INDEPENDENCE — A 10-year-old girl died Monday afternoon after she was ejected from a car in a crash on La. 1054 about 3 miles north of La. 40 in Tangipahoa Parish, State Police said. An unlicensed 15-year-old girl was driving a 2004 Pontiac Grand Am north on La. 1054 with three juveniles when it … Continue reading →

The ex-boyfriend of a woman who was fatally shot earlier this month has been booked on allegations he broke into the woman’s Baton Rouge home and stole several items just weeks before her death, court records show. Carlos Jerome Thomas, 37, 2121 Highland Road, also is accused of taking Amanda Lea McCullough’s car in violation … Continue reading →

Baton Rouge police arrested a woman Monday accused of throwing a brick at her 13-year-old daughter’s back and stabbing her in the right shoulder Sunday. Linda Thomas, 57, 1067 W. 5 Central Road, Baton Rouge, was booked by with cruelty to a juvenile and aggravated battery, … Continue reading →

LAFAYETTE — A Eunice man was shot and later died after he and two others were attacked Sunday night in the small Acadia Parish community of Branch, officials said. D’Andre Goodley, 18, of Eunice, died at Acadia-St. Landry Hospital, Sheriff Wayne Melancon said in a news release. Authorities did not release … Continue reading →

LAFAYETTE — St. Martin Parish investigators are looking into a Sunday afternoon crash that killed a motorcyclist in Breaux Bridge. Jerry Levier, 28, of Arnaudville, was pronounced dead at the scene on Hilda Street in Breaux Bridge after the motorcycle he was riding crashed into a car, said Capt. Stacey Blanchard, public information officer … Continue reading →

Baton Rouge police said Monday they are searching for a man who a woman says raped her at knife point early Saturday just south of LSU’s campus. But police waited more than 48 hours to let the public know there was a rapist on the loose, releasing no information about the attack until Monday afternoon. Continue reading →

Baton Rouge police are seeking a fugitive who was involved in a bar fight this month in which a man was seriously injured and later died, authorities said Monday. Andres Gonzalez, 27, 2225 College Drive, is wanted on one count of second-degree murder, police said. Gonzalez is accused of punching Raphael Domino Jr., 39, 15438 Jester … Continue reading →

PLAQUEMINE — The Addis man accused of firing 12 shots into a crowd, hitting two people, outside a gas station late Sunday is refusing to talk to police and more arrests are possible in a fight that preceded the shootings. Shannon Dale Holmes Jr., 19, 3754 Chris Drive, Addis, surrendered to police at 5 a.m. … Continue reading →

An 11-year-old Baton Rouge boy was critically injured Sunday after he was struck by a pickup on Perkins Road, a State Police spokesman said. The boy, who has not been identified, was walking across a stretch of Perkins Road just east of Siegen Lane when he stepped into the path of a 2012 Chevrolet Silverado driven … Continue reading →

West Baton Rouge Parish sheriff’s deputies have arrested a man accused of leading Baton Rouge police on a pursuit Friday night from Government Street to West Baton Rouge, Baton Rouge police said Sunday. Deputies have Louis Northern in custody and Baton Rouge police plan to move him to Baton Rouge in the next few … Continue reading →

A 12-year-old boy accidentally shot his 8-year-old brother Saturday at a home on Old Rafe Mayer Road, sending the 8-year-old to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office reported. The 12-year-old found a .380-caliber pistol in a closet in the boys’ … Continue reading →

Companion Animal Alliance, 2680 E. Progress Road, has adoptable cats and dogs of every age and size. The center is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays; and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursdays. The center is closed for adoptions on Mondays. Adoptable pets may also be found at offsite event locations found … Continue reading →

A 23-year veteran of the Lafayette Police Department died Saturday afternoon in a motorcycle crash on La. 3000 north of Interstate 10 in Iberville Parish, a State Police spokesman said. Lt. Richard “Ricky” Rees, who was off duty at the time of the wreck, served as the administrative lieutenant in the department’s Precinct 4, Trooper 1st … Continue reading →

A 12-year-old boy accidentally shot his 8-year-old brother Saturday at a home on Old Rafe Mayer Road, sending the 8-year-old to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries, the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office reported. The 12-year-old found a .380-caliber pistol in a closet in the boys’ grandparents’ home in the 400 block of Old Rafe Mayer, Sheriff’s … Continue reading →

Baton Rouge police have opened a criminal investigation into claims that an instructor at Kenilworth Science and Technology Charter School has been soliciting students to send him cellphone photographs of their genitalia, according to court filings. The inquiry began May 9 after a counselor contacted the Baton Rouge Police Department and reported that Darrion Buckles … Continue reading →

