WBRZ - Baton Rouge

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• OJ Simpson heads to court to fight for freedom

  May 11, 2013 12:39 PM

  LAS VEGAS - The return of O.J. Simpson to a Las Vegas courtroom Monday will remind Americans of a tragedy that became a national obsession and in the process changed the country's attitude toward the justice system, the media and celebrity. His 1995 trial is the stuff of legends, the... more »

• 14 charged in case of bizarre jail video

  May 10, 2013 2:00 PM

  NEW ORLEANS - Indictments were filed Friday against 14 inmates in connection with videos showing prisoners brazenly using drugs, drinking beer and flashing a loaded gun in the New Orleans jail. The videos, made in June and July 2009, came to light in April during a federal court hearing on... more »

• Public forum held to discuss police reform in NO

  April 15, 2013 12:27 PM

  NEW ORLEANS - A public hearing in New Orleans is being held to determine the firm that will oversee the city's compliance with requirements in an agreement to reform the long-troubled police department. Monday's hearing comes even as the city tries to get out of the reform agreement it made... more »

• Parents accused of kidnapping boys to stay in jail

  April 12, 2013 10:19 AM

  TAMPA, Fla. - The couple accused of kidnapping their boys and sailing with them to Cuba to elude authorities are staying in jail. On Friday, Joshua and Sharyn Hakken's public defender didn't contest a request by prosecutors in Tampa that they remain in jail without bond. The Hakkens didn't appear... more »

• Judge won't hear oral arguments on jail takeover

  April 10, 2013 2:25 PM

  NEW ORLEANS- A U.S. district judge has declined to immediately set oral arguments over the city of New Orleans' request to place the local jail under federal control. It's the latest step in a legal fight involving the city, the U.S. Justice Department and Sheriff Marlin Gusman over how best... more »

• U.S. Army vet jailed for fighting with Syrian al-Quaida

  April 8, 2013 7:36 PM

  ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA- A U.S. Army veteran accused of joining al-Qaida to fight in Syria will remain in jail pending his trial. Eric Harroun's lawyers tried to argue that he was fighting with Syrian rebels who share the U.S. government's desire to oust the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. But prosecutors... more »

• Sheriff testifies in hearing on Orleans jail

  April 4, 2013 10:01 AM

  NEW ORLEANS - Testifying in a federal hearing, New Orleans Sheriff Marlin Gusman raised the possibility that a video depicting drug use and weapon possession in the jail he oversees may have been doctored. Gusman was imprecise on exactly when he first saw the videos made in 2009. And he... more »

• Pa. inmate denies hiding phone in prosthetic leg

  April 2, 2013 9:08 AM

  UNIONTOWN, Pa.- A former Pennsylvania jail inmate says he didn't sneak a cellphone into the lockup in his prosthetic leg, though he acknowledged having it for a year as he pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct. Instead, 28-year-old Christopher Greer, of Uniontown, tells a judge the phone was in his cargo... more »

• Lafourche Parish jail evacuated after blanket fire

  April 1, 2013 11:20 AM

  THIBODAUX - The Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office says two men serving time for contempt of court face new charges after a fire that prompted a brief evacuation of the parish jail. Deputy Brennan Matherne says 21-year-old Skylleur Hayes of Thibodaux allegedly started the fire after telling an inmate who had... more »

• 2 sentenced in shooting death of Shreveport teen

  March 27, 2013 8:47 AM

  SHREVEPORT- Two Shreveport men will be spending the next six decades behind bars following their sentencing for second-degree murder in Caddo Parish District Court. Joshua D. Brooks and Paul Anthony Jones, both 20, were sentenced this week by Judge Joseph Bleich to 60 years in prison at hard labor without... more »

• Ex-parish president Broussard gets jail time, fine

  February 25, 2013 11:20 AM

  NEW ORLEANS - Former Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard must serve 46 months in prison and pay up to $280,000 for his role in separate payroll fraud and bribery schemes. U.S. District Judge Hayden Head said Monday that $214,000 will repay Jefferson Parish for fraudulently paid salaries and benefits to... more »

