Police and Fire Briefs for Aug. 6, 2012
August 07, 2012
Stabbing victim
in critical condition
Police arrested a 27-year-old woman early Sunday who admitted to stabbing her boyfriend in the heart during an argument, according to an affidavit of probable cause.
The victim, a 32-year-old man, was in the hospital Sunday with life-threatening injuries, said police spokesman Cpl. L’Jean McKneely.
“He’s in very, very critical condition,” McKneely said.
When police officers arrived at the residence at 3056 Convention St., at about 3 a.m., Almetha Banks told them she stabbed her boyfriend with a knife, the affidavit says.
Banks, 3401 White Sands St., was booked into Parish Prison on a count of attempted manslaughter.
Police: Speed likely factor in fatal crash
A 20-year-old woman might have been speeding when she crashed into a tree on Hoo Shoo Too Road on Saturday and died, the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office said Sunday.
Catherine Head, 6144 Hagerstown Drive, died at a hospital after the wreck, which happened about 7:45 p.m. Saturday, Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Casey Rayborn Hicks said in a news release.
Head was traveling west in the 20000 block of Hoo Shoo Too Road when her 2006 Saturn Vue spun off the road, crashed into a tree and flipped, ejecting her, Hicks said.
Firefighters respond to 3 weekend fires
Three separate fires damaged buildings and property late Saturday and early Sunday, but caused no injuries or deaths, the Fire Department said.
The fire that caused the most damage monetarily — $100,000 — occurred in a home in the 1700 block of Progress Road in the northern part of East Baton Rouge Parish, Fire Department spokesman Barry Mounce said in a news release.
The fire started in the kitchen of that home shortly before 9 p.m. Saturday and spread to the den and attic.
The fire caused extensive smoke and water damage throughout the house before being controlled about 9:15 p.m., Mounce said.
The people who live there weren’t home when the blaze started but returned while firefighters were still on the scene, Mounce said.
A house fire ignited by improperly discarded smoking materials started about 1 a.m. Sunday in a home in the 6400 block of Blackberry Street, which is near North Ardenwood Drive and Greenwell Springs Road, Mounce said.
The residents noticed smoke and found a mattress on fire, Mounce said. Everyone in the home got out before firefighters arrived.
Firefighters contained the damage, estimated at $10,000, to the bedroom where the fire started, Mounce said.
The third fire occurred about 5:30 a.m. Sunday at Lightning Bolt & Supply Inc., 10626 Choctaw Drive, Mounce said. The fire was sparked by an electrical malfunction around an electronic scale in the warehouse. Firefighters contained the blaze to the area where it started, causing damage to some shelving and storage boxes, Mounce said.
The fire caused $10,000 in damage but could have been worse, Mounce said.
The business owner’s alarm company called in the fire before anybody outside the building could have seen any indication of trouble, which allowed firefighters to respond quickly, Mounce said.
Authorities arrest 11 on DWI suspicion
Authorities arrested at least 11 people suspected of driving while intoxicated in East Baton Rouge Parish and booked them into Parish Prison between 2:30 p.m. Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, booking records show.
Those booked and the counts against them:
- Brock Bigler, 21, 1801 Victor II Blvd., Morgan City, first-offense DWI, license plate light required, possession of marijuana and improper lane usage.
- Megan Derouen, 25, 14298 Whispering Oak Drive, Gonzales, first-offense DWI.
- Hector Flores, 33, 13424 Perkins Road, second-offense DWI, driver’s license not in possession and reckless operation of a vehicle.
- Justin Gage, 37, 1512 Plantation Oak Drive, first-offense DWI.
- Miguel Gomez, 21, 2026 W. Woodlawn, San Antonio, Texas, first-offense DWI and open container violation.
- Joshua Guitreau, 34, 16489 Ashley Lane, Prairieville, first-offense DWI.
- Devin Martin, 22, 11555 Southfork Drive, first-offense DWI, reckless operation of a vehicle, possession of schedule IV drugs, and driver’s license suspended or revoked.
- Wesley Miller, 32, 37217 Saint Marie Ave., Prairieville, first-offense DWI and reckless operation of a vehicle.
- William Overstreet, 34, 5937 Nashville St., first-offense DWI, other laws of the road and reckless operation of a vehicle.
- Malcolm Station, 48, 3852 Groomine St., first-offense DWI, wrong way down a one-way street, driver’s license required or expired, headlights required and reckless operation of a vehicle.
- Silvana Tsankova, 31, 1311 Tanglebriar Drive, first-offense DWI and reckless operation of a vehicle.
Compiled from staff reports. To talk to a crime reporter at The Advocate, call (225) 388-0369.