Baton Rouge news

• Man shot, teacher freed in school standoff

  31-10-2017 20:58
  RIVERSIDE, Calif. - Police have shot a parent who held a 70-year-old teacher hostage for hours at his daughter's Southern California elementary school.  Riverside police Officer Ryan Railsback says a SWAT team entered a classroom at Castle View Elementary School shortly before 6 p.m. The suspect's condition was not immediately known.  Railsback says negotiators had been talking to the man but hadn't heard from the teacher and feared for her life. &am
  
  Read more

• Texas needs $61B from federal government for Harvey recovery

  31-10-2017 20:37
  AUSTIN, Texas - Texas needs $61-plus billion in federal funding just to rebuild public infrastructure damaged by Hurricane Harvey, as well as to cover projects to prevent future flooding.  John Sharp, Texas' Harvey recovery "czar," announced Tuesday that the figure was based on surveys of local officials and future U.S. Army Corps of Engineer proposals after the storm caused $180 billion in damages statewide.  Sixty percent would go for flood control, 33 perc
  
  Read more

• House GOP delays tax overhaul plan

  31-10-2017 20:27
  WASHINGTON - House Republicans are delaying their rollout of a tax plan until Thursday amid a struggle to finalize details.  That's the word from a senior GOP aide late Tuesday night. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity because the individual was not allowed to publicly discuss the schedule.  The tax-writing Ways and Means Committee was working throughout the day and evening to produce a sweeping plan, the first overhaul of the nation's tax code in three
  
  Read more

• One injured in shooting on Alliquippa Street

  31-10-2017 20:05
  BATON ROUGE - One person was injured in a shooting on Alliquippa Street Tuesday night.According to authorities, the shooting took place in the 3400 block of Alliquippa Street near Ozark Street sometime around 8:00 p.m.The victim was reportedly shot in the leg, according to Baton Rouge Police. The victim sustained minor injuries as a result of the shooting, according to authorities.This is a developing story. Check back for updates.Permalink| Comments
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• State trooper returns to work after battle with cancer

  31-10-2017 18:17
  ALEXANDRIA - A Louisiana State trooper has returned to work after a nearly year-long battle with cancer.On Tuesday, Master Trooper Rodney Helton was welcomed back to Troop E in Alexandria after his fight with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Helton, who's been a trooper for more than 20 years, was moved to the Baylor University Cancer Center in Dallas last November.During his time at the hospital, a number of Texas state troopers paid visits to Rodney, helping him stay in high
  
  Read more

• Meth found among Halloween trick-or-treat candy

  31-10-2017 18:06
  KESHENA, Wis. - Menominee Tribal Police say a parent on the reservation in northeastern Wisconsin found a packet of methamphetamine among her child's trick-or-treat Halloween candy.  The parent turned the small packet of crystal powder over to police early Monday and officers say it tested positive for meth. The child did not ingest the powder.  WLUK-TV says police are urging parents to check their children's candy if they have been trick-or-treating in the K
  
  Read more

• Mobile home moving company helps homeowners following 2 OYS story

  31-10-2017 17:20
  BATON ROUGE - A Homeowner who has been staring at his empty house for months is now that much closer to moving in, thanks to 2 On Your Side and a mobile home moving company that stepped in to help.In March, Joan and Ronnie Stephens hired a crew from Florida to help install their mobile home. They say the people who did the job, did it incorrectly and it didn't pass State Fire Marshal inspection."It's not blocked right, it's not strapped right, it's not leveled right," Ronnie Stephens told WBRZ
  
  Read more

• Baton Rouge police seeking missing 67-year-old woman

  31-10-2017 16:24
  BATON ROUGE - Police are seeking a 67-year-old woman who was reported missing Friday.According to the Baton Police Department, Linda Thompson was reported missing on Oct. 27. Police believe Thompson suffers from mental illness. BRPD says it has not yet ruled out foul play.Thompson is around 5’4”, 175lbs with blonde hair and green eyes.Anyone who has seen or has information on the whereabouts of Thompson is urged to contact the Missing Persons Division at 389-8617 or
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Baton Rouge Police officer suspended for having sex in secluded area while on duty

  31-10-2017 16:01
  BATON ROUGE – A Baton Rouge Police corporal is on leave without pay after the department found he was meeting up for sex in a secluded area while on duty.The WBRZ Investigative Unit learned Michael Edwards was suspended for 80 days following an internal investigation. Authorities confirmed, the woman who had sex with Edwards filed a complaint, prompting the department inquiry.Sources told WBRZ, the rendezvous area was off I-12 near O'Neal Lane.People in that area said they routinely s
  
