Latest news with #JeffersonParish
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Jefferson Parish StormPrep 2025 event prepares residents for hurricane season
JEFFERSON PARISH, La. (WGNO) — The 2025 hurricane season officially begins on Sunday, June 1, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says you need to be prepared. Jefferson Parish is no stranger to hurricane season, with many residents experiencing the devastation that can follow a storm. 'We know we live in a vulnerable zone for hurricanes, and this really is a time of the year where everybody needs to start having discussions on your own family prep,' said Parish President Cythnia Lee Sheng. Jefferson Parish officials discuss 2025 hurricane preparations Forty local vendors came together to offer Jefferson Parish residents the opportunity to learn about the options available when a hurricane threatened the area. Home Builders Association of Greater New Orleans CEO Dan Mills understands the pain and anguish people can go through when a storm comes through. He says small actions like trimming the branches away from your home or clearing storm drains can make a big difference. 'Clear the storm drains. Always check those window openings and try to protect them. One thing we see a lot is the wind exposure on a garage door is vast, and if that garage door caves in, it can pressurize the home and cause a lot of damage,' said Mills. Sheng points out that every Category 5 storm formed in the United States was a tropical storm, or weaker, three days before. Remembering Hurricane Katrina through the eyes of Hurricane Hunter She emphasizes the importance of having an evacuation plan ready. 'We live in a very highly, you know, dense area. When we call for an emergency evacuation, everybody needs to leave. So it's critical that the planning happens beforehand so we can execute an evacuation order as smoothly as possible,' said Sheng. Water, food, prescriptions, flashlights and batteries are just a few necessities residents should have on hand. The owner of Craig's Electrical and Generator Service, Craig Jacomine, tells WGNO the worst mistake is waiting until hurricane season to check your generator 'Start it up once a month. That's the best way to do it. But we've had people that the day before hurricanes wanted to bring portable generators in for repairs. And unfortunately, we're in hurricane mode and we have a different set of standards that we have to follow to make sure our customers are properly taken care of,' said Jacomine. Officials say home insurance is another critical necessity as hurricane season beginsNASCAR legend Michael Waltrip teams up with Austin Peay for special beer Australian actor raising money to cryogenically preserve teen son Florida mother of dead 6-year-old was trying to 'exorcise demons': sheriff In Touch, Life & Style magazines, others, to end: THR Louisiana State Police welcomes 46 new Troopers to the force Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Yahoo
Coast Guard investigates Jean Lafitte airboat crash
JEFFERSON, La. (WGNO) — An airboat accident has left one person dead and two others injured. The Coast Guard says the airboat ran into a cable that was connected to a barge. Inmate accused of helping with Orleans Justice Center jailbreak It happened at about 10:30 on Friday morning, May 23, on the Intracoastal Waterway near Jean Lafitte. 11 people were on the airboat. The Coast Guard is conducting an investigation along with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office and the Department of Wildlife and top two arms help the Tigers take down Texas A&M in SEC Tournament opener Coast Guard investigates Jean Lafitte airboat crash Behind the Scenes of 'Roller Jam,' roller skating competition show filmed in Louisiana Spencer Rattler 'confident' during battle for starting QB job with Tyler Shough Another accused of helping Orleans Justice Center jailbreak inmates Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Associated Press
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Louisiana lawmaker arrested on DWI and child endangerment charges after single-car crash
A Louisiana lawmaker is facing criminal charges after striking a concrete barrier while allegedly driving impaired with his three children in the vehicle, state police said on Wednesday. Rep. Kyle M. Green Jr., a Democrat who represents a portion of south Louisiana's Jefferson Parish, has been charged with a first-offense of driving while intoxicated, a misdemeanor punishable by fines, jail time or a license suspension in the event of a conviction. He also was charged with three counts of child endangerment and traffic violations. Louisiana State Police said officers responded to a crash around 2:30 a.m. on Wednesday after Green allegedly 'ran off the roadway' and struck a concrete barrier in the sprawling suburban parish outside New Orleans. Green and his children were not injured, the police statement said. While interacting with the lawmaker, officers said they noticed signs of impairment, according to the statement. Following a field sobriety test, Green was arrested. Green refused to submit to a breathalyzer test. The lawmaker did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment from The Associated Press. The second-term lawmaker was first elected in 2019 and is currently in the midst of Louisiana's 2025 Legislative Session. Under Louisiana law, legislators are 'privileged' from arrest under certain circumstances during their session, including if they are driving to or from committee meetings.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Yahoo
