King Wall Drive closed to all traffic as St. George Fire works hazmat incident - Baton Rouge news - NewsLocker (2024)

BATON ROUGE — King Wall Drive was closed to all traffic Monday afternoon as the St. George Fire Department worked an active hazmat incident.St. George Fire said to avoid the area, which is just off Siegen Lane near the intersection of Siegen and Perkins Road, as the hazmat team works to resolve the incident. The exact nature of the incident is not known at this time.Permalink| Comments

Tiger Stadium PA announcer takes temporary leave for health concerns

BATON ROUGE - The public address announcer for Tiger Stadium is taking a leave of absence to manage several health concerns, according to LSU.Dan Borné, who has served as LSU's PA announcer for 38 years at Tiger Stadium and 36 years at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center for LSU men's basketball, is hopeful that he can return at some point in 2024.The longtime voice of Alex Box Stadium Bill Franques will take over in the interim for Borné.Permalink| Comments

Sheriff asking residents to respect no wake zone after boat parked near Grosse Tete Bridge capsizes

GROSSE TETE - The Iberville Parish Sheriff is once again asking residents to slow down and abide by a no wake zone near the Grosse Tete Bridge after a docked boat capsized. The sheriff's office said residents park their boats near the now-shuttered Grosse Tete Bridge as crews work on repairs. Tugboats running through the area have caused hefty wakes that sunk another docked vessel.  “These folks just can’t catch a break," said Iberville Parish Sher

16-year-old arrested for bringing gun to Tangipahoa Parish school

HAMMOND - A teenager was arrested for bringing a gun to school after deputies were sent a video of the student having the weapon in his backpack during class. The Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office said the video was taken Friday, Aug. 16. It shows "a student revealing a gun in his school bag" while in a Hammond Magnet High classroom, the sheriff's office said.Deputies were sent the video on Saturday and the teen was booked into the Florida Parishes Juvenile Detention Center on Monday.

Advertisem*nt

Driver hospitalized after crash involving Zachary school bus, no students injured

ZACHARY— A driver was transported to the hospital after a crash involving a school bus in Zachary.Emergency officials say it happened near the intersection of Blues Highway and Mount Pleasant Road Tuesday afternoon. A spokesperson for the Zachary School District says the car ran into the rear of the bus. The driver of that car was transported to the hospital. There were four students riding at the time of the crash, but none of them were hurt. Permalink| Comments

Defendants in Memorial Day triple-homicide case now will have separate trials

BATON ROUGE — One of two brothers accused in a triple-homicide that occurred during a pool party on Memorial Day 2021 has had his trial moved from this week into next March.David Williams, 22, and his brother Ladarius Coleman, 18, are accused of killing Reginald Thomas, 20; Dewayne Dunn Jr., 16; and Ja'Tyri Brown, 1. The toddler was caught in crossfire at the Fairway View Apartments on College Drive.Williams and Coleman were set to be tried together this week, but court records Tuesda

LSU men's basketball sets full 2024-25 season schedule

BATON ROUGE – The LSU men's basketball team's full upcoming 2024-25 schedule is set as the Southeastern Conference released all of the upcoming conference games on Tuesday afternoon.LSU will face a daunting challenge to start their season as they will play four of their first six SEC games on the road, however they will have the benefit of four of their last six games at home to conclude the conference slate.The LSU Tigers will open SEC play against Vanderbilt at home in the Maravich

Disney drops bid to have allergy-death lawsuit tossed because plaintiff signed up for Disney+

NEW YORK (AP) — Disney is no longer asking a Florida court to dismiss a wrongful death lawsuit on the grounds that the victim’s family had signed up for its streaming service Disney+.The company filed a notice in Orange County court on Tuesday to withdraw the motion, which had drawn swift backlash when it became public.Josh D’Amaro, chairperson of Disney’s theme park division, said in a statement emailed earlier to The Associated Press t

Advertisem*nt

North Iberville High and Elementary students headed home for the day after power outage

IBERVILLE PARISH - Students at North Iberville High School and Elementary will be sent home early Tuesday after a tree fell and knocked down multiple power lines. School leaders said both campuses are without power and will be dismissed no later than 1 p.m. According to the Entergy outage map, the power is expected to be back on by 2 p.m. Permalink| Comments

Two people accused of Belle Rose hit-and-run that damaged mobile homes arrested

BELLE RIVER — Two people were arrested in Assumption Parish after a hit-and-run that damaged two mobile homes, deputies said.Terry Joseph Sanchez Jr., 43, and Megan Marie Porter, 35, were both arrested Monday for obstruction of justice, cirminal damage to property and hit-and-run driving, among other charges.Deputies said that a pickup truck drove off the road and caused around $15,200 in damages to the two mobile homes on Aug. 12. Deputies identified Sanchez as the owner of the suspe