  Read more

• Crews respond to massive house fire in Ascension Parish

  31-10-2017 15:18
  GONZALES - Crews are responding to reports of a large house fire on Highway 941 Tuesday afternoon. According to the St. Amant Fire Department, crews responded to the scene of a large fire on  around 3 o'clock. Witnesses reported seeing at least one house on fire on LA 941 near LA 30Little information is available at this time.Check back for updates.Permalink| Comments
  
  Read more

• Crews respond to large fire in Ascension Parish

  31-10-2017 15:18
  GONZALES - Crews are responding to reports of a large house fire on Highway 941 Tuesday afternoon. According to the St. Amant Fire Department, crews responded to the scene of a large fire on  around 3 o'clock. Witnesses reported seeing at least one house on fire on LA 941 near LA 30.Photos from the scene showed at least one home sustained heavy damage in the fire.Check back for updates.Permalink| Comments
  
  Read more

• Parent barricades self, other person in California classroom

  31-10-2017 14:57
  RIVERSIDE, CA- Authorities say a parent has barricaded himself in a Southern California elementary school classroom with at least one other person.  Riverside police Officer Ryan Railsback tells KCAL-TV that the incident at Castle View Elementary School was reported shortly after 11 a.m. Tuesday.  Railsback says the other person in the room with the parent is believed to be an adult but it's not known if it is a teacher, another parent or a school staffer.&am
  
  Read more

• Eight dead in 'act of terrorism' near World Trade Center

  31-10-2017 14:41
  NEW YORK - A law enforcement official says that witnesses told police that the man who drove a rented truck onto a bike path in New York City, killing eight people, shouted "allahu akbar."  The official was familiar with the investigation but wasn't authorized to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.  Police Commissioner James O'Neill was asked at a news conference whether the suspect shouted the phrase, which me
  
  Read more

• Subpoenas issued in probe of controversial will; Read court documents here

  31-10-2017 14:40
  BATON ROUGE – Subpoenas filed in the on-going investigation involving the head of the East Baton Rouge Council on Aging could help show the relationship between a deceased client and the higher-ups at the organization.The subpoenas surround the Helen Plummer case where Council on Aging Board Member Dorothy Jackson drafted a will for Plummer, a 95-year-old client. The will named Executive Director Tasha Clark Amar as the executrix of the will. The will would have paid Clark Am
  
  Read more

• ATC commissioner's sister-in-law gunned down in New Orleans

  31-10-2017 14:18
  NEW ORLEANS - The sister of Louisiana's Alcohol and Tobacco Control commissioner was shot and killed in the New Orleans area Monday night.According to a report from WWL, authorities responded to a fatal shooting in the Algiers neighborhood around 8 p.m. Monday. On Tuesday, the victim was identified as 55-year-old Carol Lombard-Ross, sister of 2nd City Clerk of Court Darren Lombard, sister-in-law of Juana Lombard, the state Alcohol and Tobacco Control
  
  Read more

• Audubon Zoo to host Special Needs Day

  31-10-2017 13:56
  NEW ORLEANS- The Audubon Zoo in New Orleans will be hosting its sixth annual Special Needs Day on Saturday.The event will take place from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the zoo located at 6500 Magazine Street. Special needs visitors of all ages can participate in plenty of activities during the family-friendly event.There is a $3 admission for each special needs visitor and up to three guests.Activities will take place at the Capital One Performance Pavilion and Field. There will be music, fa
  
  Read more

• Five arrested in string of Gonzales burglaries

  31-10-2017 13:52
  GONZALES - Police have made five arrests in connection with a series of vehicle burglaries that plagued parts of Ascension Parish throughout mid-October.According to the Gonzales Police Department, officers responded to a burglary in progress off of Cornerview Road on Oct. 23. There, police found 23-year-old LeeRoy Hernandez, who admitted that he wasn't working alone when he burglarized a vehicle.Hernandez identified 25-year-old Aaron Osterhout, who was found behind a
  
  Read more

• Old riverboat to float down MS River, become jazz joint in New Orleans

  31-10-2017 13:28
  BATON ROUGE – A rare sight will soon pass – more like float – along the levee and down the river.A shuttered casino riverboat will be sent from Evansville, Indiana, to New Orleans. The boat will eventually be a floating jazz club and restaurant paying homage to Louis Armstrong. It'll be docked somewhere in New Orleans after its long voyage from upriver.The Evansville Courier & Press newspaper reported this week, a casino opted for a new, land-based operation, l
  