• Pistorius granted bail

  February 22, 2013 8:32 AM

  PRETORIA, South Africa - Oscar Pistorius has been granted bail and will be freed from custody pending his trial in the Valentine's Day shooting death of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. Pistorius says the shooting was an accident, and that he thought he was firing at an intruder. Prosecutors say... more »

• Inmate attends church, then escapes

  February 11, 2013 11:02 AM

  SIMMESPORT- Deputies in Avoyelles Parish are looking for a 25-year-old female inmate who went to a jail church service and then escaped. Authorities say Veronica Ann Dubois, 25, escaped from a correctional facility in Simmesport around Saturday night. Dubois is described as 5 feet 1 inch tall and 120 pounds,... more »

• Police: NY mom used kiss to give jailed son drugs

  February 7, 2013 7:33 PM

  PENN YAN, N.Y. - Police say an upstate New York woman passed drugs to her son while kissing him when she visited him in jail. Sheriff's deputies in Yates County tell local media outlets 54-year-old Kimberly Margeson was visiting her son last week when she hid oxycodone pills and passed... more »

• Baker warrant amnesty program

  January 31, 2013 7:31 AM

  BAKER - People who have had arrest warrants issued against them in Baker City Court may take advantage of an amnesty program during February to avoid unexpectedly winding up in jail. City Court Judge Kirk A. Williams says people who have not responded to summonses to appear in court, paid... more »

• Police: Pa. man stopped for beer after breakout

  January 30, 2013 10:15 AM

  BURGETTSTOWN, Pa. - Police say a western Pennsylvania man stopped at a bar and had a beer minutes after he broke out of a police station holding cell after his arrest on an assault charge. The Washington County public defender's office on Wednesday declined to comment on the charges filed... more »

• Bossier man jailed for claiming to be officer

  January 30, 2013 9:02 AM

  GREENWOOD- Claiming to be an officer resulted in not getting a ticket, but instead a trip to jail for a Bossier City man. The Times reports Greenwood police stopped 41-year-old Melvin Shupert on Interstate 20 Sunday for not having a license plate. Investigators say Shupert allegedly told the officer that... more »

• Judge grants preliminary OK for NO jail reforms

  January 23, 2013 6:36 AM

  NEW ORLEANS - A federal judge has granted preliminary approval of an agreement between the Justice Department and the city of New Orleans that's designed to clean up the city-funded jail. The consent decree with Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin Gusman calls for him to provide adequate medical and mental... more »

• LSU women's basketball assistant coach arrested

  January 22, 2013 6:56 PM

  BATON ROUGE - LSU assistant women's basketball coach Tony Perotti is out of jail on bond after his arrest this weekend in suspicion of a drunken bar disturbance. Perotti was charged with disturbing the peace and two counts of remaining after forbidden when he was booked into the East... more »

• Edwards asks feds to end supervised release early

  January 22, 2013 2:37 PM

  NEW ORLEANS - Louisiana's flamboyant former Gov. Edwin Edwards says he's done his time, paid $2 million in fines and forfeitures and done everything required for his supervised release, and wants the supervision to end now. Federal prosecutors support the request. They say Edwards has served more than 18 months... more »

• Man accused of killing unborn child blames drugs Play Video

  January 17, 2013 5:43 PM

  WALKER - Jeffrey Reynolds, the man accused of stabbing his wife and cutting their unborn child from its womb, appeared in court today. He blames synthetic marijuana for ruining his life. A talkative Reynolds made the comments to reporters outside the Livingston Parish Courthouse this afternoon. ""I love... more »

• Man accused of flashing holiday shoppers

  January 4, 2013 4:21 PM

  COVINGTON - Deputies in St. Tammany Parish arrested a Covington man after they said he exposed himself twice to holiday shoppers. Deputies arrested Brian Harris, 26, in suspicion of obscenity on Dec. 28 after witness descriptions led them to his vehicle. Investigators said they were told on Dec.... more »

• Houston rapper free on bond, following arrest

  December 27, 2012 4:16 PM

  MANSFIELD, La. - A Houston rapper is out on bond after spending a night in the DeSoto Parish jail. Wesley Eric Weston, 31, also known as the rap artist Lil' Flip, was arrested Wednesday after deputies pulled him over for speeding on Interstate 49 and they allegedly found marijuana and... more »

• Escaped La. inmate arrested in Miss.

