h judge punished for ‘$100 handshake’ handed new suspension for repeated misconduct BY JOHN SIMERMAN | Staff writer 8 hrs ago A h judge who just served a 20-day suspension for accepting a “$100 handshake” has agreed to spend his last four months in office on unpaid suspension over a handful of other ethical fouls.
Denham Springs man gets 2½ years in prison for attacking, yelling racial slurs at mail carrier BY QUINN COFFMAN | Staff writer 21 hrs ago A 27-year-old Denham Springs man was sentenced to 2½ years in federal prison Thursday for yelling racial slurs at a female mail carrier outside his apartment, then grabbing and slamming her to…
Zachary schools, bus company spar over liability in alleged rape on school bus BY QUINN COFFMAN | Staff writer Jun 25, 2026 The Zachary Community School District and its contracted school bus operator are sparring over who is potentially liable after a middle school girl claimed she was raped by classmates during a…
+3 Baton Rouge judge adds St. George, other cities to lawsuit over district attorney funding BY PATRICK SLOAN-TURNER | Staff writer Jun 24, 2026 As District Attorney Hillar Moore continues to fight in court for more funding for his office, all of the parish’s cities must now join the case as defendants alongside the East Baton Rouge Pa…
Teenager convicted in LSU game-day shooting that injured two BY QUINN COFFMAN | Staff writer Jun 24, 2026 A 17-year-old was convicted Monday on two counts of attempted second-degree murder for a football game-day shooting at LSU that injured two people, including a bystander.
Major firm hired to help AG in New Orleans sheriff, Baton Rouge corruption investigations BY PATRICK SLOAN-TURNER | Staff writer Jun 24, 2026 The h Attorney General's office has hired a top-flight accounting firm, records show, as it continues to pursue separate investigations into alleged corruption in Baton Rouge governmen…
+2 Gov. Jeff Landry says Louisian has reached a 'final agreement' with Exxon in coastal lawsuits By ALEX LUBBEN | Staff writer Updated Jun 24, 2026 Gov. Jeff Landry announced Tuesday that h and ExxonMobil had reached a final settlement agreement in lawsuits brought by parishes alleging that the oil company had polluted the state’s…
+5 Inmate death in private h jail sparks legal battle over corporate accountability BY PATRICK SLOAN-TURNER | Staff writer Jun 23, 2026 Sprawled on the concrete floor of a jail cell in LaSalle Parish, Jaleen Anderson could do little more than wave at an overhead surveillance camera for help.
+3 How h nitrogen gas executions could be affected by court ruling on Alabama BY JOHN SIMERMAN | Staff writer Updated Jun 20, 2026 Advocates for death row inmates in h are praising a decision this month by the U.S. Supreme Court that barred Alabama from carrying out its latest scheduled execution by nitrogen gas, …
Are ‘six pack’ juries, used in h, constitutional? U.S. Supreme Court to decide BY JOHN SIMERMAN | Staff writer Jun 20, 2026 In crimes where Louisian’s criminal code does not specify hard labor upon a conviction, six-person juries can decide a defendant’s guilt.
+2 Alabama man admits to faking his dad’s death in h to evade rape charges in another state BY MATT BRUCE | Staff writer Jun 20, 2026 Melvin Phillip Emde was facing sexual misconduct charges in North Carolina when he and his son, Seth Emde, devised a scheme to fake his drowning death in the Mississippi River in St. Charles P…
+3 NOLA federal prosecutor under investigation for alleged relationship with subordinate, sources say By JAMES FINN and JOHN SIMERMAN | Staff writers Jun 17, 2026 He was the lead prosecutor on the case against former mayor LaToya Cantrell but has since been placed on leave.
Teen shooter laughed at Baton Rouge father when asked to 'stop being a coward' in court BY QUINN COFFMAN | Staff writer Jun 17, 2026 A Baton Rouge father, shot four times last year while defending his daughter from bullying, told the 19-year-old shooter in court Wednesday that he should "stop being a coward" and accept resp…
+2 Senior federal prosecutor withdrawn from LaToya Cantrell case, placed on leave, sources say By JAMES FINN and JOHN SIMERMAN | Staff writersUpdated Jun 17, 2026 After being prompted to the office’s head of criminal prosecutions, he was recently stripped of the title, people familiar with the matter told The Times-Picayune.
