WBRZ - Baton Rouge

Tagged News

• Ex-BP engineer claims feds withheld evidence

  May 14, 2013 4:35 PM

  NEW ORLEANS - A former BP engineer charged with deleting text messages about the company's response to its 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico claims that Justice Department prosecutors withheld evidence and should be sanctioned. U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval Jr. didn't immediately rule Tuesday on whether sanctions... more »

• USADA chief: Armstrong has evidence against UCI

  April 25, 2013 10:45 AM

  PARIS - The head of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency wants Lance Armstrong to come forward with information detailing the alleged complicity of cycling's governing body in his doping. Travis Tygart appeared at a Senate hearing in Paris on Thursday to discuss ways to improve the fight against doping. USADA'S scathing... more »

• No evidence of broader plot tied to Boston

  April 16, 2013 2:35 PM

  WASHINGTON- Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says there is no evidence that the bombings at the Boston Marathon are part of a wider plot. Napolitano says DHS will maintain what she called "enhanced security measures at transportation hubs" as a precaution. Two people briefed on the investigation say that a... more »

• Investigators searching for clues in recovered car

  January 23, 2013 12:47 PM

  BATON ROUGE - Police said they are still investigating a car they believe was used in a pharmacy robbery which turned into a hostage standoff and deadly police shooting this week. Col. Richey Johnson said authorities sent the car believed to have been the getaway vehicle in Monday night's... more »

• Kentwood Police Chief arrested in missing evidence investigation

  January 16, 2013 2:42 PM

  Tangipahoa Parish- The Chief of Police in Kentwood is in trouble with the law himself. Chief Gregory Newton turned himself in to LSP Detectives, following an investigation into missing evidence. The investigation started in December when State Police received a citizen complaint saying $2000 had been misappropriated by... more »

• Man sues N.O. prosecutors over withheld evidence

  January 10, 2013 2:27 PM

  NEW ORLEANS - A man whose convictions on charges he killed five people at a 1995 party were overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court last year is suing the New Orleans district attorney's office. The federal lawsuit filed Wednesday on Juan Smith's behalf accuses prosecutors of concealing evidence from defense... more »

• Courthouse changes announced after cocaine thefts

  December 17, 2012 11:58 AM

  BATON ROUGE - Authorities announced several changes today that will be coming to the district court in Baton Rouge, after a major security breach put 48 pounds of cocaine back on the street. Today federal and state investigators said they added a two-key system to the evidence vaults after... more »

• Lee request for lab exam of evidence rejected

  November 16, 2012 9:30 AM

  BATON ROUGE - The judge presiding over condemned serial killer Derrick Todd Lee's latest appeal has refused to have evidence presented at Lee's 2004 capital murder trial sent to a private lab for examination. State District Judge Richard Anderson denied the defense motion Thursday after prosecutor Dana Cummings objected.... more »

• Court will decide on collection of DNA samples

  November 9, 2012 2:31 PM

  WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court says it will decide whether police may collect DNA samples from people under arrest in a case that pits privacy concerns against public safety interests. The justices say in an order Friday that they will review a Maryland court decision that effectively barred the collection... more »

• Investigators: Woman set herself on fire

  October 23, 2012 5:07 PM

  SHREVEPORT - Authorities said today that their investigation revealed a woman who claimed she'd been set on fire by three men in Franklin Parish had actually set herself on fire. Sharmeka Moffitt, 20, was in critical condition today after the incident this past weekend. Police said she'd told then... more »

• Zimmerman wants better management of evidence

  October 15, 2012 12:00 PM

  ORLANDO, Fla. - Attorneys for former neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman say prosecutors are dragging their feet on turning over some evidence and not turning over other information in a timely manner. On Monday Zimmerman's attorney's also said prosecutors are providing some discovery in a format that's useless for defense... more »

• Other crimes to be introduced at Michael Louding's trial Play Video

  October 9, 2012 4:01 PM

  BATON ROUGE- Other crimes allegedly committed by accused murderer Michael Louding will be introduced at his trial in March. State District Judge Trudy White made the ruling today, allowing the crimes to be introduced at trial. "We could use the other crimes, also called 4B evidence, in the... more »

• Police in north Fla. rescue puppy buried alive

  September 28, 2012 10:22 AM

  WILLISTON, Fla. - Police officers found a puppy buried alive near a pit in north Florida. Williston Police Chief Dennis Strow told The Gainesville Sun that officers were disposing of evidence per a court order Thursday when they heard whimpering sounds. Once they found the source of the sound, they... more »

