Mistrial declared in death of 1-year-old
HOUMA — A mistrial was declared Thursday in the trial of a Houma man charged in the death of his infant son.
The trial of Cody Bourg, 24, was halted because of a medical emergency in the judge’s family, authorities said. A new trial date has not yet been set.
Authorities said Bourg’s child, 1-year-old Julian, was smothered with a pillow in Bourg’s Ashland trailer in October 2010.
Bourg is charged with second-degree murder and second-degree cruelty to a juvenile stemming from a spiral fracture Julian suffered several months prior to his death. If convicted, the father faces mandatory life in prison on the murder charge.
Defense attorney Martin Regan said in his opening statement Wednesday that the child died from a lung infection.
DeQuincy man faces charge in road death
LAKE CHARLES — A Calcasieu Parish grand jury indicted a DeQuincy man for felony hit-and-run in connection with a fatal accident Oct. 6.
Aaron R. Berzas, 32, allegedly struck Wendell Corey McBride, 48, with a vehicle near DeQuincy.
Police detective Tom Threet said Berzas and a passenger were southbound on La. 27 when Berzas struck McBride, who was riding his bicycle along the highway.
McBride was taken to DeQuincy Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Witnesses told investigators the vehicle’s occupants fled on foot after McBride was hit.
Florida suspect, 43,
caught in Terrebonne
HOUMA — A man said to be on the run from Florida police was arrested in Terrebonne Parish.
Deputies said Stanley Foret, 43, recently fled from Panama City Beach police. It’s not clear how long Foret has been wanted in connection with several allegations, including fighting a police officer and forgery.
Authorities said Foret was in Mississippi on Wednesday, but fought and fled from bondsmen who were searching for him. Terrebonne Parish deputies received a tip Thursday that he was near Thibodaux.
Foret resisted arrest and was stunned.
Foret is receiving medical care and will be taken back to Florida soon.
Hot Boys rapper pleads in gun case
NEW ORLEANS — New Orleans rapper B.G., an original member of the late-1990s rap group Hot Boys that included big-name rappers such as Lil Wayne, Juvenile and Young Turk, has pleaded guilty in a gun case that could lead to 40 years behind bars.
The 31-year-old rapper, whose real name is Christopher Dorsey, pleaded guilty Wednesday to being a felon in possession of a firearm and witness tampering.
Prosecutors allege Dorsey has ties to some of the city’s most high-profile criminals. But they made clear no plea agreement or deal has been made with Dorsey.
Many of Dorsey’s songs have a “no snitch” motto. In “I Ain’t Tellin”, he raps: “I won’t snitch, never tell, if the law comes and get me, I’m gonna sit my ass in jail.”
Dorsey is scheduled to be sentenced on March 14.
Sheriff’s Office employee suspended
HOUMA — A Terrebonne Parish sheriff’s sergeant was arrested, accused of punching his wife in the leg during an argument.
Brent Favalora, 42, of Houma, is on paid administrative leave pending an internal investigation. Favalora’s wife, Kim Favalora, made a complaint with the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday night about the alleged abuse. Police said the incident happened in front of the couple’s 4-year-old daughter, though the couple has been separated for some time.
Brent Favalora, who works in the office’s civil department, was arrested Wednesday and charged with domestic abuse battery in the presence of a child under 13.
If convicted, he faces up to six months in jail.
Siblings charged after dead dog found
HOUMA — Police have charged a brother and sister from Chauvin with animal cruelty after finding a dead pit bull and four other malnourished dogs at their house.
Monique Marie White, 24, and her 17-year-old brother were booked Wednesday.
The arrests came after an anonymous tip resulted in a Terrebonne Parish sheriff’s deputy being sent to the house. He found a dead pit bull lying on the ground, sticking out of a doghouse. Four other starving pit bulls were found at the house. The doghouses appeared to have not been cleaned for a long time, according to a Sheriff’s Office news release.
The suspects were being held in jail Thursday in lieu of $100,000 bond.
Guard specialist, 24, jumps to his death
COLUMBIA — A National Guard specialist, who volunteered to serve in Iraq, died after jumping from a bridge in Columbia.
Caldwell Parish sheriff’s deputies said Marcus Delon White, 24, of Monroe, was traveling to Camp Beauregard near Pineville with his fiancée Wednesday when he jumped to his death from the U.S. 165 bridge in Columbia.
Chief Deputy Glenn Gilmore said White got out of the car saying he was going to jump. His fiancée and a passerby were holding White when he broke free just as the officer arrived on the scene.
White fell from the bridge at about 3:10 p.m. and his body was recovered from the river about 4:45.
FEMA gives N.O.
$52 million for roads
NEW ORLEANS — More roads damaged by flooding during Hurricane Katrina are going to get new paving.