Woman sentenced for killing 6-year-old girl, leaving her body in mother's front yard
***Warning: Details in this story are disturbing.*** HARAHAN, Louisiana (WJW) – A Louisiana woman was sentenced to prison for murdering a young girl, forcing her body into a bucket and leaving the remains in the child's biological mother's front yard, the Jefferson Parish District Attorney's Office announced this week. A judge sentenced Bunnak 'Hannah' Landon to life in prison plus 80 years on Tuesday. Courtesy of Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office via Facebook Last week, she was convicted of first-degree murder and obstruction of justice in the violent death of 6-year-old Bella Fontenelle in April 2023, according to court records. The conviction came after a Jefferson Parish jury rejected Landon's insanity defense on May 1. Landon, a former stripper, met the child's father at a gentleman's club in Baton Rouge, prosecutors said. Prosecutors said they formed a '4-year-long cohabitating romantic relationship.' During that time, Landon was often left to look after Bella and her older sister. According to court records, Bella struggled after her parents split. She especially had a hard time with Landon, referred to as 'Miss Hannah,' while staying at her father's house in Harahan, Louisiana. 'Her pre-kindergarten and kindergarten teachers noted the child's inner struggle through observing – and documenting — her growing anxiety, frequent crying and declining grades,' prosecutors said in a press release. 'They associated the child's behaviors with time she had to spend at her father's, and particularly with 'Miss Hannah.'' On April 25, 2023, Landon was watching the kids while their father was working late in another city. Investigators said their grandmother picked them up from school and spent the afternoon with them before dropping them off at home. FBI child sex abuse crackdown catches 11 alleged offenders from Northeast Ohio Sometime after 7:30 p.m., investigators said Landon killed Bella by beating and strangling her and forcing the child's body into a 13-gallon bucket. According to investigators, surveillance video showed Landon around 9:30 p.m. leaving the house with a blue wagon and the bucket. Investigators said she pulled the wagon less than a quarter-mile to the child's biological mother's home, where she placed the bucket in the front yard around 9:35 p.m. before returning home. Landon then left the house for good around 9:45 p.m. According to court records, she told Bella's sister earlier that evening she would be leaving for Florida in the morning. According to investigators, the father returned home about five minutes after Landon left and went to bed without checking on his daughters. Investigators said he assumed Landon was sleeping on the couch that night. He discovered both Bella and Landon were missing the next morning and called Harahan police. An Amber Alert was issued and authorities started a widespread search 'that ranged from checking the cabinets in her father's home to patrolling miles of the nearby Mississippi River batture,' prosecutors said. Amid the search, Bella's grandmother found the bucket around 8:15 a.m. Investigators said she noticed blood on the side but couldn't unscrew the lid. She called Bella's father, who rushed over with police officers, investigators said. According to prosecutors, 'a sergeant removed the bucket's lid and found Bella's body, clad in pink pajamas with white polka dots.' Landon, who was checked into East Jefferson General Hospital for a mental evaluation after walking into the police department the night before, was arrested after investigators reviewed footage from a nearby security camera. Through the investigation, detectives learned that Landon buried her cell phone in a vacant lot after the murder. A video recording on the phone showed Bella in her bedroom, crying for her grandmother, investigators said. Detectives also learned she sent text messages to multiple people the night of the murder, including her ex-boyfriend's mother, saying, 'I'm at peace with what I've decided to do.' According to the Jefferson Parish Coroner's Office, Bella died from asphyxia due to strangulation and blunt-force trauma. She also suffered bruises and neck abrasions. 