American Heart Association opens new health hub in Baton Rouge to provide education, resources

BATON ROUGE - The American Heart Association launched its new community health hub at the Alsen Street Irma Lee Community Village, which will provide health resources and education for those who may not have easy access to those things. The center will include a self-monitoring blood pressure machine, CPR and first aid training kits, an AED, and food pantry resources. The AHA said with the new center they hope to train more BR residents in critical health skills and allow them

Deputies arrest man who allegedly stole hundreds in merchandise from Burbank Drive Walmart

BATON ROUGE — A man is in custody after being pulled from a pond after stealing hundreds of dollars worth of merchandise from Walmart on Burbank Drive on Tuesday, East Baton Rouge Parish deputies said.Deputies arrested the man after he ran into a field between the store and the nearby BREC soccer fields. The man is expected to be charged with theft, deputies saidA helicopter engaged in the search for the thief, already in the area on patrol.Permalink| Comments

Port Allen woman arrested after breaking into ex-boyfriend's home

PORT ALLEN— A Port Allen woman is now in jail after she broke into her ex-boyfriend's home and assaulted him. The West Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office says Holly Leonard, 37, broke into her ex-boyfriend's home Sunday. Deputies say she broke into his home and damaged his car. She faces charges of home invasion, domestic abuse and criminal damage to property. No bond has been set. Permalink| Comments

Five masked suspects break into St. John home

LAPLACE - Deputies are searching for five people who broke into a St. John home late Monday night, ransacked the house and beat one of the occupants. The St. John Parish Sheriff's Office said a couple was home when five masked suspects broke into the LaPlace home around 11:15 p.m. Monday.  Deputies said the intruders were waring all black clothes and masks. The intruders ransacked the home, stole several items and hit one of the homeowners in the head who required med

Live Oak Baptist Church opens its doors to first responders

WATSON— Live Oak Baptist Church has created what they call a safe haven for first responders in the community.The church recently opened an air-conditioned side room reserved for first responders in their sanctuary building. It is accessible 24/7 and has food, water and clean restrooms."It really just gives us relief and takes stress off our workload. Brother Johnny here is an amazing thing for the Sheriff's office and our hearts just say thank you for what you do for us. He has reall

Two teenagers arrested for March homicide on I-10 in Prairieville

PRAIRIEVILLE - Two teenagers were arrested for a drive-by shooting that happened in March and left a man dead. Deputies said the shooting happened early on the morning of Mar. 29. Officials found Chakerus Hamilton Jr. dead in his vehicle from a gunshot wound. An investigation led the Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office to identify Aniyah Williams, 18 (left), and Quinndarius Dabney, 19 (right) as suspects in Hamilton's death. Detectives said the two were acquainted with Hamilton

DOTD gives update on LA 1 bridge replacement project

PORT ALLEN— Louisiana Department of Transportation officials say construction on the new bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway is nearing completion after settlement issues caused multiple delays last year.Contractors are expected to complete the bridge by early 2025. They are now focused on placing the bridge deck onto the structure. DOTD says the new bridge will improve safety for drivers. It will have three, 12 foot travel lanes and have a much greater capacity than the ol

Blinken visits Gaza mediators in pursuit of cease-fire deal as Hamas, Israel signal challenges

JERUSALEM (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was visiting fellow mediators Egypt and Qatar as he pressed ahead Tuesday with the latest diplomatic mission to secure a cease-fire in the war in Gaza, even as Hamas and Israel signaled that challenges remain.Hamas in a new statement called the latest proposal presented to it a “reversal” of what it agreed to previously and accused the U.S. of acquiescing to what it called “new conditions&am

Rocky Horror Picture Show will stop in New Orleans for 49-year anniversary tour featuring original cast members

NEW ORLEANS - In honor of its 49-year anniversary, the Rocky Horror Picture Show will be holding three simultaneous tours across the country, with each tour featuring one of the original cast members hosting meet and greets. One of the stops on this massive reunion tour will be at the Mahalia Jackson Theater for the Performing Arts in New Orleans. This show will be on Oct. 24 and will include a screening of the original movie, a live shadow cast, a costume contest, and audience partici

Classes may be delayed, no visitors to be allowed on Live Oak Middle campus after morning threat

DENHAM SPRINGS - The start of classes was delayed Tuesday morning after Live Oak Middle received a non-credible threat. The parish sheriff's office said Live Oak Middle and South Live Oak Elementary may experience a slight delay to the start of classes while officials investigated the threat. Anyone on campus was evacuated, but the threat came in before most students had arrived. Visitors were not allowed on campus and there was traffic around the schools while deputies invest

