Baton Rouge news

• Vehicle fire reported on Plank Road near Baton Rouge airport

  17-03-2017 13:47 via WBRZ
  
  BATON ROUGE – Firefighters worked to extinguish a vehicle fire on Plank Road near the Baton Rouge Airport Friday afternoon.The fire happened after 12 p.m. Friday. Video from the scene showed dark smoke billowing from the vehicle. First responders closed two the roadway and diverted traffic around the incident.Sources tell WBRZ News 2 that no one was hurt.WATCH: firefighters working to put out a burning truck near the airport. Traffic is backed up in the area, along Plank Rd. @WBRZ pic.
  
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• Baton Rouge Fire Department arrests man on charges of arson

  17-10-2019 07:11 via WBRZ
  BATON ROUGE - A Baton Rouge man has been accused of breaking into an apartment and setting it on fire.On Oct. 7, the Baton Rouge Fire Department arrested 22-year-old Ajani James London for allegedly breaking into a woman's apartment through a window and setting fire to clothes by putting them in the oven.The apartment's occupant wasn't home when it happened.But she says London sent her several texts, saying he'd destroyed her apartment.He also sent her a Facetime message during the incident, sh
  
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• Blue Bell releasing Christmas Cookies Ice Cream

  17-10-2019 06:34 via WBRZ
  Blue Bell is releasing one of its most requested flavors beginning Thursday: Christmas Cookies Ice Cream.It's a combination of chocolate chip and snickerdoodle with red sprinkles and a green icing swirl throughout.In addition to Christmas Cookies, Blue Bell also has Peppermint, Spiced Pumpkin Pecan and the newest flavor Salted Caramel Cookie available for the holidays. For more information on Blue Bell's latest flavors, visit: https://www.bluebell.com/get-the-scoop/.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Southern University Police arrest man in connection with a rape that occurred on campus

  17-10-2019 06:29 via WBRZ
  BATON ROUGE - Police have arrested a man in connection with a rape that occurred on Southern University's campus. A female victim says she went out with friends on Oct. 27 and upon returning home, felt ill.She called 20-year-old Rodman Lavalais and asked if he would stay with her because she felt 'weird, weak, and wobbly.' She says she reiterated that she was not interested in having sex.Despite this, Lavalais allegedly told her to 'stop faking like she was drunk' and proceede
  
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• Police arrest man in connection with Coursey Blvd. Burger King shooting

  17-10-2019 05:23 via WBRZ
  BATON ROUGE - Police have arrested a man for allegedly shooting a former co-worker.According to the East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office, Keith Jermaine Franklin had been an employee of a Burger King on Coursey Blvd.On Thursday, Oct. 10, Franklin went to work and found out he was going to be terminated. His former manager says he left the restaurant and returned an hour and a half later, acting 'suspiciously.'Franklin allegedly went to the rear of Burger King's parking lot and shot at one
  
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• Tulane plans big book festival between Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest

  17-10-2019 05:14 via WBRZ
  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Tulane University has announced plans for a major book festival to be held annually between Mardi Gras and Jazz Fest.
    
  The first New Orleans Book Festival at Tulane University will be March 19-21. A news release says more than 40 authors have signed on so far, including Fox News Channel commentator Donna Brazile, humorist Roy Blount, Jr., novelist John Grisham and New Yorker staff writer Malcolm Gladwell.
    
  University spokesman Roger Dun
  
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• Shooting in North Baton Rouge leaves one person injured

  17-10-2019 04:18 via WBRZ
  BATON ROUGE - A shooting near Hollywood Street in North Baton Rouge has left one man injured.The Baton Rouge Police Department confirms that the victim's injuries appear to be non-life threatening. Police believe the victim was shot while he was in the 2600 block of Amarillo Street and once injured, drove to Hollywood Street. Details related to the incident are limited and will be provided as authorities continue with their investigation.  Permalink| Comments
  
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• EBR Superintendent stresses "school system boundaries remain the same"

