Tagged News

• Mandeville couple caught with thousands of counterfeit pills in huge fentanyl bust

  September 25, 2023 1:51 PM

  MANDEVILLE - A couple was caught with thousands of counterfeit oxycodone tablets when St. Tammany deputies searched their home over the weekend. The St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office said deputies with its Proactive Enforcement Unit went to to the home Saturday to investigate a complaint. There, deputies spoke with... more »

• FBI calls for more to come forward as feds investigates BRPD for possible civil rights violations

  September 22, 2023 6:23 PM

  BATON ROUGE - In a rare move, the FBI publicly called for more tipsters to come forward Friday as it investigates claims that officers within the Baton Rouge Police Department have been abusing their power . A statement from the agency says investigators are reviewing allegations that those officers... more »

• Amid legal fight with city-parish, troubled Civil Service Board member arrested for contractor fraud

  September 19, 2023 2:31 PM

  BATON ROUGE - The man at the head of a board that oversees discipline for Baton Rouge law enforcement was arrested again Tuesday on allegations of contractor fraud. Jail records show that Brandon Williams, 48, was booked into the parish jail Tuesday morning on counts of residential contractor fraud... more »

• EBR teacher arrested for sex crimes; text messages depict lewd meet-ups on high school campus Play Video

  September 12, 2023 10:03 AM

  BATON ROUGE - A substitute teacher had his contract with the EBR school system terminated amid an investigation into an inappropriate relationship he allegedly had with a 15-year-old student. Damien Clark, 24, was in a "position of supervision" over the victim, according to documents from the East Baton Rouge... more »

• Jury poised to deliberate murder-for-hire case after defense blames son for woman's death Play Video

  August 14, 2023 2:50 PM

  The first-degree murder trial of a Baton Rouge businessman is entering its final stages, with lawyers presenting closing arguments to jurors in the murder-for-hire case. Hamid Ghassemi, 72, is accused of hiring three men to kill his ex-wife so he wouldn't have to pay her $1 million after their... more »

• Man arrested in his wife's cold case killing dies on the 10th anniversary of her death Play Video

  August 10, 2023 5:10 PM

  ADDIS - For nine years, Eddie Rinaudo managed to get away with murder. One decade ago, the WBRZ Investigative Unit profiled the story of Sandy Rinaudo and her murder on Aug. 9, 2013. Despite a coroner noting that her death was a homicide, the Addis Police Department refused to... more »

• Father stabs man who invaded daughter's home after she denied his romantic advances

  August 4, 2023 8:47 AM

  BATON ROUGE - Deputies arrested a man who had taken himself to the hospital after he allegedly broke into a woman's home and was stabbed by her father. Arrest documents from the East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office say Demarkis Corey, 20, kicked in the door of a woman's home... more »

• BRPD officer previously arrested in child sex crime investigation back in custody on rape charge Play Video

  August 2, 2023 9:17 AM

  BATON ROUGE - A BRPD officer arrested for one count of sexual battery and released on a bond of $800 has been re-arrested for rape. Records show Demichael Robertson, 29, was booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison for sexual battery in early August. Sources familiar with the... more »

• Ascension gun store heist linked to gang activity; 2 suspects captured in different parishes Play Video

  July 31, 2023 5:11 PM

  PRAIRIEVILLE - Investigators believe a break-in at an Ascension Parish gun store last week was linked to gang activity. On Wednesday, the Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office announced that two people linked to the heist had been arrested in two different parishes this past week. Darrell Morris, 22, was found... more »

• Officer previously convicted over violent run-in with teen now arrested on stalking charge

  July 21, 2023 4:51 PM

  JACKSON - An officer who was convicted of battery earlier this year after he roughed up a teenager back in 2021 was arrested again Friday in a stalking investigation. The West Feliciana Parish Sheriff's Office told WBRZ on Friday that Travis Clay Depew, 27, was booked on one count... more »

• Caretaker accused of swindling wealthy family enters not guilty pleas in court Play Video

  July 18, 2023 5:12 PM

  BATON ROUGE- A caretaker who is facing felony charges in two different parishes entered not guilty pleas in a Baton Rouge courtroom Tuesday morning. Melba Braud, 62, is charged with three counts of cruelty to the infirm. She went before Judge Tarvald Smith on Tuesday for her arraignment where... more »

• Livingston jury convicts politically connected man of child sex crimes that were ignored for years Play Video

  July 14, 2023 1:01 PM

  LIVINGSTON — A man with family ties to multiple political figures in Livingston Parish was found guilty of rape and other charges stemming from sex crimes that went unaddressed for years. The case has been the focus of numerous reports by the WBRZ Investigative Unit . A jury... more »

• Police make arrest in fatal Nov. 2022 shooting on Boardwalk Drive

  June 1, 2023 4:27 PM

  BATON ROUGE - A man was arrested for murder more than six months after a fatal shooting that killed one person. The Baton Rouge Police Department said 32-year-old Addaryl Young was arrested on Thursday for the murder of 24-year-old Hentrell Johnson on Nov. 11, 2022. Young was booked... more »

• Squatters invaded house, put it up for sale after owners died Play Video

  April 20, 2023 5:18 PM

  BATON ROUGE - Imagine having a house taken over by squatters. It happened to one Baton Rouge couple who now says the property they inherited is a disaster. Richard Craven and his wife Kristen have found themselves in a bizarre situation. "I don't know what they were thinking,"... more »

• Armed man held family hostage at BR apartment before getting into lengthy standoff with deputies Play Video

  March 30, 2023 3:46 PM

  BATON ROUGE - A man allegedly held five people hostage at his neighbor's apartment before getting into a lengthy standoff with sheriff's deputies Thursday. Watch live newscasts here The standoff was first reported around 2:30 p.m.. The building is located on Gardere Lane between Highland Road and Burbank... more »