  December 24, 2012 7:57 AM

  COVINGTON - A 26-year-old man, who escaped from St. Tammany Parish jail, has been arrested along with his girlfriend in a hotel in Hattiesburg, Miss. Authorities say Anthony Lance Alexius walked away from his work detail in the kitchen of the parish jail at approximately 11:15 a.m. Sunday. ... more »

• Three arrested in Baker narcotics investigation

  December 6, 2012 3:50 PM

  BAKER - Narcotics agents in Baker arrested three people after they said an investigation and traffic stop turned up hundreds of pills and thousands in cash. Agents arrested John McKneely, Keirsten McKneely and Tiawanga McKneely of Baker earlier this week. Bake Police Chief Mike Knaps said the agents... more »

• Angola inmates on Santa's payroll

  December 3, 2012 4:06 PM

  ANGOLA- Inmates at the state's maximum security prison are working overtime to fill all the orders on Santa's list before Christmas. It's a tradition every year that gets inmates working on their down time to make toys and fix bikes for needy children. "They are elves," said Tom... more »

• Lafayette jail construction under way

  November 19, 2012 10:31 AM

  LAFAYETTE, La. - By this time next year, the Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office plans to move its road crew inmates and those in work release and rehabilitation programs from its downtown jail and annex into its public safety complex now under construction. Rob Reardon, corrections director, says road crew... more »

• EBR Jail: Jefferson booked after bond revoked

  October 30, 2012 2:24 PM

  BATON ROUGE - Former LSU quarterback Jordan Jefferson is in parish prison this afternoon after a judge revoked his bond from a 2011 battery arrest. Sheriff's office spokesperson Casey Hicks said Jefferson turned himself in to a deputy, who transported him to the prison. A district judge revoked... more »

• Students spend the day at EBRSO parish prison

  October 18, 2012 4:59 PM

  BATON ROUGE- Inmates are warning kids about what could happen if they don't turn their lives around. Students from the Valley Park Alternative School spent the day at East Baton Rouge Parish Prison today and got a first-hand look at life behind bars. Inmates talked to 15 boys... more »

• Eight inmates accused of trying to smuggle drugs into jail

  October 17, 2012 10:45 AM

  LIVINGSTON - Narcotics investigators in Livingston Parish charged eight inmates in their jail for being in on a plan to smuggle drugs into the detention center. On Oct. 3, deputies arrested two people they said were caught while trying to smuggle drugs such as methamphetamine and hydrocodone into the... more »

• Two accused of trying to smuggle drugs into jail

  October 4, 2012 3:43 PM

  LIVINGSTON - Sheriff's deputies in Livingston Parish arrested two people after they said they caught them trying to smuggle drugs into the parish jail. Deputies charged Kennie Wascom II, 34, and Kimberly Blount, 29, with drug possession after their arrest Wednesday. Wascom was also charged with resisting arrest. ... more »

• DOJ seeks to join lawsuit against Orleans prison

  September 24, 2012 5:20 PM

  BATON ROUGE - The U.S. Justice Department is asking to join a class action lawsuit that accuses Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin Gusman of overseeing a jail that routinely subjects prisoners to brutal, inhumane conditions. The federal agency filed a request Monday in federal court, asking to be included as a... more »

• Atlanta running back celebrates a bit too much

  September 18, 2012 10:50 AM

  ATLANTA - Atlanta Falcons running back Michael Turner was jailed on charges of drunken driving and speeding early this morning, just hours after he scored a touchdown in the team's win over the Denver Broncos. Turner was booked into the Gwinnett County jail in metro Atlanta just after 5... more »

• Woman gets prison in Medicare fraud plot

  September 11, 2012 4:04 PM

  BATON ROUGE - A woman who worked as a patient recruiter for several Louisiana medical equipment companies has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for her role in a Medicare fraud scheme. U.S. District Judge James Brady in Baton Rouge also on Tuesday ordered 47-year-old Karen Rayburn to pay... more »

• 52-year-old among group accused in plan to deliver drugs to jail

  August 13, 2012 7:19 PM

  LIVINGSTON- Three people face charges, accused in a drug smuggling operation at the Livingston Parish Detention Center. According to deputies, inmate John Palmer and another person were was seen in an unauthorized area outside the detention center. When they were noticed, the man ran into nearby woods. Palmer was... more »