  16-10-2019 21:38 via WBRZ
  BATON ROUGE – The East Baton Rouge Parish School System put out a clear message Wednesday night; all students will remain in the schools that they are currently in. Parents in the boundary of the new City of Saint George are worried their children will have to change schools. Superintendent Warren Drake stressed that to everyone in parish through a robocall.It said in part, “after several questions about the vote, I wanted to assure you that the vote to create a new city did
  
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• Boxer Patrick Day dies four days after fight

  16-10-2019 19:51 via WBRZ
  CHICAGO (AP) - Boxer Patrick Day has died four days after sustaining head injuries in a fight with Charles Conwell.  Promoter Lou DiBella said Day died Wednesday at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. He was 27.  "He was surrounded by his family, close friends and members of his boxing team, including his mentor, friend and trainer Joe Higgins," DiBella said in a statement on his website. "He was a son, brother, and good friend to many. Pat's kindness, positivity
  
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• Businesses along Sherwood Forest still feeling effects of lengthy construction

  16-10-2019 18:58 via WBRZ
  BATON ROUGE - A mile-long stretch of Sherwood Forest Blvd. used to be a driver's nightmare. "I would not try and drink coffee or anything while you're driving on it," Kaylee Hatcher said. "I've spilled coffee multiple times trying to come to work and drink. It was pretty awful."Now, with all-new asphalt, the ride is smooth as butter. "Well you can drink coffee while you drive now, so that's an improvement," Hatcher said.But that may be the only improvement for some businesses
  
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• 'Tarzan' actor Ron Ely's wife and son killed

  16-10-2019 18:48 via WBRZ
  SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (AP) - Authorities say "Tarzan" actor Ron Ely's wife was stabbed to death in their Southern California home by the couple's son, who police subsequently shot to death.  A Santa Barbara County sheriff's statement Wednesday said deputies found 62-year-old Valerie Lundeen Ely dead with multiple stab wounds inside the house on Tuesday night.  The statement says deputies identified the suspect as the couple's son, 30-year-old Cameron
  
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• Highly-anticipated John Paul Funes sentencing for Thursday rescheduled

  16-10-2019 17:46 via WBRZ
  BATON ROUGE – Sentencing for the former head of the Our Lady of the Lake Foundation has been delayed a week, WBRZ has learned.Sentencing for John Paul Funes was scheduled for Thursday (Oct. 17) but it was rescheduled for next week because of a scheduling conflict with the judge, who has a trial Thursday.Funes entered a guilty plea earlier in the summer to charges of wire fraud and money laundering after a scheme that siphoned off more than $550,000 dollars from the OLOL Foundation.The
  
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• Immigrant kills himself in ICE jail in Louisiana

  16-10-2019 16:27 via WBRZ
  MONROE, La. (AP) - Federal authorities say a Cuban man has died by apparent suicide while being detained at an immigration jail in Louisiana.  U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Wednesday that 43-year-old Roylan Hernandez Diaz was found unresponsive Tuesday afternoon inside his cell at the Richwood Correctional Center.  ICE did not comment on allegations from people with family members detained inside Richwood that he was in solitary confinement at
  
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• Wheel of Fortune contestant earns awkward laughs by talking about his 'loveless marriage'

  16-10-2019 15:35 via WBRZ
  LOS ANGELES - Normally when a game show contestant introduces themselves on Wheel of Fortune, they waste no time to dote on their family.Instead, one man used his time in the spotlight to trash talk his relatives.When host Pat Sajak introduced Blair Davis on Monday's episode, the California native started by chatting about his "loveless marriage" to "an old battle-ax named Kim.""She cursed my life with three stepchildren ... and I have one rotten grandson," Davis said.We appreciate a stark sens
  
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• Woman arrested on murder charges in deaths of man, 2 kids

