The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s office charges 54-year-old Ronald Gasser with manslaughter in the shooting death of former NFL player Joe McKnight in a road rage incident last Thursday. Emelie Gunn has more…
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It was a day of opening statements and emotional testimony in the Will Smith murder trial. Michelle Southern reports…:
Cut 2 (28) “I’m Michelle Southern”
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Fort Polk has moved the first round of horses off their land because there are safety concerns about wild horses roaming the Vernon Parish army base. Fort Polk spokesperson Troy Darr says they sent 50 horses to the Humane Society of North Texas in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. He says they plan to rehome the remaining 650 horses in the same manner.
Advocates have expressed concerns that the horses could be sent to kill buyers or unfit owners, and the groups have called on Fort Polk to let the horses stay on their land. But Darr says the horses aren’t safe on the Army training grounds.
Darr says the activists’ fears were eased when they announced where the horses were going. He says anyone interested in the welfare of the horses should contact the Humane Society of North Texas.
Fort Polk will rehome the horses in groups of 10 to 30 over the next three years or until they’re all gone.
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Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand held a press conference this morning to announce the arrest of 54-year-old Ronald Gasser, the man accused of killing former NFL player and John Curtis star Joe McKnight in a road rage incident last week. Normand explained the charge against Gasser….
Authorities say Gasser admitted to shooting McKnight in a busy intersection last Thursday. He was questioned that day and released. Normand says his detectives took their time to with the investigation, conducting 160 interviews and working with 70 business owners to receive video footage.
Normand says they took their time with the investigation because of different eyewitness accounts of the shooting. He defends the sheriff department’s decision for not arresting Gasser immediately, even though there were groups calling for Gasser’s arrest last Thursday….
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Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne paints a bleak fiscal picture to lawmakers during a budget hearing this morning at the State Capitol. Dardenne says not only does the state have to address a $313 million deficit for this fiscal year, there’s another $300 million shortfall looming. He says that means state agencies will have to cut back even more.
Dardenne says once again higher education and healthcare are on the chopping block. He says these agencies need to be setting priorities and preparing for realistic reductions.
Dardenne says the administration plans on presenting next year’s budget to legislators in February, and some of the proposals won’t be easy to swallow.
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A Monroe woman is facing multiple charges after she was caught shoplifting with her children. Detective Chris Bates with Monroe Police says 33-year-old Shirley Mayes and her 9-year-old and 14-year-old were caught stealing from the Monroe Walmart.
Bates says security footage shows Mayes encouraging her children to steal items while she checked out the rest of the things in her buggy.
The value of the items the family tried to steal is reportedly $575. Bates says the 9-year-old child tried to flee on foot when police arrived.
Bates says Mayes faces charges of misdemeanor shoplifting, criminal conspiracy, and three counts of contributing to child delinquency.
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