They died in the line of duty, in ambushes and automobile accidents. They gave their lives serving a high-risk warrant, trying to save an undercover informant and pursuing a suspect. And on Friday, their brothers and sisters in East Baton Rouge Parish law enforcement paid tribute to their lasting service, remembering the … Continue reading →

Authorities arrested at least nine people suspected of driving while intoxicated in East Baton Rouge Parish — including Kenneth Briggs of Baton Rouge on a fourth-offense DWI — and booked them into Parish Prison between 2:30 p.m. Thursday and 2:30 p.m. Friday, booking records show. Those … Continue reading →

PRAIRIEVILLE ­— A fire that broke out late Friday morning caused an estimated $70,000 to $80,000 in damage to an Ascension Parish business but no injuries after flammable, spray-on material used to line the beds of pickup trucks caught fire. Fire Chief Mark Stewart of the Prairieville Fire Department said it took about 15 to … Continue reading →

The state Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit has arrested three Zachary women accused of filing false Medicaid claims. The three women were arrested Wednesday with assistance from the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office, a news release from the state Attorney General's Office says. The three worked as personal care attendants and each submitted time sheets stating they provided services for … Continue reading →

Baton Rouge Emergency Medical Services personnel Friday transported a man to a hospital with what appeared to be minor injuries after he was hit by a bulldozer or backhoe near East Boulevard and Thomas H Delpit Drive. EMS spokesman Mike Chustz said someone drove by, saw the man lying on the ground, and called 911. Chustz … Continue reading →

A two-alarm fire that broke out Thursday at the Bienville Tower Condominiums on College Drive near Corporate Boulevard is estimated to have caused more than $200,000 in damage. Baton Rouge Fire Department firefighters arrived at the condominiums at 5:39 p.m. and immediately rang a second alarm because of the threat that the fire could spread … Continue reading →

ST. AMANT — Trulena Guedry experienced something Thursday morning no mother wants to endure. She was in her home on Taylor Sheets Jr. Road in St. Amant with her four children when she discovered the living room had caught fire. She rushed the children, ages 2 to 10, out of the house, unsuccessfully attempted … Continue reading →

Authorities arrested at least six people suspected of driving while intoxicated in East Baton Rouge Parish and booked them into Parish Prison between 2:30 p.m. Wednesday and 2:30 p.m. Thursday, booking records show. Those booked and the counts against them: BR police chief applicant loses appeal

The Municipal Fire and Police Civil Service Board denied an appeal Thursday from a former Baton Rouge police officer ruled ineligible to take the police chief’s exam for not meeting the minimum qualifications. The vote followed an emotional appeal by Isabelle Gilmore, who contended the requirements were not clearly stated … Continue reading →

St. George Fire Department firefighters rescued a driver from a vehicle in Wards Creek on Thursday after the vehicle ran off Essen Lane between Margaret Ann and One Calais. The vehicle was traveling north on Essen at about 3:20 p.m. when it ran off the road and down into Wards Creek, St. George spokesman Eldon Ledoux said … Continue reading →

Days after an attacker allegedly told a man he had stopped in “the wrong neighborhood” to get gas, East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Hillar Moore III said he wants to “take a deep breath” before deciding whether to prosecute the case as a hate crime. Hate crime convictions in Louisiana enhance a felony sentence … Continue reading →

Eight women — including one accused of not sending her child to school all year — were arrested Tuesday in a roundup of the parents of the worst truants in East Baton Rouge Parish. The multi-agency roundup was coordinated by the Family and Youth Services Center, also known as the truancy center, and was … Continue reading →

Baton Rouge police are investigating a shooting Wednesday night on North Donmoor Avenue that left a man wounded, a police spokesman said. Police arrived in the 800 block of North Donmoor around 7 p.m. and found a 20-year-old man shot in the neck, Cpl. Tommy Stubbs … Continue reading →

A Baton Rouge man accused of banging a woman’s head against a wall several times and hitting their 1-year-old son in the face during an attack Dec. 17 has been arrested. Drago Collins, 31, 6275 Matthew Drive, was booked him into Parish Prison on Tuesday on … Continue reading →

LAFAYETTE — A teen who drowned in Moore Park this week was identified Wednesday as 17-year-old Christlyn Willis, of Lafayette. A witness who had been swimming with Willis told police the pair swam out to the middle of a Moore Park pond on Tuesday about 4 p.m. when they had trouble staying afloat, according … Continue reading →