On Thursday, city officials announced the Federal Emergency Management Agency is giving the city $52 million to fix roads in five neighborhoods that flooded after levees broke in August 2005. The announcement came on the heels of a recent announcement that FEMA was giving the city $45 million for new roads in the Lower 9th Ward, a hard-hit neighborhood.
Since Katrina, roads throughout New Orleans have been repaved. City officials said FEMA has given the city $128 million for improving roads and sidewalks damage by the flood water and heavy work trucks used in the rebuilding.
Mayor Mitch Landrieu said that one of the main complaints from residents is the poor condition of roads.
Grandmother’s killing trial delayed
LAKE CHARLES — The first-degree murder trial of a Carl J. Webb, who is accused of killing his grandmother in February 2009, has been moved to April.
Webb’s defense attorney, Charles St. Dizier, requested the continuance citing the complexity of the case. He said the state was slow to give requested information about the case to defense counsel.
State District Judge Clayton Davis granted the motion. The trial is now set for April 9.
On Feb. 26, 2009, a relative found Helen Webb’s body in the garage of her home near Gillis.
An autopsy showed she died of a blow to the head.
Michaels, Lauper
to lead N.O. parade
NEW ORLEANS — Rocker Bret Michaels and Grammy-winning singer Cyndi Lauper are among the celebrities heading to New Orleans for Carnival 2012.
Orpheus parade organizers named their celebrity lineup Wednesday.
Mardi Gras is Feb. 21, but Orpheus is among the dozens of parade krewes rolling before Fat Tuesday.
Orpheus was founded in 1993 by actor and crooner Harry Connick Jr., a New Orleans native. The star-studded parade is scheduled to roll the Monday night before Mardi Gras.
Last year, the stars of the HBO television series “Treme” led the Orpheus parade.
Past Orpheus monarchs have included Whoopi Goldberg, Sandra Bullock, Stevie Wonder, Quincy Jones, Steven Seagal, Forest Whitaker, Laurence Fishburn, Dan Ackroyd, James Brown, Delta Burke and Josh Hartnett.
2 brothers indicted
on pollution charges
The head of an independent oil company and his brother have been accused of illegally discharging pollutants.
The state Department of Environmental Quality said Lobdell Percy Brown III and Carr Brown surrendered to authorities on Thursday. Authorities said Lobdell Brown is chief executive of T&F Oil Co., while his brother is a field technician for the company.
A grand jury in Cameron Parish indicted the men on charges of willful discharges of oil and chlorides and failing to report five spills.
Shreveport employee booked with theft
SHREVEPORT — A city employee was arrested and booked Wednesday with theft and unauthorized use of an access card.
Diane Reliford Thomas was arrested after an investigation indicated she used her city-issued fuel card to fill her personal vehicle, as well as a separate fuel container with gasoline from a city-operated fuel source.
Thomas has been employed with the city for more than 14 years and cited financial distress as the motivation for her actions.
Thomas will be placed on routine administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal investigation.
3-pickup wreck kills
one in Bayou Blue
BAYOU BLUE — A three-vehicle wreck in Bayou Blue left one woman dead and sent four people to the hospital, State Police said.
The three-pickup wreck happened Tuesday morning on La. 182, while two cars were stopped at a red light, State Police said.
Troopers said a pickup, driven by Kenneth Cunningham, 63, of Bourg, was rear-ended by another pickup, driven by Curtis Taylor, 49, of Houston. Cunningham’s pickup then smashed into a third pickup, driven by Jason Champagne, 39, of Houma.
Cunningham and his wife, Brenda Cunningham, 63, were taken to Terrebonne General Medical Center. Brenda Cunningham, who police said was not wearing her seat belt in the proper fashion, later died at the hospital.
Compiled from
The Associated Press
Harvey woman gets jail time in tax scam
NEW ORLEANS — A Harvey woman has been sentenced to 27 months in federal prison for failing to collect and pay taxes for her employer.
Heather Chaisson on Wednesday was also ordered to pay more than $27,000 to the Internal Revenue Service and almost $325,000 to her employer.
According to court documents, between May 2007 and June 2008, Chaisson was a bookkeeper for a New Orleans-based software design company. Part of her job was accounting and payroll, including collecting and paying federal taxes.
Authorities said Chaisson added money to her paycheck and issued extra payroll checks to herself.
As a result, Chaisson’s employer failed to make tax payments, and Chaisson collected pay on which she failed to pay more than $27,000 in taxes.
Officials rehabilitate oyster seed grounds
NEW ORLEANS — State officials said they have rehabilitated two public oyster seed grounds in St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes with $3.1 million the state got after the BP oil leak in 2010 to repair damage to the oyster grounds.
