The Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office says several factors led to Friday’s jailbreak in which ten inmates escaped. Colleen Crain reports.
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It’s National Safe Boating Week as Louisiana’s boating season ramps up ahead of the Memorial Day weekend. Sean Richardson has more.
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The search continues for the seven inmates who escaped from the Orleans Parish jail on Friday. State Police Colonel Robert Hodges says multiple agencies are involved in the manhunt.
Cut 3 (10) “…bring them to justice.”
Hodges says they are urging the public to provide tips in helping them locate the escaped inmates. The FBI has increased its reward from five thousand dollars to ten thousand dollars for information leading to the capture of these fugitives. Hodges says they have intelligence on the seven escapees, but they are elusive.
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Hodges says anyone caught helping these fugitives stay on the run will be charged criminally.
Governor Jeff Landry says there is no excuse for what happened. He wants to know why the escape happened.
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Landry is also calling for an audit of the Orleans Parish Jail, which the Louisiana Department of Corrections will conduct. The governor says the audit should be completed by the end of the week. Landry also wants the state’s Inspector General to get an inventory of the inmates in the Orleans Parish jail who have been convicted of crimes, but are still awaiting sentencing. He says one of the escapees has been awaiting sentencing for eight months.
Orleans Sheriff Susan Hutson says defective locks, a breached wall, and possible assistance from the inside led to what is believed to be the largest jail break in the state’s history.
The inmates escaped at about one Friday morning, and jail staff didn’t notice that they were gone until 8:30 that morning when they were unaccounted for during a routine check. At least 90 minutes later, the public and the media were notified.
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It’s National Safe Boating Week, and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Enforcement Division is using this time to remind all boaters about the importance of being safe, responsible, and knowledgeable while on the water. LDWF’s Boating Education Coordinator Lieutenant Garrett Kimble says between 2020 and 2024 there were 96 boating fatalities and 78 of the victims were not wearing a life jacket…
Each vessel should have enough PFDs on board for all occupants. LDWF regulations also state that anyone 16 years of age and younger must wear a PFD while underway in vessels less than 26-foot long
LDWF also wants to remind anybody born after Jan. 1, 1984 that they are required to complete a National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA) boating education course to operate a motorboat over 10 horsepower. Kimble says boating classes are free of charge statewide…
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Kimble says Boating Safety Week serves as a time to emphasize safe boating practices in the lead up to Louisiana’s busy boating season…
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Alcohol use is one of the leading causes of boating crash incidents and fatalities on the water.
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He may have come up just short in his quest to be the next American Idol, but people in his hometown are still proud of their local hero. Andrew Greenstein is in Brusly, where there was an American Idol watch party last night.
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John Foster played his first gig last October; and in just seven short months, the 18-year-old Addis native won the hearts of everyone in Louisiana and all across the country. Foster made it all the way to the final two of American Idol, before finishing second behind Jamal Roberts. There was a watch party at the Walk-On’s in Brusly, and people there said no matter the final outcome, Foster is a winner in their books.
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Foster performed “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue,” “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” and his original “Tell That Angel That I Love Her,” in memory of his friends Maggie Dunn and Caroline Gill, who were killed in a crash New Year’s Eve 2022. Foster could not get through when performing it during his visit to his hometown last week, as he was too overcome with emotion. People at the watch party say Foster hit it out of the park.
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Attorney General Liz Murrill is planning to appeal a decision by a New Orleans judge that effectively throws her off the Antoinette Frank case. She’s the former New Orleans police officer who was sentenced to death for killing her partner and two restaurant owners in a robbery in 1995. Frank is seeking post-conviction relief as she fights her death sentence. Murrill disagrees with Judge Kimya Holmes’ ruling that says her office cannot assist the district attorney’s office in this case.
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Murrill says she especially disagrees with Holmes’ judgment that this is neither a criminal nor a civil proceeding.
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Murrill says whether the post-conviction proceedings are criminal or civil matters is irrelevant.
Judge Holmes also set future dates in the case, and Murrill is appealing that decision as well.
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They are celebrating in Stonewall as North DeSoto won its second state championship in baseball on Saturday with a seven to four win over top-seeded Brusly. Sophomore Preston Eaves got the win on the mound as he threw four innings and survived a late rally by the Panthers in the seventh inning…
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Catholic High and Teurlings Catholic won back-to-back titles. The Bears swept Brother Martin in their best of three series and the Rabels beat E-D White 14-3 on Saturday to win their 10th state championship. Head coach Brooks Badeaux…
Cut 17 (17) “…a credit to these guys”
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The LSU baseball team is the number three seed in the SEC Tournament after taking two of three from South Carolina. Kade Anderson and Anthony Eyanson were the winning pitchers in the series for the Tigers. Jacob Rudner covers college baseball for Baseball America and Rudner says Anderson and Eyanson are a big reason why LSU is a contender to win it all…
In LSU’s seven to three win on Saturday, Derek Curiel had three hits and drove in a run. Rudner says Curiel is living up to the hype as one of the top freshmen in the country…
LSU’s next game is Friday night in the SEC Tournament. The Tigers will play either Texas A&M, Mississippi State, or Auburn. Rudner says because this year’s tournament is single elimination, it’s hard to pick a winner…