Baton Rouge news

• Louisiana Office of State Fire Marshal seeing increased requests for smoke detectors

  05-01-2018 20:57
  BATON ROUGE - The office of State Fire Marshal has received nearly 200 requests for smoke detectors in the wake of several deadly fires.According to a Facebook post, fire marshal deputies received 191 requests for smoke alarms Friday."Through our amazing partnerships we have fire marshal deputies working hand and hand with our local fire departments to provide lifesaving alarms in Louisiana homes," the post said.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Louisiana has spent $1.3M to settle sexual harassment claims

  05-01-2018 19:07
  BATON ROUGE - Louisiana has paid at least $1.3 million to settle more than two dozen sexual harassment claims since mid-2009.  Some of the allegations were made against college professors, judges and a former state lawmaker.  The money was paid through Louisiana's self-insurance program, the Office of Risk Management. Data was provided to The Associated Press and other media outlets in response to public records requests.  Payments range fro
  
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• Crews respond to another house fire Friday evening

  05-01-2018 17:49
  BAKER - Crews are on the scene of another house fire Friday evening.Firefighters were called to the home on Guice Drive around 5 p.m. Friday. No injuries have been reported.Investigators have yet to determine the cause of the fire.Check back for updates.Permalink| Comments
  
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• FBI arrests Baton Rouge man accused of attempting to make child pornography

  05-01-2018 17:28
  BATON ROUGE - Federal authorities have arrested a man Wednesday after he allegedly attempted to make child pornography.The FBI says 45-year-old Michael Esposito was charged with attempted production of child pornography. The East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office assisted in the arrest. Esposito was taken to a federal courthouse before being taken into the custody of the U.S. Marshal Service.Esposito was previously arrested in December 2016 after he alleged
  
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• Elderly man fatally struck by multiple vehicles on US 190 in Lacombe

  05-01-2018 17:01
  LACOMBE - Police say an 80-year-old man on the Northshore was standing in the middle of a roadway when he was fatally struck by several vehicles early Friday morning.The incident was reported around 5:25 a.m. in near the intersection of US 190 and Mill Road.According to Louisiana State Police, Joseph Ordone was standing in the westbound lane of Highway 190 in Lacombe when he was struck by an oncoming vehicle. Police say Ordone was then struck by several addit
  
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• Senator John Kennedy discusses CHIP funding, possible run for governor with WBRZ

  05-01-2018 15:31
  BATON ROUGE - Sen. John Kennedy visited WBRZ Friday, saying he will not vote against CHIP funding, a program for needy children.He believes the fight to renew the popular program is being used as political leverage to also get controversial legislation passed.“CHIP will be reauthorized. There’s no disagreement on that point. This is phantom politics, and it’s disgraceful,” Kennedy said in an earlier interview with CNN. “CHIP is a good deal for t
  
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• Concrete mixer falls from I-10 exit ramp after truck tips over in New Orleans

  05-01-2018 15:12
  NEW ORLEANS - The driver of a cement mixer truck was thrown from his vehicle after it tipped over on an interstate exit ramp Friday afternoon.According to a report from WWL, the truck tipped over on the Airline Highway exit from I-10 West. Photos from the scene show the detached mixer had plummeted to the ground below, leaking cement. Traffic below on the Carrollton Avenue exit was backed up as first responders worked to clear the scene.New Orleans EMS tweeted that the driver was broug
  
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• Louisiana men paying bill arrested on drug charges

  05-01-2018 14:44
  MANDEVILLE - Three Louisiana men trying to pay a utility bill now face drug and gun charges.  Police say the men went to Mandeville City Hall to pay the bill Thursday, but an officer walking by their vehicle smelled marijuana. The officer didn't have to go far: The police station is across a parking lot from City Hall.  Officers investigated and say they found a gun, marijuana, pills, more than $1,900 in cash and scales in the pickup truck. They say they also
  
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• Employee charged with stealing more than $25,000 from Assumption business

