drainage District No. 2 after getting a tip about questionable contracting practices. The audit, released Monday, says former maintenance supervisor Peter Businelle directed more than $2.6 million in drainage district money to his welding business from 2009 through 2013, supposedly to pay for things like grass cutting and maintenance.
