Baton Rouge news

• Texas men charged with stealing 650 guns in Springfield, Missouri

  26-01-2018 21:16
  SPRINGFIELD, Mo.  - Five Texas men are charged with stealing about 650 handguns and shotguns from a UPS lot in Missouri.
   Federal prosecutors say the men were each indicted on two federal guns charges Wednesday. They're being held in Texas awaiting extradition to Missouri.
   An affidavit from the case alleges the guns were to be delivered to Bass Pro Shops when they were stolen in October. Investigators say the thieves moved trailers around the UPS lot in Springfield,
  
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• SUV runs into Triple S Food Mart on North Foster Drive

  26-01-2018 20:38
  BATON ROUGE - A vehicle caused minor damage to the Triple S Food Mart when it hit the front of the store and left the scene, police said.The incident happened around 8:15 p.m. Friday, according to the Baton Rouge Police Department.Officials said they believe a gold Lexus SUV unintentionally hit the front of the store. The owner of the store told police the driver fled the scene. The front of the vehicle was damaged. The store suffered minor damage.No injuries were reported.Before noon Friday, a
  
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• Jury finds defendant guilty in McKnight case

  26-01-2018 20:20
  NEW ORLEANS - A jury in suburban New Orleans has found Ronald Gasser guilty of manslaughter in the 2016 shooting death of former NFL running back Joe McKnight.
   Manslaughter carries a maximum sentence of 40 years.
   Gasser shot McKnight after what prosecutors said was a road rage incident that included aggressive driving along a 5 mile route.
   Prosecutors told jurors Friday the evidence shows Gasser angrily pursued McKnight and shot him from inside his own car.
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• Make-up snow days dip into Mardi Gras break in Pointe Coupee Parish

  26-01-2018 19:02
  NEW ROADS - We're barely a month in, but this winter is already a memorable one. Two snow storms and multiple road closures canceled school in several districts across the area.Now, schools are having to decide when they're going to make up those days. For some, the decision is putting part of Mardi Gras break in jeopardy.The Pointe Coupee Parish School District needs to make up 3 days. One will be on May 22 and 23, which were going to be half days originally. The other two, will be taken away
  
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• Some employees may see additional funds added to paychecks

  26-01-2018 18:33
  BATON ROUGE - Many business owners are surprised and excited about benefits that may come out of a new payroll law.Mark Verinder operates Cowboy Chicken on Siegen Lane. He says his 27 employees are all about to get a raise."It's going to put more cash in my employees' pockets, which is going to increase the morale around here, and they are going to be really happy about that."According to employees at Gauthreau Accounting and Payroll say, for someone who ears $1,000 every two weeks, they could
  
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• Animal activists protest judge's refusal to sign warrant for juvenile abuser

  26-01-2018 18:00
  BATON ROUGE - Animal activists protested Friday in front of the East Baton Rouge Juvenile Court facility against a judge who did not sign a warrant for the arrest of a suspected teenage animal abuser.Juvenile court Judge Pamela Johnson refused to sign the arrest warrant.Laura Russo and other protesters spent part of the afternoon holding up images of the teen accused of animal cruelty, wanting to see repercussions for his actions.The video, that has grown viral, shows a teenager swinging two do
  
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• I-10 W reopened after 18-wheeler dangles from railing in Baton Rouge

  26-01-2018 17:04
  BATON ROUGE – A semi dangled over the side of the interstate at the I-10 overpass near Acadian, bringing traffic to a near halt Friday evening.The cab of the truck appeared to have driven over the railing on I-10 West.After an hours long closure, and brief reopenings of various lanes, I-10 West fully reopened just before 10:30 p.m., according to the DOTD.Officers said a Ford F-350 was traveling in the center lane of I-10 West when a tire blew out and struck the 18-wheeler in the insid
  
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• Another car slams into building today, this time destroying front of home

  26-01-2018 16:10
  BATON ROUGE - For the second time in a single day, a car careened off the road and into a structure.Friday afternoon, a car slammed into a home on 79th Street, leaving a large hole across the front.  The car was on its side, appearing to have smashed into the home and bounced off of it.Earlier in the day, a stolen car involved in a police chase crashed into a church.  Click HERE for more.WBRZ has a news crew on the scene.  Check back for updates.*************
  
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• President Trump announces intent to appoint LSU alumna as federal CIO