Deputies are trying to figure out who made a possible prank call to Southeast Middle School Wednesday morning to report that a gun was on campus. Susan Nelson, head of East Baton Rouge Parish Schools communications, said every student was checked for a weapon during the lockdown but none was found. The school was then taken off … Continue reading →

Authorities late Tuesday stopped searching for a boater on the Mississippi River near the Interstate 10 bridge after first receiving reports that the boater may have been in distress. East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office boats, out on the river Tuesday morning because of high water, saw the boater, apparently in a bateau, and traveled toward him to … Continue reading →

Baton Rouge police are searching for a man who may have been involved in a Tuesday morning robbery of the Circle K convenience store on Jefferson Highway. A man walked into the store at 7475 Jefferson Highway at 5:37 a.m. and stole multiple items, police Cpl. L’Jean McKneely … Continue reading →

A Gonzales man was shot and killed early Sunday in Florida by his brother-in-law, police said. Thomas “Gerry” Rangeley, 56, of Gonzales, died at North Okaloosa Medical Center in Crestview, Fla., after being shot once in the chest by a rifle, according to a news release from the Okaloosa County, Fla., Sheriff’s Office. … Continue reading →

Three people accused of assaulting a family late Sunday at a gas station in north Baton Rouge could face additional charges as investigators seek to determine whether the attack was motivated by race, authorities said Tuesday. Baton Rouge police have not ruled out classifying the case a hate crime, and have contacted the FBI to … Continue reading →

Police are searching for a man who may have been involved in a Tuesday morning robbery of the Circle K store on Jefferson Highway. The robbery occurred at 7475 Jefferson Highway at 5:37 a.m. when a man walked into the store and stole multiple items, according to a Baton Rouge Police Department news release. The … Continue reading →

Firefighters Tuesday discovered a Freon leak in a chiller that caused a mysterious haze inside a Merchant Drive business that houses radioactive isotopes and cold liquid materials. The St. George Fire Department responded to a 10:59 a.m. report of the haze at Southern Isotopes in the Industriplex area of Baton Rouge, according to a St. George … Continue reading →

LORANGER — A pickup struck and killed a pedestrian Monday night, State Police reported Tuesday. The incident occurred about 9 p.m. on La. 445, 3 miles south of La. 40 in Tangipahoa Parish. Troopers identified the victim as Charles Favre, 26, of Springfield. Favre was walking northward in the northbound traffic lane of La. … Continue reading →

Baton Rouge firefighters suspect arson in a blaze Monday evening that engulfed a vacant house and heavily damaged a nearby house on Birch Road. Firefighters arrived at 1838 Birch at 7:14 p.m. and found flames had spread from the vacant house where the fire started to an occupied home next door, Fire Department Curt Monte said … Continue reading →

An internal investigation into a run-in between State Police Capt. Kevin Devall and an immigration lawyer on a Washington Parish hunting lease has sustained two allegations against Devall, including conduct unbecoming an officer. But Devall, a Baton Rouge-based commander over criminal investigations in several parishes, was cleared of another claim and will not face disciplinary … Continue reading →

East Baton Rouge Parish sheriff’s deputies arrested four people Saturday night accused in a carjacking at an Essen Park Avenue hotel. Makeisha Hartford, 33, 1111 Rodin Drive, Baton Rouge, and Allexis Armstead, 19, 7170 Mitchell Lane, Morganza, were booked into Parish Prison on one count each of … Continue reading →

ST. FRANCISVILLE — West Feliciana Parish sheriff’s deputies investigating a string of burglaries arrested five people, including the operator of a local vehicle towing company, Sheriff J. Austin Daniel said Monday. Daniel said Jarred Wunstel, 37, 8567 Muscadine Lane, St. Francisville, is accused of buying items stolen in residential and hunting camp burglaries, including … Continue reading →

LAFAYETTE — A Breaux Bridge man was killed Monday morning when the motorcycle he was riding struck the rear of a truck on La. 31 north of Poche Bridge Road, State Police said. Trooper Stephen Hammons said in a news release that Coby Champagne, 29, of St. Martinville, was driving a 2006 Chevrolet pickup truck … Continue reading →

A woman found fatally shot Sunday had taken out a restraining order against her ex-boyfriend last month, claiming the man had become increasingly violent and threatened to kill her and her children, according to court records. Less than 24 hours before she was found dead inside her Iowa Street home, Amanda Lea McCullough, 31, called … Continue reading →

Baton Rouge police were investigating on Sunday the shooting death of a 31-year-old woman at 2343 Iowa St. A family member found the woman at her house at about 3:30 p.m. Sunday and called police, Cpl. L’Jean McKneely, a spokesman for the police department, said. She was already dead when police arrived, McKneely said. Continue reading →