  16-10-2019 14:10 via WBRZ
  PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A Philadelphia woman has been arrested on murder and other charges in the shooting deaths of her two young daughters and their father.  Police say on Wednesday that 28-year-old Damyrra Jones is facing three counts of murder, two counts of child endangerment and a count of possessing instruments of crime.  Officers called to a row home in the city's northeast section shortly before 10 p.m. Monday found a 38-year-old man dead and a 4-year-ol
  
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• Body of missing woman found in concrete in Nevada desert

  16-10-2019 14:05 via WBRZ
  LAS VEGAS (AP) - Las Vegas police say the body of a woman missing for five months has been found encased in concrete in the desert and that a suspect has been arrested.  Authorities say the unidentified woman's remains were found in a "homemade concrete and wooden structure."  Investigators believe the victim was held against her will in 45-year-old Christopher Prestipino's home.  An anonymous tip led police to the suspect. &nbs
  
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• Toddler dies after being left in hot car, aunt is arrested

  16-10-2019 13:56 via WBRZ
  DESTREHAN, La. (AP) - A Louisiana woman has been arrested after her 2-year-old niece died in a hot car where she had been left for about six hours.  The St. Charles Parish Sheriff's Office said Wednesday that Avril Sanabria died Oct. 4.  The New Orleans Advocate/The Times-Picayune reports 48-year-old Lezly Sanabria, was arrested Tuesday on negligent homicide charges. She's being held at the Nelson Coleman Correctional Center. Bond has not been set. It wasn't
  
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• Students tackle gunman at California high school, police say

  16-10-2019 13:53 via WBRZ
  LA HABRA, Cali. - Students at a California high school tackled a gunman and managed to take his weapon from him after he brandished it at the school.La Habra High School went on lockdown Tuesday morning after a student reportedly pulled out a .22 caliber gun in the school, police said.According to La Habra Police, two freshmen in the class ran up to him, wrestled him and got the weapon out of his hands."It was the students who tackled him," Sgt. Jose Rocha said.The high school, located in Orang
  
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• Man accused of killing Georgia college student surrenders

  16-10-2019 13:39 via WBRZ
  KENNESAW, Ga. - A man accused of killing a Georgia college student has surrendered to authorities.The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports Cobb County police arrested 22-year-old Kashman Rael Thomas on Tuesday afternoon after he eluded law enforcement for about 10 days.Thomas is accused of fatally shooting 18-year-old Kennesaw State University student Oluwafemi Oyerinde and injuring two other teenagers at an apartment building near the university's football stadium on Oct. 7.Cobb County police
  
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• Police find no sign of abducted Alabama girl

  16-10-2019 13:07 via WBRZ
  BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) - Authorities searching for a missing 3-year-old girl who was abducted say a search of a Birmingham, Alabama, apartment complex didn't turn up signs of the child.  Multiple police officers descended on a small apartment development Wednesday morning in Birmingham less than 10 miles (16 kilometers) from where Kamille McKinney was last seen Saturday at a birthday party.  A police spokesman, Sgt. Johnny Williams, says officers were acting o
  
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• Alabama police converge on apartment complex in search of missing toddler

  16-10-2019 13:07 via WBRZ
  BIRMINGHAM - Alabama police have surrounded an apartment complex in search of a missing three-year-old girl, Kamille "Cupcake" McKinney.A CNN report says the toddler was reported missing from a birthday party four days ago.Though the Birmingham State Police Department took to social media to let the public know about their activity around the residential area, details on what led them to the complex are unclear. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading
  
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• Pedestrian finds baby alive in bag along Indiana roadway

  16-10-2019 13:03 via WBRZ
  SEYMOUR, Ind. (AP) - Southern Indiana police say an infant found abandoned inside a bag left near a roadway is alive and healthy.  Seymour police say a person walking their dog found the child Tuesday afternoon along a fence row about 20 yards from a road on Seymour's southeast side.  Officers called to the scene found that the baby was alive and doctors at Seymour's Schneck Medical Center determined that the infant was healthy.  Detective S
  
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• Louisiana man tells deputies 'God has battleships'