• Deputies seized more than 90,000 deadly doses of fentanyl in East Baton Rouge over the past year Play Video

  February 28, 2023 5:09 PM

  BATON ROUGE - Following a big arrest of one of the city's most prolific suspected drug dealers, the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office announced it took 19 pounds of fentanyl off the streets of Baton Rouge from 2022 until the present day. Watch live newscasts here "If... more »

• Sheriff's office employee allegedly stole $158K from department, manipulated system for years Play Video

  January 31, 2023 5:20 PM

  PORT ALLEN - Arrest records show a West Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's employee who worked as a traffic clerk manipulated computers and pocketed $158,852 according to documents obtained by the WBRZ Investigative Unit. Watch live newscasts here Those documents allege Mandy Miller carried out the theft from July... more »

• Teenager shot while walking to school Wednesday; former student arrested in recent muggings Play Video

  January 18, 2023 8:01 AM

  BATON ROUGE - A teenager ran home for help after being shot by a former classmate who was trying to rob him on his way to school Wednesday morning. Police believe the 15-year-old victim was either walking to his bus stop or heading straight to his school, Broadmoor High... more »

• Chase ends when stolen vehicle crashes into car wash dumpster, deputies say

  December 16, 2022 10:57 AM

  LIVINGSTON PARISH – Three people were arrested Friday after they were captured following a chase involving a stolen car. The Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office said deputies tried to stop a Dodge Journey on I-12 after it was reported stolen from Houma. The SUV did not stop, the sheriff’s office said,... more »

• Decision to arrest mom over recording devices at school was 'heavy-handed,' legal expert says Play Video

  November 30, 2022 5:47 PM

  LIVINGSTON PARISH - Less than 24 hours after a mother in Livingston Parish was arrested , accused of placing recording devices on her special needs' daughter's wheelchair, a legal expert said the effort by the school system and the sheriff's office to arrest her was "heavy-handed." Amanda Carter's husband... more »

• Suspect jailed without bond after shooting at Southern fraternity party Play Video

  October 24, 2022 2:14 PM

  BATON ROUGE - A man accused of firing shots into a crowd of partygoers after a fight broke out at a Southern University fraternity house is being kept in jail without the possibility of bonding out for now. Jaicedric Williams, 22, was arrested early Sunday afternoon, days after the... more »

• Rapper Mystikal asking judge to reconsider bond in Ascension rape case

  October 17, 2022 2:43 PM

  PRAIRIEVILLE - Louisiana-based rapper Mystikal is asking a judge to allow him to bond out of jail while he awaits trial for an alleged rape at his Ascension Parish home. Attorney's representing the musician, whose real name is Michael Tyler, presented several motions Monday, including a request to reinstate... more »

• New Orleans rapper Mystikal formally charged in Ascension rape case

  September 7, 2022 4:51 PM

  PRAIRIEVILLE - Mystikal, a New Orleans-based rapper who was arrested for an alleged rape that happened at his Ascension Parish home back in July, was formally charged in the attack this week. A grand jury chose Tuesday to indict the rapper, whose real name is Michael Tyler, for first-degree... more »

• Foster parent accused in child rape case jailed with $325k bond

  August 10, 2022 3:27 PM

  ZACHARY - A man accused of sexually abusing at least three foster children who were left in his care remains jailed Wednesday, a little less than a week after his arrest. The East Baton Rouge District Attorney's Office said Michael Hadden, 52, is in jail with a $325,000 bond.... more »

• Grand jury declines to indict woman in Emmett Till killing

  August 9, 2022 2:40 PM

  GREENWOOD, Miss. (AP) — A grand jury in Mississippi has declined to indict the white woman whose accusation set off the lynching of Black teenager Emmett Till nearly 70 years ago, despite revelations about an unserved arrest warrant and a newly revealed memoir by the woman, a prosecutor said Tuesday.... more »

• Ex-cop Lane gets 2 1/2 years on Floyd killing federal charge

  July 21, 2022 12:13 PM

  ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Former Minneapolis police Officer Thomas Lane has been sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison on a federal civil rights charge for his role in the killing of George Floyd. U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson sentenced Lane on Thursday for his February conviction of... more »

• French Settlement mayor booked in domestic violence case

  July 8, 2022 2:26 PM

  FRENCH SETTLEMENT - The mayor of a small town in Livingston Parish was arrested after a months-long investigation into a domestic dispute that unfolded while a child was present. The sheriff's office reported that Haley Unbehagen, 37, was booked Friday related to a confrontation that happened April 6. The... more »

• Florida fugitive arrested in Ponchatoula, officers find over 800 illegal pills in home

  June 22, 2022 6:20 PM

  PONCHATOULA - Police found a gun and over 800 pills of highly addictive painkillers after a struggle with a Denham Springs man. The Ponchatoula Police Department went to a residence on Weinberger Road to try and find Landon McRaney, 21, and arrest him as a fugitive of Livingston Parish.... more »

• Prosecutors won't file charges in case against basketball player

  June 22, 2022 4:37 PM

  BATON ROUGE - Prosecutors said they will not pursue charges against a Mississippi college basketball player arrested in Baton Rouge in June. Prosecutors told WBRZ they weren't following through with charges less than a week after the 22-year-old's arrest. EDITOR's NOTE: This story has been updated to reflect... more »

• Man fought officers after firefighters caught him trying to set Baton Rouge business ablaze

  June 9, 2022 5:03 PM

  BATON ROUGE - Firefighters called the police after witnessing a man light a building on fire Thursday afternoon. The Baton Rouge Fire Department was called to Level 5 Events on Plank Road, and when crews arrived, they were told a man was seen with his arms inside of a... more »