• Police: Woman tried to break into Ohio jail

  July 31, 2012 12:38 PM

  HAMILTON, Ohio - Police in southwest Ohio are perplexed about why a woman tried to sneak into a county jail before telling authorities to arrest her. Deputies with the Butler County Sheriff's Office arrested 36-year-old Tiffany R. Hurd when she was caught trying to climb over a fence into Butler... more »

• Livingston Parish jail causing major budget concerns Play Video

  July 26, 2012 5:54 PM

  LIVINGSTON - Costs to operate the Livingston Parish Jail are draining the parish budget, and could plunge it into debt by the end of 2012 if corrections aren't made. Director of Finance Jennifer Meyers says there is no immediate threat of layoffs or a reduction in parish services. She... more »

• Jail eating hole in Livingston Parish budget

  July 26, 2012 10:30 AM

  LIVINGSTON - Costs at the new Livingston Parish jail are digging the parish into a budget hole to the tune of more than a million dollars each year, according to the parish administrator. Layton Ricks told News 2 jail operating costs are covered by the parish, while the sheriff's... more »

• Sheriff's Office looking for help with prison

  July 17, 2012 5:56 PM

  CLINTON - The East Feliciana Parish Sheriff's Office is looking for a little help from the police jury. The parish prison makes money by housing state inmates in part of the facility, and the sheriff's office shares much of the money with the parish. The police jury will consider... more »

• Zimmerman makes $1M bond

  July 6, 2012 2:01 PM

  ORLANDO, Fla. - The neighborhood watch volunteer who killed Trayvon Martin has left a Florida jail, less than 24 hours after a judge set his bond at $1 million. George Zimmerman left the Seminole County jail on Friday. He was wearing a white dress shirt and a jacket when he... more »

• Deputies: Inmate died from natural causes

  July 4, 2012 12:37 PM

  LIVINGSTON - Deputies said an inmate in Livingston Parish died of natural causes while in the jail this week. A sheriff's department spokesperson said Charles David Dunn, 47, died Tuesday in the Livingston Parish Detention Center. Livingston Parish Coroner Dr. Ron Coe performed an autopsy and found Dunn... more »

• NM mom jailed for overdue 'Twilight' book, DVD

  June 29, 2012 12:47 PM

  ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - A New Mexico woman was arrested and spent a night in jail for not returning the book "Twilight" and two-DVD set "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" back to the library on time. The Albuquerque Journal reports (http://bit.ly/MY6rJW ) Lori Teel was arrested and handcuffed at her... more »

• Burrito surprise, a taste of heroin

  June 25, 2012 5:48 PM

  LOS ANGELES - A former Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy has been sentenced to two years in jail for attempting to smuggle drugs into a courthouse jail in a burrito. Henry Marin was sentenced Monday and remanded into custody following the hearing. The 27-year-old pleaded no contest to one... more »

• Livingston Parish inmate dies after altercation with deputies Play Video

  June 18, 2012 6:15 PM

  LIVINGSTON - A Livingston Parish jail inmate is dead after an altercation with deputies, according to the sheriff's office. Sheriff-elect Jason Ard said Darrin Norton, 35, was booked into the jail Saturday on charges of criminal trespassing, damaging property and resisting arrest. Ard said Norton began acting strangely,... more »

• City jail operation in full effect this Monday Play Video

  June 15, 2012 5:40 PM

  BATON ROUGE- Starting Monday, the city jail in downtown Baton Rouge will start filling up with people who failed to pay outstanding misdemeanor tickets and fines. "We've given enough time, given enough words of encouragement," says Constable Reginald Brown. The downtown jail will be open around the clock... more »

• Last day to pay off fines before BR jail opens

  June 15, 2012 9:41 AM

  BATON ROUGE - Today is the last day people in Baton Rouge can pay off misdemeanor fines and outstanding tickets before the city jail re-opens, and people who haven't could be arrested. Starting Monday, people found with outstanding misdemeanor warrants could wind up behind bars as part of an... more »