• Autopsy: Evidence of marijuana in Martin's blood

  May 17, 2012 4:58 PM

  ORLANDO, Fla. - Trayvon Martin's autopsy shows evidence of marijuana in his urine and blood. The autopsy was among a large amount of evidence released by prosecutors on Thursday as part of the second-degree murder case against the neighborhood watch volunteer who shot him in February. Other documents include a... more »

• New information released in Mari Ann Fowler's disappearance

  April 26, 2012 12:35 PM

  WEST BATON ROUGE PARISH - New details are emerging surrounding one of the area's most infamous abductions. To date, it remains unsolved and stumped even the most seasoned investigators. Mari Ann Fowler was last seen on December 24, 2002 in Port Allen after leaving a fast food restaurant. Search teams... more »

• Lawyers: Evidence withheld in Angola 5 trial

  April 9, 2012 8:35 AM

  ST. FRANCISVILLE - Attorneys appealing the conviction and death sentence of Angola 5 defendant David Brown are seeking a new trial, saying prosecutors withheld evidence. The judge overseeing the Angola 5 cases postponed the trial of the next defendant last week until Sept. 24 without disclosing the reason. Brown was... more »

• BRPD: Hernandez still "potential suspect" in attack

  December 14, 2011 4:22 PM

  BATON ROUGE - Police said today that a man arrested for rape in Baton Rouge had not been ruled out from a second attack, as they had previously reported. Sgt. Don Kelly said "inaccurate information" was released that 18-year-old Allan Hernandez, who was arrested in suspicion of a rape... more »

• Deputy denied a chance to look at DNA evidence

  October 13, 2011 2:43 PM

  HOUMA, La. - A former Terrebonne Parish Sheriff's deputy's request to see DNA evidence from the investigation that led to his conviction on a sex charge has been rejected by a state district judge. Fifty-one-year-old Glenn Brunet was convicted in 2007 of carnal knowledge of a juvenile. The former... more »

• Committee developing possible crime tax plan meets for first time

  August 22, 2011 10:56 PM

  BATON ROUGE- The committee tasked with tailoring a crime-focused tax plan laid out their needs list on Monday. It was the first time the group, made up of all law enforcement agencies in the parish, along with departments and organizations with ties to crime-fighting, met. The concept arose... more »

• Former deputy to serve 5 years in tampering case

  July 29, 2011 1:02 PM

  NAPOLEONVILLE - A former Assumption Parish sheriff's lieutenant will serve five years in prison, followed by five years of supervised probation, for tampering with evidence in hundreds of narcotics cases. The Advocate reports state District Judge Jane Triche-Milazzo sentenced 46-year-old Louis Lambert of Labadieville on Thursday. Lambert, who... more »

• Post-Katrina shooting convict claims new evidence

  February 8, 2011 11:31 AM

  NEW ORLEANS - A New Orleans police officer convicted of writing a false report on a deadly police shooting after Hurricane Katrina claims new evidence could clear him. Police Lt. Travis McCabe was convicted in December of charges he falsified a report to make it appear that Officer David Warren... more »

• Testing of key oil spill evidence delayed again

  January 21, 2011 4:20 PM

  NEW ORLEANS - Forensic testing of a key piece of evidence in the Gulf oil spill investigation could take twice as long as expected. An investigator with the U.S. Chemical Safety Board - one of the groups monitoring the testing - said Friday his agency has been advised the examination... more »

• Deputy accused of evidence tampering out on bond

  November 12, 2010 2:21 PM

  NAPOLEONVILLE - An former Assumption Parish Sheriff's deputy has bonded out of jail after a district judge approved its reduction. Forty-eight-year-old Louis B. Lambert of Labadieville has pleaded not guilty after he indicted last month to 337 counts of tampering with evidence and more than a hundred drugs and weapons... more »

• Former La. officer enters plea in malfeasance case

  November 4, 2010 6:24 AM

  NAPOLEONVILLE - A former Assumption Parish sheriff's evidence officer has pleaded not guilty to 337 charges of malfeasance for evidence tampering plus about 100 more criminal counts derived from drugs or weapons charges. Prosecutors accused Louis B. Lambert, who was in charge of the sheriff's evidence vault, of tampering with... more »

• YouTube videos lead to arrest of seven people

  November 3, 2010 6:56 PM

  THIBODAUX - Seven people from Thibodaux were arrested after authorities said videos posted on YouTube showed the people fighting. The seven arrested are listed below: 18-year-old Jovan Kenny 17-year-old Chantell Kenny 19-year-old Damien Daggs 17-year-old Umeko Ballard 17-year-old Aarinasia Robertson 18-year-old Akieba Coler... more »

