Latest news with #Guillory
American Press
5 days ago
- American Press
Law enforcemcent leaders: Calcasieu Parish remains a safe place to live
Despite what is being called an 'uptick' in crime around Calcasieu Parish this summer, local law enforcement leaders want to assure residents that Southwest Louisiana remains a safe place to live and raise families. 'We're a united front,' Sheriff Stitch Guillory said during a news conference Tuesday morning while flanked by the police chiefs of Lake Charles, Iowa, Vinton, DeQuincy, McNeese State University, Sulphur and Westlake; the marshals for Lake Charles and Sulphur; Lake Charles Mayor Marshall Simien; and Calcasieu Parish District Attorney Stephen Dwight. 'The safety of our community is a shared responsibility and we're committed to confronting the issues within our community. We're going to work together, help each other, be there for each other and provide resources for each other.' In June, LCPD responded to a fatal shooting in the 200 block of North 1st Avenue and CPSO investigated the death of a man whose body was discovered on the side of the road near the 6700 block of U.S. 90 riddled with gunshot wounds. In July, CPSO investigated a fatal shooting at the Lake Charles Event Center Seawall, a Fourth of July shooting in the 1100 block of Allen Street in DeQuincy, and a shooting in the parking lot of Cowboys Night Club. On Saturday, LCPD responded to a fatal shooting in the parking lot of the On The Rocks bar. 'On social media people are saying how unsafe Lake Charles is, but that's just not true,' Guillory said. 'Everything you read on social media is not always true. We're here today to dispel those rumors. Calcasieu is a safe place to live.' CPSO — which employs 869 workers and serves more than 205,000 residents — has not had an unsolved homicide in 10 years, Guillory said. 'We go out there and we do our jobs.' In 2023, CPSO investigated seven homicides. In 2024, that number rose to nine. From January to July of this year, there have been eight homicides in the parish — four those have been in the last four weekends. 'You're not going to stop crime 100 percent, but when someone commits a crime in Calcasieu Parish we want them to know … we're coming for you.' Lake Charles Police Chief Shawn Caldwell said on the surface it may look like July had an 'uptick' in crimes, but year to date the city has not had an increase in crimes. 'When you look at it year to year, it's sometimes cyclical in nature,' he said. 'I believe this year we've been inside the norms. I will say July appears to be an anomaly.' Caldwell said his office has investigated 10 homicides this year within city limits. 'While two remain open, I am quite confident those two cases will be closed and we will have solved all 10 of those cases,' he said. 'The men and women of the Lake Charles Police Department are going to work tirelessly to solve these crimes and to (hold the offenders) accountable.' Lake Charles Mayor Marshall Simien said there are several components to keeping the community safe: law enforcement, the district attorney's office, business owners and the community. 'Part of public safety is that we have to work together,' Simien said. 'If law enforcement is out there doing their job, the public participates and the establishment owners participate, if we all work together, we can put an end to (these crimes). Most of the crimes we are seeing are done by people who know each other and are having offensive encounters. Bringing guns to a parking lot, bringing guns to nightclubs, bringing guns to places where you have alcohol, where you have emotions is a formula for disaster.' Dwight said all of the law enforcement agencies in Southwest Louisiana are 'on the same page' and 'united.' 'This is a safe community,' he said. 'I'm proud to live in this community, I'm proud to raise my family in this community.'
