A Rapides grand jury has indicted three people for second-degree murder and other charges in the suspected murder case of a 25-year-old woman who suffered from cerebral palsy. Jeff Palermo has the story…
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New court filings in the suspected hazing death of an LSU student paints the deceased, Maxwell Gruver, as a party animal. Kevin Barnhart has the story.
Cut 2 (31) “I’m Kevin Barnhart”
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Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy is unsure how he will vote on a congressional measure that seeks to block President Donald Trump’s national emergency over the southern border wall. The Democratic controlled U-S House of Representatives is expected to vote on the resolution today and Cassidy says he wants to read the legislation before he decides on how he’ll vote
The national emergency frees up billions of dollars to enhance the southern border wall. Cassidy says he’s for improved border security, but is concerned about the precedent the president is setting by calling a national emergency
Democrats say the national emergency declaration is unconstitutional and unnecessary. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says there is no emergency at the border. Cassidy says the national emergency called by President Trump could pave the way for a future Democratic president like Elizabeth Warren, calling a national emergency so the federal government can confiscate assault rifles
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Northeast Louisiana has seen a 44 percent drop in the violent crime rate since 2016. The Western District of the US Attorney’s Office credits that drop with a new policy that busts criminals for firearms offenses, before they end up using that gun to commit a violent crime. Attorney David Joseph says most of those targeted under the new policy are drug dealers.
Joseph says people in the drug trade, even those who commit lower level offenses, and who possess guns are more likely to commit a violent crime.
Joseph says the policy is effective, but The effort was bolstered when the US Attorney General sent in some reinforcements to help enforcement.
Guns can be a touchy issue in Louisiana, particularity in the Northeast. But Joseph says he’s gotten full cooperation from agencies and locals in the area after he let them know that he’s no politician…
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An attorney for the former LSU student charged with negligent homicide in the alleged hazing death of Maxwell Gruver has submitted new court filings that paint Gruver as a party animal who consumed alcohol and marijuana willingly on a daily basis. Legal analyst Tim Meche says Matthew Naquin’s lead attorney John McLindon latest filings argue that his client is not responsible for Gruver’s passing, but that blame falls on the deceased.
Cut 9 (11) “…caused by himself.”
The filings insist Gruver began using alcohol and smoking pot from the first day he set foot on the LSU campus. Meche says a filing of this nature is likely admissible in this case.
Cut 10 (08)“…present a defense.”
Meche says Naquin’s lawyer is doing exactly what a defense lawyer is supposed to do in defending his client.
Cut 11 (12) “…period of time.”
The trial is set for July. The Gruver family has responded in a Facebook post saying “Let the victim shaming begin. We will not back down. We will not be threatened.”
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Superintendent of Education John White slammed the governor’s budget for failing to include additional funding for early childhood education. He praised the budget’s inclusion of a teacher pay raise, and increases in education spending elsewhere, but says the pending expiration of a federal grant means Louisiana needs has to fill the impending funding gap.
He noted only seven percent of infants and toddlers and only 30 percent of three-year-olds who qualify for childcare programs have gained access.
Early childhood education has seen a rise in interest as a national movement has brought the issue into the limelight. White says he’s disappointed that despite the program’s popularity, it didn’t make the cut for increased funding in the state’s largest ever proposed budget.
White says childcare assistance has dropped to 15,000 enrollees today from a high of 40,000.
The Superintendent says expanding childcare assistance benefits the most vulnerable, working class families in the state.