• More people paying fines ahead of jail re-opening

  June 12, 2012 3:39 PM

  BATON ROUGE - Court workers in Baton Rouge saw an increase in people coming in to pay off misdemeanor tickets today, after word got out that people with outstanding fines would be arrested starting next week. The city court reported that by 3 p.m. today, 2,218 people had come... more »

• People line up to pay fines before jail re-opens

  June 12, 2012 9:57 AM

  BATON ROUGE - Lines formed outside city court in Baton Rouge this morning as people waited to pay off fines before the misdemeanor jail re-opens next week. After Monday, June 18, people with outstanding misdemeanor warrants in East Baton Rouge Parish could be arrested and taken to the city... more »

• BR city jail to open again June 18

  June 11, 2012 4:32 PM

  BATON ROUGE - Law enforcement officials in Baton Rouge announced the city's jail would re-open again next week, and city police would start arresting people with outstanding misdemeanor warrants. Starting June 18, city constables and sheriff's deputies will operate the jail 24-7 to clear oustanding warrants in the city-parish.... more »

• Feds find 'alarming conditions' at N.O. jail

  April 24, 2012 7:36 AM

  NEW ORLEANS - The Justice Department says its recent inspection of the New Orleans jail found "alarming conditions" and uncovered persistently high rates of prisoner-on-prisoner violence and staff misconduct. In a letter Monday to Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin Gusman, the Justice Department's civil rights division accused jail officials of failing... more »

• House passes bill to give repeat offenders parole hearings Play Video

  April 19, 2012 6:10 PM

  BATON ROUGE - A bill to offer a chance at parole for some in state prisons received a lot of debate before being passed by the full Louisiana House today. The House voted 86-7 to send the bill to the Senate, after a long debate about just who would... more »

• EBR Metro Council debates possibility of 24/7 jail Play Video

  April 11, 2012 6:24 PM

  BATON ROUGE - After success last year which generated around $191,000 in fines, city leaders want to keep the city jail running 24 hours a day. Councilman Mike Walker will ask the East Baton Rouge Parish Metro Council to grant $50,000 for another misdemeanor jail trial run to show... more »

• Man gets jail sentence for wearing saggy pants

  April 11, 2012 11:39 AM

  PRATTVILLE - Authorities in central Alabama say a man has been given a three-day jail sentence for contempt of court for wearing so-called saggy pants. Twenty-year-old LaMarcus D. Ramsey was in Autauga County Circuit Court on Tuesday to enter a plea on a charge of receiving stolen property. Circuit Judge... more »

• Council to consider another BR city jail trial run

  April 11, 2012 10:40 AM

  BATON ROUGE - After success last year which generated around $191,000 in fines, city leaders want to keep the city jail running 24 hours a day. Councilman Mike Walker will ask the East Baton Rouge Parish Metro Council to grant $50,000 for another misdemeanor jail trial run to show... more »

• Ala. judge orders man to jail for sagging pants

  April 11, 2012 8:52 AM

  PRATTVILLE, Ala. - Authorities in central Alabama say a man has been given a three-day jail sentence for contempt of court for wearing so-called saggy pants. The Montgomery Advertiser reports that 20-year-old LaMarcus D. Ramsey was in Autauga County Circuit Court on Tuesday to enter a plea on a charge... more »

• Lawyer: Prisoner is HIV positive after jail rapes

  March 28, 2012 10:23 AM

  NEW ORLEANS - The Southern Poverty Law Center accuses New Orleans jail officials of failing to protect a transsexual prisoner from being repeatedly raped. In a letter Tuesday to Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin Gusman, SPLC attorney Katie Schwartzmann claims the prisoner was gang-raped at knifepoint in February and tested positive... more »

• Ohio man not jailed for stopping Facebook apology

  March 19, 2012 11:21 AM

  CINCINNATI- An Ohio man who made comments about his estranged wife on his Facebook page and was threatened with jail unless he posted daily apologies for a month won't be locked up even though he stopped making amends early. A domestic relations judge told Mark Byron in Cincinnati on Monday... more »

• Court tosses jury award in Katrina jail lawsuit

  March 12, 2012 2:17 PM

  NEW ORLEANS - A federal appeals court has thrown out a jury's award of more than $650,000 to two Ohio tourists who were arrested in New Orleans on public drunkenness charges two days before Hurricane Katrina's landfall and jailed for more than a month after the storm. A three-judge panel... more »

