Baton Rouge news

• Man who bound dog's muzzle with tape sentenced to 5 years

  25-03-2017 17:15 via wbrz.com
  
  CHARLESTON, S.C. - A South Carolina man who wrapped electrical tape around a dog's muzzle to stop her from barking has been sentenced to five years in prison.Media outlets report William Dodson's sentence Friday represented the state's maximum for animal cruelty. However, it will run simultaneously with a 15-year sentence on a federal gun charge. Dodson's treatment of Caitlyn won't extend his prison time.Judge Markley Dennis told the 43-year-old North Charleston man, "I wish I could give you mor
  
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• Former Baton Rouge cop awarded National Small Business Person of the Year

  30-04-2024 14:58 via wbrz.com
  
  WASHINGTON, D.C. — A former Baton Rouge Police officer was honored Tuesday as National Small Business Person of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration.Iam Tucker, 41, is the president and CEO of New Orleans civil engineering firm Integrated Logistical Support. Tucker has been in charge of the firm that specializes in sewer and drainage design for more than 15 years. Her father founded the company 30 years ago, The Advocate reports.Since taking over, Tucker, who served as a
  
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• Gonzales industrial complex receives $2.3 million in federal funds for clean energy business infrastructure

  30-04-2024 14:47 via wbrz.com
  
  GONZALES — The U.S. Department of Commerce announced Tuesday that it will invest $2.3 million into infrastructure to benefit clean energy business growth in Gonzales.The Economic Development Administration awarded the Ascension Parish government the grant for roadway improvements at the RiverPlex MegaPark, a 17,000 acre complex on the Mississippi River.The grant, which will be matched by $587,000 in local funds, is expected to create more than 450 jobs and generate an estimated $9.5 b
  
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• 'Let's run it back.' Haleigh Bryant to stay at LSU for year 5 of gymnastics

  30-04-2024 14:24 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE - It's been five to seven business days...LSU gymnastics national champion Haleigh Bryant announced she would be staying with the Tigers for a fifth year of competing on the mat. let’s run it back?? https://t.co/WXGjfTGu2E— Haleigh Bryant (@haleighbryant3) April 30, 2024"First, I want to thank my family for always supporting me," Bryant said in a video Tuesday, "and sacrificing so much to make sure I live out my dreams. My teammates, thank you for being
  
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• Tickfaw man convicted following 'one of the largest fentanyl seizures in Livingston Parish history'

  30-04-2024 13:25 via wbrz.com
  
  LIVINGSTON — A Tickfaw man was convicted of trafficking more than two pounds of fentanyl and other drugs in one of the largest drug seizures in Livingston Parish history.Devonte Skinner, 32, was found guilty on charges of possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl, methamphetamine and marijuana after only 30 minutes of jury deliberation.Skinner was under investigation by Livingston Parish Sheriff's deputies for several months before he was arrested in April 2023. After connecti
  
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• Slidell high school teacher arrested for alleged sexual misconduct with students

  30-04-2024 13:16 via wbrz.com
  
  SLIDELL - A high school teacher was arrested after allegedly having inappropriate relationships with and buying alcohol for her students. The Slidell Police Department arrested Alexa Wingerter, 35, Tuesday morning after an investigation that began in early March. Several search warrants found that Wingerter was exchanging inappropriate text messages with "at least one" 18-year-old student who she taught. The search warrants also found that Wingerter was allegedly buying alcoho
  
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• Louisiana Supreme Court clears Broadmoor teacher who was both acquitted and convicted at trial

  30-04-2024 12:56 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE — The Louisiana Supreme Court on Tuesday cleared a former Broadmoor Elementary School teacher whose conviction on an aggravated assault charge was initially pronounced as an acquittal because of a disconnect between the trial judge and the jury hearing the case.Bridgette Digerolamo, 42, was fired by the East Baton Rouge Parish School District after being accused of brandishing a weapon at a car traveling on a flooded street in her Shenandoah neighborhood in 2020. Prosecuto
  
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• 2une In Previews: Baton Rouge Entrepreneurship Week is 'Stayin' Alive' in May

  30-04-2024 12:56 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE — Baton Rouge Entrepreneurship Week is once again on the horizon and this year, its about helping business not only survive, but thrive.The event, held May 7 through 9 with a theme of "Stayin' Alive," is organized by Nexus Louisiana to give old and new entrepreneurs the tools and the networks they need to best succeed in Baton Rouge and beyond.One of the main things Nexus marketing director Na'Tisha Natt wants people to take away from the event is an opportunity to advance
  
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• Car crashed into transformer, leaving EBR Prison briefly without power Monday night

  30-04-2024 12:00 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE - The East Baton Rouge Parish Prison was without power for half an hour Monday night after a car crashed into a nearby transformer. The parish sheriff's office said the crash left the area around the prison without power Monday night. According to the prison warden, while the facility was without power, there were some scuffles between inmates resulting in minor injuries. Deputies also said that the power surge from the transformer being damaged affected the genera
  
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• Officials investigating reported shooting early Tuesday morning