  05-01-2018 14:30
  PIERRE PART- A woman was arrested after it was discovered she had allegedly stolen thousands of dollars from her employer.According to the Assumption Parish Sheriff's Office, 36-year-old Danielle Fuller was arrested Wednesday.On Dec. 28, deputies began an investigation into a potential theft at a Pierre Part business. The store manager had contacted authorities to report a suspected theft by an employee which they believed persisted over a period of time.Through an investigation, Fuller was ide
  
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• Armed man threatens repo driver at gunpoint

  05-01-2018 14:15
  NEW ORLEANS- Authorities are looking for a man who threated a repo man at gunpoint Friday morning.WWL-TV reports that the incident happened around 2:41 a.m. Friday in the 5400 block of North Rampart Street.Police says a repo driver was loading a vehicle onto a wrecker when a man, identified as Jeffery Mullens, walked out of his home with a rife. The driver said Mullens pointed the gun at him "demanding that he place the vehicle back like he found it."The New Orleans Police Department said the r
  
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• Woman arrested for incident at area Walmart

  05-01-2018 14:01
  AMITE- Authorities with the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office arrested a woman after an incident at an area store.Shavonda Naules, 35, was arrested on a felony theft warrant pursuant to bank fraud in excess of $6,000 from the Walmart in Amite.Naules was also booked on additional warrants pertaining to issuing worthless checks, simple criminal damage to property as well as failure to appear warrant.Authorities say the investigation involving Naules is still ongoing and additional charges may fo
  
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• Stress management team monitoring local firefighters amid rash of deadly fires

  05-01-2018 13:57
  BATON ROUGE - Officials say they are monitoring the condition of local firefighters after fires resulted in the deaths of nine people in the East Baton Rouge through the first week of 2018.As crews responded to the latest deadly fire Friday morning, which claimed the life of a grandmother and two of her grandchildren, the Baton Rouge Fire Department confirmed that a critical stress management team had been called in to monitor its firefighters. Spokesperson Curt Monte says the team will help th
  
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• Police: Man breaks into evidence undetected, takes back bike

  05-01-2018 13:43
  Provo police say a man broke into the department’s evidence room undetected and took back his bike.Deseret News reported Thursday that the burglary went unnoticed until the person who originally was found with the bike was arrested again and told officers David Elwin Snow was bragging that he “pulled off the crime of the century.”The 37-year-old Snow and his brother had gone to the department on Dec. 18 to retrieve the bike, but since they never reported it stolen
  
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• Barack Obama to be David Letterman's first Netflix guest

  05-01-2018 13:23
  NEW YORK - David Letterman has lined up former president Barack Obama to be his first guest when he returns to a TV talk show later this month.  Obama will join Letterman on Jan. 12 for the launch of the new "My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman" on Netflix.  Other guests slated to be on the show include George Clooney, Malala Yousafzai, Jay-Z, Tina Fey and Howard Stern. In each hour-long episode, Letterman will conduct a long-form convers
  
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• 22-year-old fatally struck by sandbag was reportedly going to propose that day

  05-01-2018 13:05
  TOLEDO, Ohio - A 22-year-old man killed after he was struck by a sandbag hurled from an overpass had been planning to propose to his girlfriend that day, an attorney for his family said, according to The Toledo Blade.Four teenagers were arrested after Toledo, Ohio, police say they threw a construction sandbag from an overpass on Dec. 19, hitting a passenger in a car on the interstate below.The victim, 22-year-old Marquise Byrd, of Warren, Michigan, died three days later.Lillian Diallo, an attor
  
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• LDAF launches new mobile app

  05-01-2018 12:53
  BATON ROUGE- The Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry has launched a new app that will make it easier to verify individuals claiming to be landscaping or other horticulture professionals.According to a release, within in the app users can verify a horticulture license, permit of a business or file a complaint."We wanted to give homeowners a convenient tool to quickly confirm if an individual holds a current horticulture license as well as file a complaint," said LDAF Commissioner Mi
  