  26-01-2018 15:59
  BATON ROUGE- President Trump has announced his intent to appoint LSU alumna Suzette Kuhlow Kent as federal CIO.Kent, who graduated from LSU in May 1990 with a bachelor's degree in journalism, will be administrator of the Office of Electronic Government and the Office of Management and Budget."According to the White House's nomination announcement, Kent is an industry leader of large-scale business transformation using technology for the world's most complex o
  
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• WATCH: Dramatic video captures home-invasion suspect disguised as a mailman

  26-01-2018 15:51
  PHILADELPHIA- Surveillance video captured the dramatic moment a home-invasion suspect disguised as a mailman forced a man into his home.According to the Philadelphia Police Department, an armed suspect wearing a U.S. Postal Service uniform approached a man who was putting an infant into a car around 3 p.m. Wednesday.Footage shows the suspect suddenly pulling out a gun and forcing the victim into his home.Police say $5,000, an iPhone 7, and the victim's house and car k
  
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• Law enforcement raids close several New Orleans strip clubs

  26-01-2018 14:26
  NEW ORLEANS- Four New Orleans strip clubs have closed following liquor license suspensions.NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune reports these Thursday closures follow four weekend shutdowns.Ernest Legier with Louisiana Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control says the clubs were served with emergency liquor license suspensions, but wouldn't comment on why the clubs were cited. It's unclear how long the clubs will remain closed. Two of the ones raided over the weekend have since reopened.Operating clubs hav
  
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• Two drug busts made in Iberville Parish, three in custody

  26-01-2018 13:56
  IBERVILLE PARISH- Deputies seized six pounds of marijuana in two cases Thursday and Friday, the sheriff's office said.On Thursday, Iberville narcotics searched a home on Carville and made two arrests. On Friday in St. Gabriel, another man was arrested in a traffic stop.The Carville search yielded cocaine, methamphetamine, oxycodone, marijuana and a gun. Terrance Cushenberry, 25, and LaQuinton Johnson, 32, were arrested on drug and firearm charges.On Friday, deputies seized fiv
  
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• Tangipahoa Parish announces school make-up days after freeze closures

  26-01-2018 13:53
  TANGIPAHOA PARISH- The school district has announced calendar days to be made up during recent weather-related closures.Mark Kolwe, Superintendent announced: "Due to inclement weather conditions, all of our schools have missed at least 4½ days since school started last August, and the Loranger and Kentwood schools have missed 5½ days. Our school calendar had more than 2½ days built in for emergency situations. In order to satisfy the number of required
  
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• West Feliciana students to make up days lost after last week's freeze

  26-01-2018 13:36
  WEST FELICIANA PARISH- Due to days missed during the recent freeze, students in West Feliciana Parish will have two full days on February 12 and March 7.The school board made the announcement Friday, noting that Mar. 7 was originally a staff development day and Feb. 12 is Lundi Gras.Many schools closed last week due to freezing temperatures.Permalink| Comments
  
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• The first lane closures of the BR I-10 expansion start next week (kind of)

  26-01-2018 13:03
  BATON ROUGE – The first lane closures related to expansion work on I-10 through Baton Rouge will begin in a few days.The closures are brief, overnight and not necessarily for actual demolition or dirt work but proof some sort of traffic relief might be on the horizon. Construction is still more than a year away.One lane will be closed in each direction from the I-10/12 split to Perkins Road from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of next week. The closures are for surveyin
  
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• WATCH: Police unit gets an unexpected car wash by goats

  26-01-2018 12:51
  WEBSTER, NEW YORK- An officer with the Webster Police Department got his car washed by goats on Thursday.The officer was responding to a call of a goat in a roadway. At the scene, the officer located the goat along with seven others.According to a post on Facebook, the goats had escaped their enclosure.The goats quickly surrounded the police car and began to licking the salt off of the police unit. Eventually, the goats were rounded up and directed back to their enclosure.Check out the video to
  
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• Road crew uncovers tunnel near Mexico border in Texas

  26-01-2018 12:43
  EL PASO, Texas (AP) — The U.S. Border Patrol says a road construction crew has uncovered an abandoned tunnel in Texas, just north of the border with Mexico.Agent Oscar Cervantes says the tunnel was discovered Thursday near downtown El Paso.The Border Patrol said in a statement that the Texas Department of Transportation reached out after a cave-in during construction of a road. The mishap led to the discovery of the tunnel that originates north of the international b
  