  30-04-2024 05:10 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE - Officials are investigating after a reported shooting early Tuesday morning left one person injured. The Baton Rouge Police Department said the shooting happened on North 15th Street, but could not provide immediate further information. This is a developing story. Permalink| Comments
  
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• 19-year-old arrested for carnal knowledge of a juvenile

  29-04-2024 21:49 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE - A man was arrested Monday for sex crimes involving a juvenile. The Baton Rouge Police Department said 19-year-old Joseph Robin was arrested for computer-aided solicitation of a minor and carnal knowledge of a juvenile. Arrest documents said he sent lewd videos to a 16-year-old girl and met up with her for oral sex. Permalink| Comments
  
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• Houma apartment set ablaze after flower pot used as ash tray catches fire

  29-04-2024 16:55 via wbrz.com
  
  HOUMA — The outside of a Houma apartment building was set ablaze Sunday night when a flower pot caught fire.Firefighters from the Bayou Cane Fire Protection District responded to the fire at the Stones Throw Drive complex around 9:30 p.m. According to security footage, the fire was caused when the flower pot, which was being used as an ash tray, caught fire.Firefighters quickly extinguished the fire at the two-story building. The damage was confined to the exterior of the building, wi
  
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• Blight fight over Port Allen property being repaired by parish councilman

  29-04-2024 16:34 via wbrz.com
  
  PORT ALLEN - A West Baton Rouge Parish Councilman has been given 120 days to fix up his property or it'll be torn down. People living near that property say the structure can't be saved and it should be demolished.Councilman Kenneth Gordon appeared before the Port Allen Council earlier this month regarding a property owned by a family member on 13th Street. At the meeting, the council condemned the structure and said the property owner has 120 days to make improvements or it will be demolished.
  
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• Nonprofit organization 'Louisiana Families for Vaccines' voice concerns over proposed bills

  29-04-2024 15:22 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE - At least eight bills in this state legislative session are vaccine-related. One group, "Louisiana Families for Vaccines," is hoping most of the bills won't pass during an event held inside the Capitol Monday.The group is fighting against six of the proposed bills. If passed, some of the bills would prohibit the requirement of vaccines in schools, ban Covid-19 vaccine requirements and require blood donors to disclose their vaccination status. As written, these bills are spreading m
  
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• Nonprofit group Louisiana Families for Vaccines voice concerns over proposed bills

  29-04-2024 15:22 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE - A group fighting against anti-vaccination legislation protested at the Capitol on Monday. The nonprofit group Louisiana Families for Vaccines is hoping six of the 13 proposed bills will not become law. Group leaders said some of the bills would prohibit the requirement of vaccines in schools, ban COVID-19 vaccine requirements and require blood donors to disclose their vaccination status. Protest organizers said these bills are spreading mistruths."Ultimately, disinformati
  
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• Mother of four stabbed to death in Hammond

  29-04-2024 14:54 via wbrz.com
  
  HAMMOND - A mother of four died after she was found with multiple stab wounds in the backseat of a car in Hammond on Saturday afternoon. Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff Daniel Edwards said 31-year-old Carol Allen of New Orleans found at 2:30 p.m. along West Pleasant Ridge Road in Hammond. She was taken to a hospital where she died. The sheriff's office is asking the public for help with information about the crime. Anyone with information can call (985) 902-2018. Permalink|
  
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• Report: Three officers dead, five wounded after shooting in Charlotte, North Carolina

  29-04-2024 14:14 via wbrz.com
  
  CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Three law enforcement officers serving a warrant for a felon wanted for possessing a firearm were killed and five other officers were wounded Monday in a shootout at a Charlotte, North Carolina, home, police said.The officers were first shot at as they approached the suburban home, and then they fired at a suspect in the front yard, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Johnny Jennings said. He said after that man fell, more shots were fired at them from inside the
  
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• Report: Multiple law enforcement officers struck by gunfire in Charlotte, North Carolina

  29-04-2024 14:14 via wbrz.com
  
  CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Numerous law enforcement officers have been struck by gunfire Monday in a neighborhood in Charlotte, North Carolina, police said.Officers from the U.S. Marshals Task Force were conducting an investigation in a suburban neighborhood when they were fired upon, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.Multiple victims were transported to hospitals and for a while gunfire continued at the scene. A SWAT team was on the scene i
  
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• Report: Multiple law enforcement officers shot in Charlotte, North Carolina

  29-04-2024 14:14 via wbrz.com
  
  CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Numerous law enforcement officers have been struck by gunfire Monday in a neighborhood in Charlotte, North Carolina, police said.Officers from the U.S. Marshals Task Force were conducting an investigation in a suburban neighborhood when they were fired upon, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.Multiple victims were transported to hospitals and for a while gunfire continued at the scene. A SWAT team was on the scene i
  
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• 4 law officers killed, 4 wounded in shootout in North Carolina

  29-04-2024 14:14 via wbrz.com
  
  CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Four police officers serving a warrant for a felon wanted for possessing a firearm were killed and four other officers were wounded in a shootout Monday at a North Carolina home, police said.Some of the officers who rushed to the Charlotte neighborhood to rescue the first wave of downed officers were wounded as a second shooter began firing on them after they killed the wanted man, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Johnny Jennings said.“Today we lost
  