Train derails in Vacherie, blocking highway; no hazardous materials spilled

VACHERIE - A train derailed early Tuesday morning, blocking Highway 20 in St. James Parish. Deputies said the two non-hazardous cars derailed and two hazardous material cars came off their wheels, but the latter were empty. Deputies with the St. James Parish Sheriff's Office said the roadway was expected to be reopened around 8 a.m. once the cars were removed from the roadway. Permalink| Comments

BRPD confiscates more than 500 grams of marijuana from car that crashed through church

BATON ROUGE - Officers confiscated more than 500 grams of marijuana from a car that crashed through Mt. Pilgrim Baptist Church on Thursday. The driver, 26-year-old Tervont Johnson, said that he was "riding with demons" right before the crash happened. After he was arrested, he told officers that he had a large amount of marijuana in his vehicle. On Monday, BRPD shared that Officers Henry Earlycutt and Taylor Bienvenu had made the arrest and gotten 512 grams of marijuana off th

NCAA requesting Les Miles drop suit against LSU concerning vacated wins

BATON ROUGE - The NCAA has stepped in and requested that a Louisiana judge dismiss Les Miles' lawsuit against LSU for vacating wins and making him ineligible to be in the College Football Hall of Fame. According to the motion to dismiss filed on Monday, the NCAA says that former LSU head football coach Les Miles' complaint lacks federal rune of civil procedure and fails to state a claim which relief can be granted. Miles sued LSU in June, claiming the university's decision to

Memorandum of understanding signed to deal with red dust problem in Ascension Parish

ASCENSION PARISH - A memorandum of understanding was signed Monday for leaders to tackle a red dust problem in Ascension Parish. WBRZ's 2 On Your Side has been following the story since 2019. Residents reached out to Brittany Weiss after red dust from a shuttered aluminum plant, L'Alumina, was clouding over homes. The red particles were falling on homes, vehicles, backyard pools and residents were worried about what they may have been breathing in. After a failed mitigation me

Murder trial for two brothers accused in 2021 Memorial Day triple homicide underway

BATON ROUGE - The trial of two brothers charged with a triple murder on Memorial Day 2021 began Monday.Ladarrius Coleman and David Williams were teens when police say they opened fire at a pool party, killing three including 18-month-old Ja'Tyri Brown. Ja'Tyri's grandmother Hope Provost is still grieving her loss and wondering why it all happened. "What possessed you guys to come in an apartment complex and open fire with so many innocent people that had nothing to do with wha

Passing driver says he was caught in the cross fire of weekend road-rage shooting on I-10

PRAIRIEVILLE - Detectives are investigating a road rage shooting that happened Sunday afternoon on Interstate 10 westbound that injured a man and struck a car that was driving by.Chris Agostinelli was driving back to Houston, Texas, from New Orleans with his son and said he must have been close to the incident because his back window was shattered by a stray bullet while he was driving in the same area. "There's a point of crossing a line, and whenever you're pulling over or approachin

NBA Youngboy says he'll plead guilty to Louisiana gun charge - but only in Utah

BATON ROUGE — Rapper NBA Youngboy says he will plead guilty to a federal weapons charge on the condition that the case be transferred from Louisiana to Utah, where he has been living on house arrest and faces state charges alleging he ran a prescription drug fraud ring.In court documents filed last Wednesday, the rapper waived his right to a trial in Baton Rouge. U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick closed the Louisiana case and moved jurisdiction to the federal court in Salt Lake City, bu

Anti-drug abuse advocates seeing an increase in childhood overdoses

BATON ROUGE — East Baton Rouge Parish leaders said they have seen an increase in young children overdosing on drugs, specifically fentanyl, over the last couple of monthsMental health and drug abuse expert Tonja Myles said she had never seen anything like this before.“When we start seeing the reports of infants, five-month-olds, seven-month-olds, 12-month-olds were being admitted to the hospital with drugs in their system this is alarming,” Myles said.East Baton Ro

Matriarch of Audubon Zoo orangutan family dies; caregivers celebrate vibrant, creative ape

NEW ORLEANS — The Audubon Zoo in New Orleans said Monday that one of its female orangutans has died after a brief illness.The 36-year-old Sumatran orangutan, Feliz, was the matriarch of Audubon’s orangutan family. Coming to New Orleans from Texas' Glady Porter Zoo in 1989, Feliz mothered 15-year-old Menari and 5-year-old Bulan. The pair, along with the 2-year-old Roux, were all born at Audubon Zoo, the zoo said.The Audubon veterinarians worked around the clock to provide car

Tangipohoa Sheriff's Office offering $5K reward for information on double homicide

HAMMOND - The Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's office is offering a $5,000 reward for information about a double homicide that happened in late July. On July 23, deputies found Chrissy Jenkins and Christopher Hegwood shot to death. Family said Hedwood left behind three sons. No arrests have been made. Deputies are looking for any information that could lead to an arrest. Anyone can submit a tip here.Permalink| Comments