American Press
5 days ago
- Sport
- American Press
Cowgirls learn SLC schedule
McNeese State's women's basketball team will open its Southland Conference schedule at home on Friday, December 12, against East Texas A&M. The Cowgirls learned their league slate Tuesday when the SLC released its conference schedule. The men's schedule will be released on Wednesday. Also on Tuesday, the new McNeese head coach, Ayla Guzzardo, told the American Press that star guard Paris Guillory underwent surgery on her right knee and likely will miss the upcoming season. 'It's sad news, but we are not going to rush her back,' said Guzzardo. 'It is tough for her, but we feel she will bounce back.' Guzzardo said she expects Guillory to have a full recovery and return the following season. Guillory missed 13 games last season because of issues with the same knee. She was the only Cowgirl to average in double figures at 13.8 points. She was also the only player returning on the McNeese roster. Guillory was a high school standout and local fan favorite at St. Louis Catholic in Lake Charles. As for the SLC schedule, the opener will be a rare Friday night home game for the Cowgirls and will come a little over a month after they begin the Ayla Guzzardo era at home on Nov. 3 with their annual Kids Game against Pensacola Christian College. After the Kids Game, McNeese will head to Alabama on Nov. 6. Unlike last season, the Cowgirls will play all of their non-conference games before they begin Southland action. That's in part due to the new 22-game league schedule, as all teams will play each SLC foe on a home-and-home basis. 'I didn't mind playing just the 20 conference games,' Guzzardo said. 'That gave us two more non-conference games, but whatever the league wants to do, I'm good with.' Guzzardo comes to McNeese after a successful run at rival Southeastern, where she led the Lady Lions to the regular season title twice over the last three years. She brought most of her team with her to Lake Charles as she goes for a repeat. 'We are considering this a team repeat,' said Guzzardo, who came with 14 members of her roster and staff from SELA. 'We just want to win both the regular season and tournament titles this time.' After the league opener against ETAM, McNeese will host Northwestern State the following Monday, Dec. 15, before taking off until after Christmas. When they return, the Cowgirls will travel to Incarnate Word on Dec. 29 before finishing out 2025 on New Year's Eve at Houston Christian. The fun will begin after the new year when the Cowgirls play three straight at home, starting with Lamar on Jan. 3, followed by Nicholls five days later. Two days after that, on Saturday, Jan. 10, Southeastern will come to the Legacy Center to take on its old head coach in what should be an emotional contest. Guzzardo will return to Hammond on Jan. 22 at the end of a three-game road trip that goes from Corpus Christi, Texas, through Texas-Rio Grande Valley and ending at Southeastern. 'That will be a fun reunion with a lot of friends down there,' said Guzzardo. 'We had eight great years there and have a lot of fans.' By the end of January, the Cowgirls will have gone through a gauntlet that has them laying five of six on the road, including all the expected contenders. 'It will be tough, but that will get us battle-tested for the tournament,' said Guzzaro. 'With our preleague schedule, we should be ready for it.' McNeese will play just two of its nine nonconference games at home to start the season. McNeese will end the regular season with a home game against Stephen F. Austin on March 2. A week later, the Legacy Center will host the Southland Conference Championships with a trip to the NCAA Tournament on the line.
American Press
02-07-2025
- American Press
UPDATE: One of two murder suspects caught in Beaumont
(Emily Burleigh / American Press) The Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Office has issued warrants for two Lake Charles men accused of second-degree murder. Sheriff Stitch Guillory said Larry J. Bigelow Jr. and Titus T. Tezeno, both 22, are accused in the death of a man whose body was found late Sunday night on the side of the road near the 6700 block of U.S. 90. Guillory said during a news conference on Wednesday that deputies initially responded to a hang-up 911 call in which the caller said an unresponsive man had been found. The man was later identified as Kalin J. Stevens, 23, of Lake Charles. His death was ruled a homicide. Guillory said deputies initially thought the incident was a traffic fatality, but later found that Stevens suffered from several gunshot wounds. He cited an 'ongoing beef' between the victims and the suspects as the motive. 'Basically what happened is they've been beefing back and forth between each other — and they've had incidents before, but never to this magnitude before,' he said. Both Bigelow and Tezeno are convicted felons and are known to carry weapons, Guillory said. Bigelow has been convicted of burglary, possession of stolen items and domestic abuse. Tezeno has been convicted of burglary and aggravated assault with a firearm. Guillory is asking the public to assist CPSO in locating Tezeno. Bigelow was located in Beaumont, Texas, Wednesday afternoon and was taken into custody. 'We have made attempts to locate them and we have been unable to locate them,' Guillory said. 'We ask the public to not approach them. They are considered armed and dangerous. They've proved how dangerous they are, they've already committed one homicide.' Those who know of Tezeno's whereabouts or have recently been in touch with them are asked to call CPSO's front desk at 337-491-3605. Calcasieu Parish District Attorney Stephen Dwight said once the CPSO investigation is complete, the DA's office will bring the case to the grand jury and seek an indictment for secondary murder for Bigelow and Tezeno. Officials reminded the public of the risk of assisting Bigelow and Tezeno. 'Anyone that's aiding, abetting or assisting them in any way, you could face felony charges, and we will prosecute you also. So let's do what's right,' Dwight said. Guillory thanked the public for providing law enforcement with the information needed to get this far in the investigation in three days. 'We got this far because of the help from the public, and we're asking the public to do a little bit more. Help us locate these guys so we can get them off our streets,' he said. 'They have no business walking the streets of our community. They don't deserve to walk the streets of our community.' The bonds for Bigelow and Tezeno have been set at $1.5 million each by Judge Tony Fazzio of the 14th Judicial District Court. Tips concerning the case can be directed to the Crimestoppers hotline at 337-439-2222 or on the Close Watch Calcasieu app.