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• People to be cited for illegal transportation of feral hogs

  05-01-2018 11:27
  BATON ROUGE- The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission adopted a notice of intent that would allow Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Enforcement Agents to cite people in the state illegally transporting feral hogs.According to the LDWF, the notice of intent reads in part:Feral hogs shall not be transported alive unless done so by a feral swine authorized transporter registered with the Board of Animal Health of the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, who has pro
  
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• Boil water advisory lifted for West Baton Rouge Parish

  05-01-2018 11:16
  BATON ROUGE- West Baton Rouge Parish residents are no long under a boil water advisory.Authorities say water samples have been approved by the Louisiana Department of Health.The boil water advisory was put into place amid reports of low water pressure throughout the parish Wednesday. Permalink| Comments
  
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• Fowl weather friends: Arkansas students print 3-D duck leg

  05-01-2018 11:01
  ARMOREL, Ark. - Eighth-grade science students have used a 3-D printer to create a prosthetic leg for a duck found without a foot shortly after he hatched.  The students in northeastern Arkansas created the leg at Armorel High School's environmental and spatial technology lab for an 8-month-old Indian runner duck named Peg.  Peg's owner, Patsy Smith, told television station KAIT that when she found the bird, a turtle had apparently chewed off his foot. She sai
  
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• Court extends halt in Louisiana executions after judge dies

  05-01-2018 09:35
  BATON ROUGE- A court order blocking Louisiana from carrying out any executions has been extended indefinitely after the death of the federal judge who issued it.  A lawsuit challenging the state's lethal injection protocols has kept death sentences on hold since 2014. U.S. District Judge James Brady, who died Dec. 9 after a brief illness, oversaw the lawsuit and agreed to order the temporary stay of all executions.  Brady's order was due to expire next Monday
  
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• Lawyer: Man thought host directed him to kill mother

  05-01-2018 08:57
    AKRON, Ohio- An Ohio man who reportedly believed "Wheel of Fortune" host Pat Sajak instructed him to kill his elderly mother has been found not guilty by reason of insanity.  The Akron Beacon Journal reports that a judge made the ruling Thursday in the murder case against 48-year-old Derrick Williams.  Defense attorney Brian Pierce says the Williams believed he was getting messages from the TV game show when he heard his hometown mentioned
  
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• Judge orders treatment for Ohio man fixated on belly buttons

  05-01-2018 07:53
  AKRON, Ohio- An Ohio judge has extended the probation of an autistic man who fixates on belly buttons, ordering him to attend an in-patient treatment program for sexual offenders.  Graig Burrier pleaded guilty to sexual battery in 2012 and received probation for attacking a 19-year-old pregnant woman in a stairwell and insisting he had to touch her belly button to pledge a fraternity. Authorities say he has continued asking to touch women's belly buttons during his probation.&
  
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• Man arrested for Christmas Day robbery

  05-01-2018 07:35
  LAFOURCHE PARISH- Authorities arrested a man for his connection to an armed robbery on Christmas.Hakeam Drane, 27, has been arrested and investigators are seeking information on two other unknown suspects.Just before 10 p.m. on Chrismas Day, deputies from the Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office responded to a call of an armed robbery at a residence on Dupre Street in Bayou Blue. At the scene, deputies learned a woman and two juveniles were at the residence when three black males wearing black bea
  
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• Authorities confirm four dead, two injured after fire on Iroquois Street

  05-01-2018 05:43
  BATON ROUGE- Emergency crews are working the scene of a fire on Iroquois Street.The fire occurred in the 3000 block around 4:30 a.m.Authorities have confirmed that four people are dead. Two others, a 19 year old and a 5 year old, are in critical condition.During a press conference yesterday Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome said in 2017 there were seven fire related deaths. Only a few days into 2018 there have been 10 fire related deaths reported.Family & neighbors gather in a c
  
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