• WBR deputies to be sentenced in jailhouse beating

  March 8, 2012 11:26 AM

  PORT ALLEN- Two former West Baton Rouge deputies are expected to plead guilty to their role in a 2007 jailhouse beating that left an inmate with a broken jaw. Authorities say Gary Frith and Philmore Bradford will plead guilty to second degree battery and malfeasance in office. Deputies... more »

• Grace to stay in jail until sentencing Play Video

  March 6, 2012 3:35 PM

  BATON ROUGE - A judge ruled today former St. Gabriel mayor George Grace will stay in jail until his sentencing hearing for a federal racketeering conviction. The judge made the decision during a detention hearing today. Prosecutors said Grace was a flight risk because he owned property in Uganda... more »

• Suspect in Gibbs murder arrested in Texas

  March 5, 2012 5:25 PM

  BATON ROUGE - Texas Southern University Police arrested the suspect in the murder of former Southern running back Silas Gibbs Monday. Police took Walter Jerome Fort, 22, into custody in Houston after a tip led them to a campus bus stop where Fort was sitting. Fort initially... more »

• Driver arrested in basin bridge fatal crash

  March 2, 2012 11:28 AM

  WHISKEY BAY - The driver of an 18-wheeler was arrested in a crash along Interstate 10 at the Whiskey Bay Bridge that killed one person. James Bennett, faces charges of reckless operation and vehicular homicide. Investigators say Bennett swerved in the roadway, striking Phillip Rizzo's motorcycle and three other... more »

• 5 Dominican hit men sentenced in drug killings

  February 25, 2012 10:32 AM

  SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic - Three Dominicans hired as hit men by an alleged drug boss known as the "Pablo Escobar of the Caribbean" have been sentenced to 30 years in prison. A panel of three judges issued their ruling late Friday after a seven-month trial that included testimony from... more »

• Jefferson Parish jailer accused of punching inmate

  February 19, 2012 1:28 PM

  METAIRIE-The Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office has arrested a jailer for alleging punching an inmate at the parish prison. Col. John Fortunato, Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office spokesman, says in a news release that 21-year-old Jimmy Brown of Metairie has been charged with one count each of simple battery and malfeasance... more »

• Arrest in connection with WBR beating death

  February 17, 2012 10:52 AM

  BATON ROUGE - A Baton Rouge man has been arrested in connection with the beating death of another man. Charles Ray Burton is in the West Baton Rouge Parish jail charged with manslaughter. Robert Crowe was found dead in a Plaquemine ditch on Monday after he attended a... more »

• Dog owner jailed

  February 14, 2012 12:20 PM

  DENVER - A suburban Denver man spent seven hours in jail because his daughter's service dog did not have a license. Matthew Townsend said the dog got out and he was issued a $50 dollar fine, his wife was also given a $100 dollar fine. Townsend said he... more »

• Caylee's law

  February 14, 2012 10:41 AM

  TALLAHASSEE - A bill inspired by the death of 2-year-old Caylee Anthony is a step closer to approval by the Florida Legislature. Lawmakers crafted the bill last year after Caylee's mother, Casey Anthony, was acquitted of murdering her child. She was however found guilty on four misdemeanor counts... more »

• Harvard Fraud Investigation

  November 9, 2011 7:44 PM

  A man who was convicted of identity fraud for faking his way into Harvard University was ordered back to jail because he admitting violating his probation by listing the University on a job resume. Adam Wheeler got into Harvard by falsely claiming he attended an exclusive prep school and the... more »

• Businessman pleads guilty to bribing La. sheriff

  October 14, 2011 2:49 PM

  NEW ORLEANS - A businessman who was overseeing construction of a jail in Plaquemines Parish has pleaded guilty to bribing the parish's sheriff, who also is charged in the case. New Orleans resident Aaron Bennett faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison following his guilty plea Friday... more »

• Accomplices in restaurant killing sentenced

  October 6, 2011 4:29 PM

  BATON ROUGE - Larry Sterling and Ikey Washington, who were accused of being involved with the murder of a Georgia man at a Baton Rouge restaurant, pleaded guilty and were sentenced today. Authorities said the two were working with Antonius Jones, who was convicted in August of killing David... more »