American Press
02-07-2025
- American Press
BREAKING: Body of man found on side of road riddled with gunshot wounds
(Emily Burleigh / American Press) The Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Office has issued warrants for two Lake Charles men accused of second-degree murder. Sheriff Stitch Guillory said Larry J. Bigelow Jr. and Titus T. Tezeno, both 22, are accused in the death of a man whose body was found late Sunday night on the side of the road near the 6700 block of U.S. 90. Guillory said during a news conference on Wednesday that deputies initially responded to a hang-up 911 call in which the caller said an unresponsive man had been found. The man was later identified as Kalin J. Stevens, 23, of Lake Charles. His death was ruled a homicide. Guillory said deputies initially thought the incident was a traffic fatality, but later found that Stevens suffered from several gunshot wounds. He cited an 'ongoing beef' between the victims and the suspects as the motive. 'Basically what happened is they've been beefing back and forth between each other — and they've had incidents before, but never to this magnitude before,' he said. Both Bigelow and Tezeno are convicted felons and are known to carry weapons, Guillory said. Bigelow has been convicted of burglary, possession of stolen items and domestic abuse. Tezeno has been convicted of burglary and aggravated assault with a firearm. Guillory is asking the public to assist CPSO in locating Bigelow and Tezeno. 'We have made attempts to locate them and we have been unable to locate them,' Guillory said. 'We ask the public to not approach them. They are considered armed and dangerous. They've proved how dangerous they are, they've already committed one homicide.' Those who know the suspects' whereabouts or have recently been in touch with them are asked to call CPSO's front desk at 337-491-3605. Calcasieu Parish District Attorney Stephen Dwight said once the CPSO investigation is complete, the DA's office will bring the case to the grand jury and seek an indictment for secondary murder for Bigelow and Tezeno. Officials reminded the public of the risk of assisting Bigelow and Tezeno. 'Anyone that's aiding, abetting or assisting them in any way, you could face felony charges, and we will prosecute you also. So let's do what's right,' Dwight said. Guillory thanked the public for providing law enforcement with the information needed to get this far in the investigation in three days. 'We got this far because of the help from the public, and we're asking the public to do a little bit more. Help us locate these guys so we can get them off our streets,' he said. 'They have no business walking the streets of our community. They don't deserve to walk the streets of our community.' The bonds for Bigelow and Tezeno have been set at $1.5 million each by Judge Tony Fazzio of the 14th Judicial District Court. Tips concerning the case can be directed to the Crimestoppers hotline at 337-439-2222 or on the Close Watch Calcasieu app.
American Press
27-06-2025
- American Press
Deputies suspended after video shows them repeatedly punching bar patron
Two Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's deputies have been placed on administrative leave after a video circulating on social media shows them subduing a man with force in the parking lot of a local bar. Sheriff Stitch Guillory said the deputies responded to multiple calls at the bar during the early morning hours of June 21 regarding fights in the parking lot. While attempting to disperse a crowd of people 'loitering in the parking lot,' the deputies 'encountered a man who was told multiple times to leave the property,' Guillory said in a Facebook posting Friday afternoon. Patrons of the bar who remained in the parking lot during the encounter recorded video of the incident that shows one deputy sitting on the man as he lies on his side in the parking lot. Two other deputies are crouched on either side of the man. At one point, all three appear to punch the man multiple times as a patron screams out, 'police brutality.' Two other deputies and a member of the bar's security team stand in front and on the side of the man as the punching continues. Guillory said the incident 'occurred as deputies attempted to take him into custody.' 'This incident was forwarded to our Internal Affairs Division earlier this week, prior to the video being released on social media, for a full investigation,' Guillory said. 'Internal Affairs is reviewing the totality of the situation to ensure our deputies acted appropriately and in accordance with CPSO policies and procedures.' Guillory said two of the deputies have been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation. 'Being placed on leave does not imply wrongdoing,' Guillory said. 'If the investigation determines any policy violations or wrongdoing occurred, appropriate action will be taken.'