• Former deputy pleads not guilty to evidence tampering

  November 3, 2010 1:50 PM

  NAPOLEONVILLE - Former sheriff's deputy Louis Lambert entered a plea of not guilty today in Assumption Parish to charges he tampered with evidence in hundreds of cases. The former lieutenant handled evidence for the sheriff's office, and is accused of taking more than 500 pieces of evidence from the... more »

• Former La. deputy indicted in tampering case

  October 28, 2010 7:16 AM

  A former sheriff's deputy has been indicted on 337 counts of malfeasance for evidence tampering as well as on more than 100 other drug or weapons charges. Former Assumption Parish Sheriff's deputy Lt. Louis B. Lambert was arrested June 11 on suspicion of tampering with drug evidence in the sheriff's... more »

• DNA testing getting faster

  September 30, 2010 6:19 PM

  An extra hand from Baton Rouge Police Department is helping the Louisiana State Police crime lab process DNA evidence fast. "The information that we gather here, as soon as something is discovered, there's a break in the case, there's information that we pull off from these analyses, we immediately... more »

• Judge seals evidence in federal sex case

  July 23, 2010 8:10 AM

  The evidence in a federal sex-crime case involving a former private school counselor has been sealed by a federal magistrate judge. The judge granted a joint motion filed by the government and defense, sealing a 24-page exhibit containing e-mails allegedly exchanged between Hargrave and a 14-year-old student. Hargrave, who served... more »

• Sheriff's deputy arrested for tampering with evidence

  June 12, 2010 12:18 PM

  Louisiana State Police arrested an Assumption Parish Sheriff's deputy Friday after a three-month investigation that began in April. Louis Lambert, 47, of Labadieville, La., is charged with 538 counts of tampering with evidence, 17 counts of Illegal Carrying of a Weapon with Narcotics, and one count of Possession with... more »

• Retired trooper hired as evidence custodian

  May 27, 2010 6:42 AM

  Assumption Parish Sheriff Mike Waguespack has hired a retired state trooper as his lead evidence custodian after the sheriff put his former custodian on leave over mishandled drug evidence. The sheriff says retired state police Lt. Thane Matis would help him re-establish his office's credibility within the criminal justice system.... more »

• DNA links suspect to 1999 rape

  April 2, 2010 6:14 AM

  A 49-year-old Covington man has been arrested in the 1999 rape of a Baton Rouge woman. Police say Zebedee Pittman allegedly raped a woman on June 25, 1999 after forcing his way into her home. Investigators say DNA evidence collected during a sexual assault examination was linked to Pittman last... more »

• Judge: prosecutors can use of evidence in killing

  March 5, 2010 6:31 AM

  A state district judge has ruled that prosecutors can use much of the evidence gathered from a house where a man was killed during a drug deal last year, including a cell phone that made an audio recording of the fatal encounter. A grand jury indicted 20-year-old Anthony Manzella of... more »

• DNA leads police to suspect in '87 rape

  February 25, 2010 7:37 AM

  Baton Rouge police have arrested a 50-year-old man after DNA evidence linked him to a rape that occurred more than 20 years ago. Police said Melvin Green is accused of raping a woman on May 8, 1987. The victim, who was 25 at the time of the rape, told detectives... more »

• N.O. judge to review 1980 murder case

  February 19, 2010 11:02 AM

  A man convicted of murder almost 30 years ago claims newly uncovered evidence proves he was wrongfully convicted of the crime. John Floyd has been in prison for nearly three decades for stabbing and killing a New Orleans newspaper employee. State District Judge Benedict Willard is expected to hear... more »

• BR Police looking for hit and run suspect

  February 1, 2010 4:43 PM

  Baton Rouge Police have narrowed the search for a vehicle involved in a hit and run accident on I-10. Evidence indicates 20-year-old Mikel Carson was struck by a 2005-2007 model Ford pickup or Expedition. Detectives say it's possibly a King Ranch Edition truck. The accident happened early Sunday morning... more »

• DNA connects man to 20-year-old rape cases

  December 16, 2009 5:14 PM

  Baton Rouge Police Detectives have arrested a man accused of committing four rapes back in the 1980’s. Leroy Bickham, 52, was linked through DNA to four rapes that occurred more than 20 years ago. He is accused of raping four victims from July 1985 to August 1987. Bickham was already... more »

• Yale lab tech released from custody

  September 16, 2009 7:40 AM

  07:39:09 Update: Police: Yale lab tech released from custody in investigation of graduate student's killing. Police in Connecticut say two search warrants for DNA and other physical evidence have been served at the apartment of Raymond Clark III, who is a person of interest in the murder of Yale University... more »