• Former BRPD corporal sentenced to 3 years in prison

  September 27, 2011 11:36 AM

  BATON ROUGE - A former Baton Rouge police officer has been sentenced to three years in prison Tuesday after he pleaded "no contest" to charges he took money from a local drug dealer. Former BRPD Corporal Donald Bailey, 51, entered a "no contest" plea in May to felony public... more »

• Offenders in Alabama town can choose jail or church

  September 23, 2011 12:44 PM

  BAY MINETTE, Ala. - Authorities say non-violent offenders in southern Alabama will have a new choice: Go to jail, or go to church every Sunday for a year. WKRG-TV reports that Operation Restore Our Community begins next week. The city judge in Bay Minette will let misdemeanor offenders... more »

• St. Helena solar project at a stand-still

  September 16, 2011 6:12 PM

  GREENSBURG-- St. Helena is the first parish in Louisiana to install solar panels that will help power its jail. It could slash the electric bill by 35 percent by providing lighting and heating water for inmates. The only problem? The project is nearly done, but no one knows if there... more »

• BRPD: Triple murder suspect should have been in jail

  September 12, 2011 5:53 PM

  BATON ROUGE - Police said just three days before Courtney Williams was accused of shooting and killing three women and injuring another man, authorities issued a warrant for his arrest on kidnapping charges. Williams turned himself in Sunday to investigators in connection with the shooting Saturday afternoon in the... 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 »

• St. Martin Parish escapees captured in Texas

  August 19, 2011 10:03 AM

  ST. MARTINVILLE - Two Louisiana men who escaped from a St. Martin Parish Correctional Center had a few hours of freedom, but the furlough was not to last as they were caught in a Texas hotel nearly 14 hours later. According to the St. Martin Parish Sheriff's Office, Robert... more »

• Constable: City jail could pay for itself

  August 12, 2011 6:19 PM

  BATON ROUGE - After the two week trial period of opening the city jail in downtown Baton Rouge, city leaders are optimistic the jail could generate enough revenue to be operated 24 hours a day. Constable Reginald Brown met with Mayor Pro Tem Mike Walker to outline his budget... more »

• Thibodaux man arrested on child porn charges

  August 2, 2011 2:41 PM

  THIBODAUX - A Thibodaux man is in jail after being arrested and charged with child pornography. Police arrested Blaine Granier, 21, on Thursday after a joint investigation involving Louisiana Attorney General's High Technology Crime Unit, Baton Rouge City Constable's Office, Terrebonne Parish Sheriff's Office, and St. Charles Parish Sheriff's Office.... more »

• Long lines form as people clear their names in EBR

  July 25, 2011 2:02 PM

  BATON ROUGE - People waited for more than an hour in some cases today to pay off misdemeanor tickets and avoid jail time for misdemeanors in Baton Rouge. Authorities in East Baton Rouge Parish have arrested 105 people since they began a misdemeanor warrant roundup this past Friday. Officials... more »

• Casey Anthony freed from Fla. jail early Sunday

  July 17, 2011 9:50 AM

  ORLANDO, Fla.- Casey Anthony has been released from a Florida jail, 12 days after she was acquitted of murder in the death of her 2-year-old daughter. Anthony got into an SUV after leaving the Orange County Jail in Orlando early Sunday morning, leaving in the company of her attorney... more »

• BRPD going after misdemeanor violators

  July 14, 2011 6:00 PM

  BATON ROUGE- A misdemeanor warrant roundup is underway in Baton Rouge, where the City Constable is trying to whittle away at a stack of more than 100,000 misdemeanor warrants. Space has been cleared at the city jail to provide room for offenders until their warrants are cleared. "A... more »

• BR City Jail to be utilized in crackdown on misdemeanor warrants

  July 13, 2011 9:47 PM

  BATON ROUGE- Be forewarned, starting next weekend, if you're caught with an outstanding warrant in Baton Rouge, you go to jail until you see a judge, pay-off your fines and your bond. Constable Maj. Reggie Brown says the community has considered the crimes minor and ignorable for far too... more »