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• UPDATE: 15-year-old female driver arrested after car crashed into church on Gus Young Avenue

  26-01-2018 12:39
  UPDATE: Officials say the driver of the vehicle, a 15-year-old female, has been arrested. A court summons has been issued for two adults that were in the vehicle at the time of the crash for contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile.BATON ROUGE- Three people are in custody after a police chase ended when a car crashed into a church Friday morning.Sources say the pursuit started at Claycut and Foster, and ended at North 37th Street and Gus Young Avenue.      &n
  
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• Man injured after near 60-foot fall from bucket truck Friday morning

  26-01-2018 12:13
  PRIDE – A parish worker fell out of a bucket truck Friday.The man, who was not identified, was cutting limbs along a roadway in rural East Baton Rouge when he fell between fifty and sixty feet, the Pride Fire Department said. When emergency crews arrived, the man was on the roof of the truck, waiting for help. He'd suffered moderate injuries, authorities said.Firefighters, sheriff's deputies and other DPW workers at the scene helped bring the man down using a spine board and rescue ro
  
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• EBRSO warns public about jury duty phone scam

  26-01-2018 11:46
  BATON ROUGE- If you get a call from someone claiming to be a law enforcement officer who wants you to pay a fine for missing jury duty, don't do it.The East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office is working two separate cases in which a caller posed as a deputy or police officer telling people they missed federal jury duty. The caller said victims must pay a fine to avoid being arrested, according to a news release.The caller told the victims to buy a Green Dot debit card and drive to Sheriff's Office he
  
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• Closing arguments set in road rage killing of ex-NFL player

  26-01-2018 11:22
  GRETNA- Closing arguments are expected outside New Orleans in the road rage killing of a former NFL player.  Ronald Gasser is charged with murder for shooting Joe McKnight. His lawyers say he feared for his life when he pulled the trigger.  But prosecutors say witnesses and forensic evidence call into question Gasser's claim that McKnight was lunging at him before he opened fire.  The killing in the suburb of Gretna stoked racial tensions. G
  
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• Closing arguments done in trial of ex-NFL player's killer

  26-01-2018 11:22
  GRETNA- Jurors will soon be deciding the fate of the man who killed former NFL running back Joe McKnight.  Closing arguments were wrapped up Friday morning in the second-degree murder trial of Ronald Gasser. Jurors were awaiting their final instructions from the judge. They were expected to begin deliberations in the afternoon.  Gasser shot McKnight after what prosecutors said was a road rage incident that included aggressive driving along a five mile route.&
  
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• Loved ones mourn Baton Rouge woman found shot to death on South Boulevard

  26-01-2018 11:17
  BATON ROUGE - A 40-year-old Baton Rouge woman has died after she was found shot multiple times in a vehicle Friday night.The victim, Alfreda Mills, was found shot around 10 p.m. in the 800 block of South Boulevard near Iberville Street. She was located inside of a Kia vehicle, according to Baton Rouge police.Leslie Washington, Mills' long-time boyfriend, is devastated."What am I going to do with myself? What am I going to do with my life now? I'm hurt by this
  
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• United Blood Services offering football fans a special treat for donating

  26-01-2018 09:53
  BATON ROUGE- The United Blood Services will offer football fans a special treat if the donate soon.According to a release, severe cold temperatures resulted in a loss of over 1,000 donations due to donor center closures and mobile drive cancellations. To help bring in donors, United Blood Services will be offering donors a special treat during this football season.From Jan. 29 through Feb. 4, all donors at United Blood Services on One Calais Ave. will receive a T-shirt, football koozie, and piz
  
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• Man sentenced for receiving child pornography

  26-01-2018 09:34
  LAFAYETTE- A Louisiana man has been sentenced for enticing a juvenile into sending images of child pornography online.  The U.S. Attorney's Office said in a Thursday news release that 29-year-old Steven Anthony Lemoine was sentenced to 168 months in prison on one count of receiving child pornography.  He was also sentenced to 15 years of supervised release and must register as a sex offender.  According to a guilty plea, Lemoine posed as a f
  
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• Suspects in SUV break down burglary arrested