  Read more

• Nurse knits outfits for babies spending first Halloween in the hospital

  31-10-2017 12:47
  ATLANTA, GA - An Atlanta nurse spent hours creating handmade costumes for some small patients spending their first Halloween in the hospital. Tara Frankhauser, a five-year veteran of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, said she wanted to do something special for the brave babies she cares for. So she knitted more than 30 unique costumes for them to wear this Halloween.This is the second year that Frankhauser has knitted costu
  
  Read more

• Electricity the focus of Puerto Rican Shelter at Home program

  31-10-2017 12:32
  RINCON, PUERTO RICO - Rincon is a city on the western coast of Puerto Rico. It's a difficult area to get supplies into, that's why Deshawn Sargent and Michael Falcone set up their own distribution center there."Everything wasn't going the way it should have, so Mike and I started helping people," said Sargent Tuesday. "We had WiFi so people would come here and talk to their families. And they would come to us with their problems and we would help them fix them."Before Hurricane Maria, their dis
  
  Read more

• More than 1,900 Louisiana inmates to be released Wednesday

  31-10-2017 12:26
  Click HERE to see the complete list of inmates being released on Nov. 1.*****BATON ROUGE - Hundreds of inmates are about to get early releases from Louisiana prisons and jails, a milestone in a push to reduce the nation's highest incarceration rate.  The early release of roughly 1,900 inmates on Wednesday is the product of a new package of laws overhauling the state's criminal justice system.  The legislation won bipartisan support from state lawmake
  
  Read more

• More than 1,900 Louisiana inmates to be released Wednesay

  31-10-2017 12:26
  Click HERE to see the complete list of inmates being released on Nov. 1.*****BATON ROUGE - Hundreds of inmates are about to get early releases from Louisiana prisons and jails, a milestone in a push to reduce the nation's highest incarceration rate.  The early release of roughly 1,900 inmates on Wednesday is the product of a new package of laws overhauling the state's criminal justice system.  The legislation won bipartisan support from state lawmake
  
  Read more

• Louisiana, nation's top jailer, now trying early releases

  31-10-2017 12:26
  BATON ROUGE - Hundreds of inmates are about to get early releases from Louisiana prisons and jails, a milestone in a push to reduce the nation's highest incarceration rate.  The early release of roughly 1,900 inmates on Wednesday is the product of a new package of laws overhauling the state's criminal justice system.  The legislation won bipartisan support from state lawmakers, but some elected officials have denounced the changes. Outrage has been stirred up
  
  Read more

• One person injured in shooting on Kleinert Avenue

  31-10-2017 12:16
  BATON ROUGE - One person was injured in a shooting at a duplex on Kleinert Avenue Tuesday night.According to authorities, the shooting took place in the 2000 block of Kleinert Ave. near Perkins Road sometime before 10:50 p.m.The condition of the victim is unknown at this time.Crime scene investigators are on scene. Several neighbors are also outside, including some who live in the duplex.This is a developing story. Check back for updates.Permalink| Comments
  
  Read more

• Armed argument with school bus driver leads to arrests

  31-10-2017 11:44
  PRAIRIEVILLE – Two men were arrested after a dispute with a school bus driver over speeding, WBRZ learned Tuesday.The arrests were made a day earlier, on Monday, when the men approached the bus on Little Prairie Road. The men were upset over the bus driver's speed and approached the bus with a gun, sources said.According to authorities, the men had a copy of a law regarding vehicle speed with them and at least one of them wore a handgun on his side – described as being &
  
  Read more

• Area sheriff's deputy suspended after pulling gun during bar fight

  31-10-2017 11:29
  PLAQUEMINE – Sheriff Brett Stassi said he quickly suspended a short-term deputy after learning of an aggressive act at a bar in downtown Baton Rouge recently.The deputy, who had only been on the force for about two-and-a-half weeks, is accused of pulling a gun during a confrontation on 3rd Street. The deputy was off-duty at the time, Stassi said, and the gun involved did not belong to the sheriff's office.Stassi said the deputy has been “indefinitely suspended” and
  
  Read more

• Zachary man arrested after girlfriend finds child porn on hidden phone

  31-10-2017 11:25
  ZACHARY- A man was booked on child pornography charges Monday.According to the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office, Riley Holbrook’s live-in girlfriend contacted Captain J. Ruiz at a Zachary substation after finding lewd photos of juveniles on a phone she found in Holbrook’s backpack.The girlfriend told deputies she was trying to locate Holbrook’s parents’ address when she found the phone in a backpack next to his laptop
  
