5-8-18
POLICE HAVE ARRESTED FOUR TEENS FOR TERRORIZING BY CAUSING A FLASH MOB IN DOWNTOWN LAFAYETTE DURING FESTIVAL INTERNATIONAL. JEFF HORCHAK HAS MORE.
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TWO TOP PROSECUTORS IN THE CALCASIEU PARISH DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE HAVE RESIGNED TO GO INTO PRIVATE PRACTICE TOGETHER. RICK BRYANT AND CARLA SIGLER SAYS THEY HAVE PLANNED THIS FOR A LONG TIME. BRYANT SAYS THEY ACTUALLY DELAYED THEIR PLANS SO HE COULD FINISH PROSECUTING THE CASE OF KEVIN DAIGLE, WHO’S ACCUSED OF THE FIRST DEGREE MURDER OF TROOPER STEVEN VINCENT. WHEN THAT CASE HAD IT’S LATEST DELAY, BRYANT SAID THEY COULDN’T WAIT ANY LONGER BECAUSE OF COMMITMENTS.
A Louisiana judge has awarded a family more than $41,000 after hearing testimony that sheriff’s deputies used excessive force on a pregnant woman, shouted racial slurs and erased a cellphone video of the confrontation. In his ruling last week, state District Court Judge Curtis Sigur said he believes Lakitha Wright’s testimony that Iberia Parish sheriff’s deputies pushed her over porch railings, threw her to the ground and pepper-sprayed her in April 2012. Wright was more than 8 months pregnant at the time. In January, the judge presided over a juryless trial for Wright’s lawsuit.
THE LOUISIANA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH IS GOING TO BE SENDING OUT NOTICES THIS THURSDAY TO 37 THOUSAND NURSING HOME RESIDENTS INFORMING THEM THEY COULD LOSE THEIR MEDICAID UNDER A PROPOSED BUDGET PASSED IN THE STATE HOUSE. DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN BOB JOHANNESSEN SAYS THE GOAL IS TO GIVE NURSING HOME RESIDENTS AND THEIR FAMILIES TIME TO DEVELOP PLANS IF THEY LOSE THEIR ELIGIBILITY. REPUBLICAN SENATOR SHARON HEWITT COMPLAINED THAT THE DEPARTMENT SHOULD BE FOCUSED ON IDENTIFYING FRAUD AND SAVING MONEY RATHER THAN KICKING GRANDMA OUT OF THE NURSING HOME. MARK BERGER OF THE LOUISIANA NURSING HOME ASSOCIATION TOLD THE SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE YESTERDAY THAT IF THE PROPOSED BUDGET IS PASSED WITH HEALTH CARE CUTS, THE VAST MAJORITY OF NURSING HOMES WILL CLOSE.
Louisiana lawmakers have a message for pet owners: Don’t tie up your dog or cat during a hurricane or a flood. The state House of Representatives gave final passage Monday to a proposal outlawing the behavior. The bill by Sen. Troy Carter, a New Orleans Democrat, prohibits the tying or tethering of a pet in “in a manner that exposes the dog or cat to extreme weather conditions” in a designated emergency area during a flood or hurricane. The bill heads to the governor. If signed, it would become law Aug. 1.
A litter heaped on state land led wildlife agents to a drug arrest in Lafayette Parish.
The Department of Wildlife and Fisheries said in a news release Monday that the pile held information leading agents to 43-year-old Sean Covington of Rayne.
Enforcement spokesman Adam Einck says that when agents stopped Covington’s vehicle Friday, he had two kinds of prescription painkillers in one bottle. They also learned Lafayette Parish had warrants accusing him and a passenger of theft.
An Alabama fugitive who was shot in the neck after an hours-long police chase in southwest Louisiana has been released from a hospital and booked into jail. Records show Cody Light of Arab (AY-rab), Alabama, has been booked into the Calcasieu Parish Jail. He surfaced Wednesday in southwest Louisiana after police were notified of a stolen truck and shotgun. During the pursuit, Light broke into houses, stole multiple vehicles and tried to carjack others on an interstate. He was shot by a Sulphur police officer after he raised his gun at the officer.
THE STATE HAS THREATENED TO TAKE OVER THE FINANCES OF THE TOWN OF MELVILLE IN ST. LANDRY PARISH. MAYOR ERANA MAYES TELLS KLFY THAT THE TOWN’S CASH FLOW PROBLEMS STEMS MAINLY FROM THE WATER SYSTEM. SHE IS FOCUSED ON UPGRADING THE SYSTEM IN TIME TO AVOID A STATE TAKEOVER. THE UPGRADES WOULD FOCUS ON INSTALLING WATER METERS. CURRENTLY RESIDENTS PAY A FLAT RATE.