  26-01-2018 08:57
  WALKER- Deputies have arrested two brothers for breaking into a home earlier this month.Derrick Jones, 18, and Donald Jones, 26, are charged with simple burglary and illegal possession of stolen things.On Jan. 3, the brothers broke into a home off Meadow Crossing Drive. Authorities say the two stole TVs, computers and jewelry and stuffed them into a black Yukon they had driven to the home. As the two tried to make their escape, the getaway car failed to start.According to deputies, the thieves
  
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• Brothers arrested after Walker home burglary

  26-01-2018 08:57
  WALKER- Deputies have arrested two brothers for breaking into a home earlier this month.Derrick Jones, 18, and Donald Jones, 26, are charged with simple burglary and illegal possession of stolen things.On Jan. 3, the brothers broke into a home off Meadow Crossing Drive. Authorities say the two stole TVs, computers and jewelry and stuffed them into a black Yukon they had driven to the home. As the two tried to make their escape, the getaway car failed to start, which left them stranded at the cr
  
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• More than 40 tons of Mardi Gras beads down the drains in New Orleans

  26-01-2018 08:31
    NEW ORLEANS- Let the good times roll - just not into New Orleans' storm drains.  That's the plea from city officials.  Local news outlets report cleaning crews have sucked out more than 46 tons of Mardi Gras beads from catch basins on along a five-block stretch of St. Charles Avenue downtown, a popular parade route.  Department of Public Works Interim Director Dani Galloway said Thursday that the four-month emergency prog
  
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• Witnesses say woman who fell off cruise ship was fighting with husband before fall

  26-01-2018 08:13
  NEW ORLEANS- The Carnival Triumph returned to New Orleans early Thursday and headed back out later that afternoon, after a Lafayette-area woman fell into the water, WWL-TV reports.The woman, 44-year-old Juwanna Brooks, was identified by her mother. KLFY reports that Brooks was on the cruise with her husband before she fell overboard.On Monday, the cruise line said Brooks “was seen going overboard” from the Carnival Triumph into the Gulf of Mexico Sunday. Witnesses said the s
  
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• Cruise ship returns to New Orleans after woman falls overboard

  26-01-2018 08:13
  NEW ORLEANS- The Carnival Triumph returned to New Orleans early Thursday and headed back out later that afternoon, after a Lafayette-area woman fell into the water, WWL-TV reports.The woman, 44-year-old Juwanna Brooks, was identified by her mother. KLFY reports that Brooks was on the cruise with her husband before she fell overboard.On Monday, the cruise line said Brooks “was seen going overboard” from the Carnival Triumph into the Gulf of Mexico Sunday. Witnesses said the s
  
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• Man pleads guilty in pistol-whipping case

  26-01-2018 07:58
  SHREVEPORT- A 53-year-old Louisiana man has pleaded guilty to pistol-whipping his ex-girlfriend, then threatening to shoot their 12-year-old daughter.  Caddo Parish district attorney's spokesman John Andrew Prime said in a news release Thursday that Johnny Charles Harris Sr. had been scheduled for trial Monday, but pleaded guilty to both charges against him as jury selection was about to begin.  State District Judge John D. Mosely Sr. sentenced Harris to seve
  
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• Ascension School Board asks for community input on new colors, mascots for schools

  26-01-2018 06:48
  ASCENSION - On Tuesday, the Ascension Parish School Board's Strategic Planning Committee selected names for the new Bluff Middle School and Bullion Primary School. Now they're asking for community input on school mascots and colors.  The Bluff Middle School mascot choices are the Bears, Broncos or Buccaneers and color choices are Orange/Brown, Red/Orange or Teal/Black/White. Mascot choices for Bullion Primary School are the (Bear) Cubs, Broncos or Buccaneers. Color ch
  
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• LA 42 widening lane closure postponed to February

  26-01-2018 06:33
  BATON ROUGE- The lane closure for the widening of LA 42 has been postponed.According to a release from the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development the road widening was set for Jan 27., but has been moved to Feb. 3.The widening project consists of grading, drainage structures, subgrade treatment, drilled shaft foundations, and more.DOTD advises drivers that there will be lane closures at the intersection of LA 42 and US 61. Work in the area will consist of installing sub
  
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• Pedestrian struck in Tigerland

  26-01-2018 05:45
  BATON ROUGE- Emergency crews responded to a pedestrian hit by a car in Tigerland early Friday morning.The incident happened just after midnight on Nicholson Drive and Jennifer Jean Drive. There were only minor injuries reported and the victim refused medical attention.At this time, no charges are being filed against the driver.Permalink| Comments
  
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