  16-10-2019 09:51 via WBRZ
  MONROE, La. (AP) - Louisiana authorities have charged a man with disturbing the peace after he was found wandering down a street and screaming profanities.  The Monroe News Star reports the Ouachita Parish Sherriff's Office responded to a call Sunday that 27-year-old Jonathan Porter was intoxicated and creating a public disturbance. Deputies wrote in arrest warrants that Porter told them the cartoon character SpongeBob SquarePants had stolen his paperwork and that "God has bat
  
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• Family sues over plane crash that killed New Orleans anchor

  16-10-2019 09:26 via WBRZ
  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The husband and children of a New Orleans reporter who died in a small plane crash this summer are now suing the plane's owner and engine manufacturer.
    
  The New Orleans Advocate/The Times-Picayune reports Glen Boyd and the children filed the lawsuit last week against owner Drug Fighters Enterprises and Lycoming Engines. The lawsuit alleges that the biplane carrying former WVUE-TV news anchor Nancy Parker had a defective engine.
    
  The pla
  
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• Man arrested for multiple robberies in Gardere area

  16-10-2019 07:56 via WBRZ
  BATON ROUGE - Authorities have arrested a man for a string of armed robberies in the Gardere area.A detective with the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's office used video footage from several stores and the assistance of a store clerk who'd been robbed to pinpoint 28-year-old Matthew Williams as the alleged gunman. The robberies took place between September 7-October 12  at two stores on Perkins Road: Dollar General and Circle K.On one occasion, Williams allegedly entered the
  
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• Weather concerns officials as they search for victims following collapse of NOLA's Hard Rock Cafe

  16-10-2019 07:18 via WBRZ
  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Tropical weather is the latest worry in New Orleans, where officials say experts have yet to come up with a viable plan for stabilizing a partially collapsed building and two damaged construction cranes.City Homeland Security director Collin Arnold said Tuesday authorities fear a disturbance over Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula could become a tropical depression threatening the Gulf Coast, bringing wind and rain that would topple the unstable structures onto neighboring buildings.
  
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• 'Why, Gary, Why' details a local man's search for justice and healing

  16-10-2019 06:24 via WBRZ
  BATON ROUGE - A 1984 story of vigilante justice in Baton Rouge has been turned into a book entitled, "Why, Gary, Why?" Click here for additional details regarding the book and the author's search for healing after experiencing harrowing abuse. Permalink| Comments
  
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• Supreme Court to review Lee Boyd Malvo's case in light of sentencings for minors

  16-10-2019 05:27 via WBRZ
  On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court will consider Lee Boyd Malvo's bid to be resentenced.This follows a string of court appearances and sentencings since 2002. In 2003, Lee Boyd Malvo and John Allen Muhammad were convicted of spearheading a three-week-long shooting spree that left ten people dead. Muhammad acted as a mentor to then 17-year-old Malvo, guiding him through the acts of violence. While Muhammad was sentenced to execution, a jury in Chesapeake, Virginia sp
  
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• San Francisco Bay area shaken by earthquake

  16-10-2019 03:03 via WBRZ
  SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA, CA – Early Monday morning, residents of the San Francisco Bay area and beyond felt a magnitude 4.5 earthquake and throughout the morning, several aftershocks occurred; the largest was 2.1 magnitude.According to the LA Times, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) says there is a 2% chance of one or more aftershocks larger than magnitude 4.5 over the next week, and as many as four aftershocks of magnitude 3 or higher. “The number of afters
  
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• Firefighters use nail polish to calm little girl panicking after crash

  15-10-2019 18:33 via WBRZ
  WEST POINT, UT - A couple of firemen found themselves responding to a different kind of emergency in Utah.A young passenger involved in a car accident was a bit shaken up after the incident. Authorities described the wreck as minor with no injuries but say the little girl was still frantic from it.A Facebook post shared by the North Davis Fire District says a battalion chief and captain showed up to the scene and immediately tried to calm the young girl."...these 2 officers started talking to h
  
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