  Read more

• Attorney accused of forging BRPD document

  31-10-2017 09:57
  BATON ROUGE- An attorney accused of forging a police document he sent to a credit reporting agency has been arrested, booking records show.Kwami Asante was booked with forgery and computer fraud in the case.He was a victim of identity theft and got a letter from the police records division confirming that report. He is accused of altering the letter before sending it to the credit agency.The agency saw that it appeared to be inauthentic and contacted Baton Rouge police, authorities said.Police
  
  Read more

• Woman killed after striking 18-wheeler in Ascension

  31-10-2017 08:13
  DONALDSONVILLE- Louisiana State Troopers were investigating a two vehicle crash on LA 943 that left one woman dead in Ascension Parish.The crash took place on LA 943 west of LA 1. It took the life of 55-year-old Linda Regira.Authorities say, the crash occurred as Regira was traveling westbound on LA 943 in a 2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer. At the same time, 36-year-old Corey Landry was stopped partially in the roadway on the westbound side of LA 943 in a
  
  Read more

• Woman accused of stealing lottery tickets and redeeming $3,000 in winnings

  31-10-2017 07:59
  HAMMOND- Deputies from the Tangipaho Parish Sheriff's Office arrested a woman they say stole lottery tickets from her work.Charish Watson, 41, was arrested Sunday on felony theft relative to the amount of $21,000.Watson was taken into custody after a TPSO's Financial Crimes Investigator saw her complete an unauthorized purchase of lottery tickets.Watson was the target of an investigation into her involvement in the embezzlement of m
  
  Read more

• Trump's personal lawyer Jay Sekulow on Papadopoulos' guilty plea: 'There's no crime of collusion'

  31-10-2017 07:42
  A member of President Donald Trump's personal legal team argued that "there's no crime of collusion" after a foreign policy adviser to Trump's campaign pleaded guilty to FBI agents about his communications with Russian nationals."There's no crime of collusion," Jay Sekulow said on Good Morning America of George Papadopulos, who admitted to making false statements and material omissions in January to investigators probing Russian interference in the 2016 election.ABC reports, that Papadopoulos&a
  
  Read more

• Area hospitals earn high score in patient safety

  31-10-2017 07:04
  BATON ROUGE- Ochsner Medical Center in Baton Rouge was awarded an "A" for patient safety through the Leapfrog Group's Hospital Safety Grades. The Leapfrog Group is a national patient safety watchdog group that evaluates the safety measures in hospitals through the U.S. and assigns facilities grades "A" through "F."In a release from Ochsner, only 832 hospitals across the country get a "A" rating."We are enormously proud of this recognition, because it acknowledges our
  
  Read more

• Multiple people pepper sprayed during fight at Chuck E. Cheese

  31-10-2017 06:31
  METAIRIE - Authorities arrested a woman they say allegedly used pepper spray during a fight inside a Chuck E. Cheese entertainment center.The incident took place at a location on Veterans Boulevard in Metairie.WWL-TV reports, that a fight broke out at around 5:20 p.m on Sunday. An officer was on scene and tried to intervene. At some point, an unidentified woman pulled out some pepper spray and sprayed it into the surrounding area.Multiple people were either h
  
  Read more

• Kremlin says Russia not implicated by Mueller

  31-10-2017 06:19
  WASHINGTON-The Kremlin says Russia is not implicated by the first criminal cases against associates of President Donald Trump.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says that "so far Russia doesn't figure in any way in these charges which have been made" and that Russia hopes that they do not feed "hysteria."Peskov adds that accusations of Russian meddling in the election remain "unfounded," and "we are observing (the situation) with interest."Peskov also says that connections between former Trump for
  
  Read more

• DNA identifies Louisiana burglar who attacked homeowner

  31-10-2017 05:45
  COVINGTON- A Louisiana prosecutor says DNA on a hat left at a burglarized house identified a Mississippi man who asked for money, brandished a knife, hit the homeowner and went indoors to look for valuables.District Attorney Warren Montgomery said Monday that a St. Tammany Parish jury convicted 34-year-old Henry Pittman of Picayune on charges of burglary, attempted armed robbery and aggravated battery.He says the victim was grilling food outside his Slidell house in March 2015 when Pittman came
  
  Read more

• Weather to provide a great evening for trick-or-treating

  31-10-2017 05:42
  After a dry Halloween, rain will return to the forecast for the rest of the week. Milder temperatures are on the way as well.THE FORECAST:Today and Tonight: Halloween will bring mostly sunny skies and seasonable temperatures. Expect high temperatures in the mid to upper 70s with south winds of 5-10mph. Much better weather is on tap today compared to previous Halloweens. 2016 was the warmest on record, topping out at 88 degrees. In 2015, it was the wettest on record as over 4 inches of rain fell
  
  Read more

Follow @BatonRougeNews_ on Twitter!