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries said the oyster grounds are in Mississippi Sound and California Bay.
Work on the sites involved dumping hard material into the water that oyster larvae can attach to and grow. Officials say they used more than 60,000 cubic yards of crushed concrete, limestone and oyster shell on the projects.
The spot in St. Bernard covers 300 acres of scattered shell bottoms just southwest of Halfmoon Island. The public grounds in Plaquemines cover about 300 acres west of Pelican Island.
Avondale men plead in assault rifle case
NEW ORLEANS — Two Avondale residents have pleaded guilty to illegally obtaining an assault rifle at a gun show.
Federal prosecutors saidKenaJames, 23, purchased the rifle in June at a Kenner gun show for Hilton Fluker, 25, a convicted felon prohibited from owning a firearm.
James and Fluker each face up to 15 years in prison following their guilty pleas Wednesday. Their sentencing is set for March 14.
Council member’s resignation official
ALEXANDRIA — Jonathan Goins is officially a former member of the Alexandria City Council.
Secretary of State Tom Schedler said his office received Goins’ official resignation letter on Tuesday, and his office in response sent a letter to City Clerk Nancy Thiels outlining the steps the council must take next.
A vacancy on the council is filled by a vote of the remaining council members. In case of a tie, Alexandria Mayor Jacques Roy would cast the deciding vote.
The council has until Dec. 16 to appoint Goins’ replacement, who would serve the remainder of the term.
City Attorney Chuck Johnson said there won’t be a special election to fill the remainder of Goins’ term, which is set to expire on Dec. 2, 2012.
Man admits threat to blow up station
LAKE CHARLES — State District Judge Clayton Davis sentenced a 35-year-old man who pleaded guilty to aggravated assault for threatening to blow up the Vinton Police Department.
State Police said Abdulraham Helou made the threat in August 2010 after he was unable to retrieve a seized license plate after a traffic stop.
In exchange for the plea, prosecutor Jonathan Blake amended the original charge of terrorizing to aggravated assault.
Davis sentenced Helou on Wednesday to serve four months and gave him credit for time served.
A jury was seated Tuesday to hear the case, but Helou entered the plea before opening statements began Wednesday morning.
Davis said Helou will be released because he has already served the time while he was awaiting trial.
Domino producer to join Hall of Fame
NEW ORLEANS — Cosimo Matassa, the recording producer whose New Orleans studio was where Fats Domino recorded his first album “The Fat Man” in 1949, will be among the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 2012 inductees.
Matassa is set to be honored for musical excellence for his contributions to the evolution of rock and roll. The induction ceremony will be held in Cleveland, where the rock hall is based, on April 14.
Other 2012 Hall of Fame inductees include the Beastie Boys, Guns ‘n’ Roses, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Chicago blues guitarist Freddie King.
Besides Domino, Matassa recorded hits with Little Richard, Bobby Charles, Professor Longhair, Ray Charles, Smiley Lewis and Lee Dorsey among others.
Man dies when truck crashes off bridge
DES ALLEMANDS — State Police are investigating an accident in which a man was killed after his pickup truck ran off a south Louisiana bridge.
The accident at the Des Allemands bridge happened Wednesday afternoon. The driver’s identity was not available and State Police declined comment until the investigation was complete.
Marie Loupe, who lives near the accident scene, said she heard “a huge crash” as the red and white 2006 Ford F150, which was westbound on U.S. 90, hit the guard rail and plummeted more than two stories into a ditch.
School system owed $60,000 for lunches
ALEXANDRIA — Officials said the Rapides Parish School District is owed nearly $60,000 in unpaid student lunch balances from this school year.
Food and Nutrition Services Director Erma Davis told School Board members Tuesday the unpaid bills are a growing problem.
Many of the issues stem from students whose lunch costs should be subsidized federally under the free and reduced-price lunch program. But parents either don’t fill out the paperwork or fill it out incorrectly.
The board took no action after Davis’ report, but did discuss how certain schools with large free and reduced-price lunch populations have low balances.
Father sentenced for injuring child, 8
LAKE CHARLES — A state judge on Tuesday imposed a suspended five-year prison term on a man who pleaded guilty to cruelty to a juvenile for burning his child with an iron.
Judge Clayton Davis ordered Pleasant Lemon to be placed on supervised probation for five years.
Prosecutor Cynthia Clay Guillory said Lemon burned his 8-year-old daughter on Sept. 15, 2005, under each arm and on the torso with the iron.
Lemon was originally charged with second-degree cruelty, but Guillory reduced the charge in exchange for the plea.
Davis told Lemon that he could face up to 10 years for pleading guilty.
Lemon was ordered to have no contact with the victim during his probation.