'The autopsy also revealed that Bella still may have been alive, although unconscious, when Landon folded her little body and stuffed it in the bucket head first,' prosecutors said in the release. Ruling made in death of missing man found in East Cleveland Meanwhile, forensic scientists determined that Landon's DNA was on the bucket. Landon pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. During the trial, Landon's lawyers argued that she didn't know right from wrong due to a mental illness. According to prosecutors, Dr. Gina Manguno-Mire, a forensic psychologist who met with Landon for 22 hours, testified that 'she understood the consequences of her actions at the time.' 'Landon felt her relationship with Bella's father was jeopardized because of Bella, the psychologist opined,' the prosecutor's office said. 'Bella, diagnosed with separation disorder because of her parents' split, was in counseling with a child psychologist in the weeks before she died. Bella disclosed in the sessions that Landon was mean to her. With the help of counseling, Bella worked up the courage to open up to her father about Landon. That in turn led her father to confront Landon. He told her he would 'reassess' their relationship if he heard this from his daughter again.' Prosecutors said Landon killed Bella the next day. Before Tuesday's sentencing, Bella's mother read a message from her 9-year-old daughter in court. 'Someday I will forgive you, because I want to be in heaven to see Bella,' she read aloud. The mother then spoke to Landon directly. 'You made a decision that changed the course of all our lives,' she said. 'Not only did you condemn me and my family to a life sentence of pain and sadness, but you also condemned (Bella's sister) to a life of not getting to know her sister past the age of six. (Bella's sister) no longer has a sister to fight with, to share secrets with, to confide in, to share her first kiss, to make matron of honor at her wedding, to become an aunt and Godmother to her children.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Fox 8 Cleveland WJW.
CNN
05-05-2025
- CNN
Adan Manzano: Second person charged in death of Super Bowl reporter in New Orleans
(AP) – Louisiana authorities on Monday charged a second suspect with murder in the death of a television reporter who had traveled to New Orleans to cover the Super Bowl. Adan Manzano, a 27-year-old reporter and anchor for Telemundo based in Kansas City, Missouri, was found dead February 5 in his hotel room in the New Orleans suburb of Kenner. A woman seen on security video leaving Manzano's room was later charged with second-degree murder and with stealing his credit cards and cellphone. Kenner police announced Monday that an accomplice, 34-year-old Rickey White, has also been charged with second-degree murder. White was arrested in Florida in March on robbery and fraud charges related to Manzano's death, then extradited to Louisiana. Kenner police said in a news release that the murder charge against White resulted from 'continued investigative efforts,' but officials gave no further details. Kenner Police Chief Keith Conley said at a news conference March 18 that investigators had linked White to Danette Colbert, the first suspect charged in the case, based on 'correspondence and information where they were going back and forth. So we think they were working hand-in-hand in concert with each other.' An attorney for White, Kevin Boshea, said he hadn't been informed of the murder charge before an Associated Press reporter called him Monday. 'I don't think he's guilty of the other crimes,' Boshea said, 'so how can he be guilty of murder?' Boshea said he pressed police during a preliminary hearing on the robbery and fraud charges last month to show evidence that White was in the New Orleans area when Manzano died, but they presented none. An attorney for Colbert had said that police were making 'assumptions and guesses' to link her to Manzano's death. Under Louisiana law, a defendant can be charged with second-degree murder for distributing drugs that cause a death or for committing certain crimes, including robbery, that result in someone dying. An autopsy found Manzano died lying facedown on a pillow and unable to breathe after ingesting a combination of alcohol and the depressant Xanax,Jefferson Parish Coroner Gerry Cvitanovich told reporters in March. Police said security video from Manzano's hotel showed him and Colbert entering his room together the day of his death. Footage showed Colbert leaving without him about an hour later. Authorities have said Colbert later used Manzano's credit card to make a purchase at a New Orleans gas station and at several stores in the area. Police have also said Manzano's medical records showed no prescriptions for Xanax or other depressants, and that they recovered the drug from Colbert's home.