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• Investigative journalist sues Louisiana Department of Public Safety, alleges failure to provide public records

  29-04-2024 14:05 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE — An investigative reporter out of New Orleans sued the Louisiana Department of Public Safety on Monday, alleging it had failed to respond to public records requests.Nick Chrastil, a journalist with nonprofit news outlet The Lens, sued after the agency would not disclose records associated with its hiring of a private law firm, WilmerHale, to provide legal services to the state in connection with consent decrees and the federal government, a statement from the Tulane Unive
  
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• Donaldsonville begins $4.5 million project updating water meters

  29-04-2024 14:04 via wbrz.com
  
  DONALDSONVILLE — Ascension Parish began replacing more than 2,000 water meters across Donaldsonville Monday to ensure more accurate water readings. The Ascension Parish Water Meter Replacement Project will remove and replace existing manually-read water meters with remotely-read water meters, with work expected to be complete by the spring of 2025.The $4.5 million construction contract for remotely read water meters with data collector units will decrease manpower necessary f
  
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• Power line falls into Amarillo Street home, starting fire; all reported safe

  29-04-2024 13:48 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE — Firefighters say a power line fell into the side of a house on Amarillo Street late Monday morning and started a fire. Two people were present at the home but were able to leave the building safely. Fire crews weren't able to extinguish the blaze until an Entergy crew arrived and shut off power to the line.According to the Baton Rouge Fire Department, a tree fell into the power line, then the line fell against the home's siding. The power line was still arcing w
  
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• Utah to hold NBA Youngboy on drug charges into next month; Louisiana still wants him back

  29-04-2024 13:47 via wbrz.com
  
  LOGAN, Utah — Baton Rouge rapper NBA Youngboy will remain behind bars in Utah pending a preliminary hearing next month on accusations that he posed as a doctor and tried to dupe various pharmacies into selling him a codeine-laden cough suppressant subject to abuse.At a brief hearing Monday, a judge set a hearing for May 9. A Cache County official told WBRZ that the rapper, whose real name is Kenneth Gaulden, will remain behind bars at least until that hearing. The rapper's lawyers res
  
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• Road crews plan intermittent closures at Perkins Road on-ramp over next 2 weeks

  29-04-2024 13:11 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE — State road crews plan to close the Perkins Road on-ramp to Interstate 10 several times over the next couple of weeks so workers can address drainage issues.The work will be done, weather permitting, through Sunday, May 12, according to the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development. Closures will occur daily between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m., but only for 15 to 30 minutes at a time. Traffic will be detoured to the on-ramp at South Acadian Thruway.Permalink|
  
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• AG sues Biden administration over new Title IX expansion that broadens protections to transgender students

  29-04-2024 13:07 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE — State Attorney General Liz Murrill announced Monday that her office has sued the federal government over their newest Title IX ruling.Murrill, who was joined by Gov. Jeff Landry and Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley at a press conference responding to the Title IX changes, said her office is against the expansion of Title IX to broaden sex-based discrimination and harassment to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.The lawsuit, Lo
  
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• Gonzales mayor leaves office after 16 years for new role at Louisiana Municipal Association

  29-04-2024 12:32 via wbrz.com
  
  GONZALES — Today is Gonzales Mayor Barry Arceneaux's last day in office before he transitions to a new role as the executive director of the Louisiana Municipal Association.As of Tuesday, Arceneaux's role as mayor will be assumed by Kirk Boudreaux, the Mayor Pro Tempore, until Gonzales City Council appoints an interim mayor at a meeting in May. Since Arceneaux's term was set to end this year, the interim mayor will serve until the election in November.“It’s been th
  
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• Officials to discuss Supreme Court ruling, next steps for future city of St. George

  29-04-2024 12:17 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE - Officials will be hosting a press conference Monday morning to discuss next steps for the future of the city of St. George. The City of St. George sent out a statement about the Louisiana Supreme Court's ruling to incorporate the city Sunday.According to the statement, The St. George Transition District will hold a press conference to discuss the ruling, the next steps, and answer questions at the St. George Fire Department Headquarters."The Louisiana Supreme Court ruling
  
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• Officials hosting press conference to discuss Supreme Court ruling, next steps for future city of St. George

  29-04-2024 12:17 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE - Officials will be hosting a press conference Monday morning to discuss next steps for the future of the city of St. George. You can watch the livestream on our YouTube at 10:30 a.m. here. The City of St. George sent out a statement about the Louisiana Supreme Court's ruling to incorporate the city Sunday.According to the statement, The St. George Transition District will hold a press conference to discuss the ruling, the next steps, and answer questions at the St
  
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• 'Let's get to work': Officials discuss Supreme Court ruling, next steps for future city of St. George

  29-04-2024 12:17 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE - Officials held a press conference Monday morning to discuss how they would be going forward for the future of the city of St. George. After the decision to allow the city to annex came down from the Louisiana Supreme Court Friday, the main question from everyone has been "what's next?"Officials answered that question and fielded others during the conference Monday. As for what's next, officials said that it was time to go to work. A St. George Transition
  
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