+2 Landowner sues St. George over ‘restrictive’ proposal under new zoning overhaul BY CLAIRE GRUNEWALD | Staff writer Jun 16, 2026 A notable landowner is suing the city of St. George over a proposed zoning change it claims is “unconstitutional and unenforceable.”
A Baton Rouge 18-year-old’s murder trial was halted over a math error with his age BY QUINN COFFMAN | Staff writer Jun 16, 2026 A Baton Rouge murder suspect had his second-degree murder indictment quashed Monday after it was revealed he'd been too young at the time of the offense to be tried in the 19th Judicial Distri…
Ankle monitor company gave OK for defendant to violate bond hundreds of times, Baton Rouge DA says BY QUINN COFFMAN | Staff writer Jun 15, 2026 A Baton Rouge ankle monitoring company allowed a defendant to break the conditions of his bond hundreds of times in a two-month span, with employees appearing to have approved the man's moveme…
+3 h judge slams ICE for trying to deport 77-year-old Palestinian man living here 51 years By JAMES FINN | Staff writer Jun 12, 2026 Federal officials this week tried to deport a 77-year-old Palestinian-born man — a 51-year U.S. resident living in north h — after a federal judge ordered him released from custody, in…
Mother of 2-year-old found in suitcase given 14 years for punching girl in the stomach BY QUINN COFFMAN | Staff writer Jun 11, 2026 The mother of a murdered 2-year-old girl, whose body was found inside a suitcase buried in a shallow grave in Mississippi, was sentenced to 14 years in prison Thursday for her role in the chil…
Gad Black, accused of fatally running down BRPD Sgt. Caleb Eisworth, declared unfit for trial BY QUINN COFFMAN | Staff writer Jun 11, 2026 First-degree murder suspect Gad Black, accused of fatally running down Baton Rouge Police Sgt. Caleb Eisworth almost a year ago, was found mentally unfit to stand trial Thursday.
Two alleged Bleedas members get 35 years each after pleading to ATM hold-ups, attempted murder BY QUINN COFFMAN | Staff writer Jun 11, 2026 Two alleged members of the Bleedas gang were each sentenced to 35 years in prison after pleading guilty Monday to robbing multiple Baton Rouge ATMs and carrying out an attempted drive-by shoot…
h fire chief facing misconduct charges over fire during burn ban, spat with police chief BY JOHN SIMERMAN | Staff writer Jun 11, 2026 As h broiled in August 2023, the State Fire Marshal issued a burn ban, leaving it to local officials to grant exceptions if needed.
Four Baton Rouge jail guards charged for allegedly beating inmates in areas without cameras BY QUINN COFFMAN | Staff writer Jun 10, 2026 Four guards at the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison were indicted in federal court on Wednesday over accusations that they brought multiple prisoners to areas of the prison without cameras, beat…
h judge accused of misconduct over Gonzales bar scrap at Swamp Chicken Daiquiris BY JOHN SIMERMAN | Staff writer Jun 10, 2026 Three years ago, a late-night fracas landed a state judge, Steven Tureau, in the mud and trash behind Swamp Chicken Daiquiris, a Gonzales bar.
Baton Rouge district attorney and challenger spar over a hate crime case as election approaches BY PATRICK SLOAN-TURNER | Staff writer Jun 9, 2026 Allegations that a 13-year-old boy dressed up in Ku Klux Klan garb to deface a neighbor’s property with racist messages have sparked a fight between Baton Rouge’s district attorney and his fir…
Baton Rouge cybersecurity firm sued after hackers gain access to St. George Fire District BY QUINN COFFMAN | Staff writer Jun 9, 2026 The St. George Fire Protection District is suing a Baton Rouge cybersecurity firm after hackers were found to have gained access to the fire district's network — and were lying in wait for a f…
h judge suspended over ‘$100 handshake’ faces 4 new ethics counts. What happened? BY JOHN SIMERMAN | Staff writer Updated Jun 5, 2026 When the h Supreme Court suspended a state judge last month for 20 days for accepting a “$100 handshake” from a local resident, the high court called the misconduct “a single isolated …
+2 Baton Rouge’s public defender will get a funding boost — including help from St. George, Central and Baker BY PATRICK SLOAN-TURNER | Staff writer Jun 4, 2026 A bill headed to Gov. Jeff Landry's desk would guarantee Baton Rouge's public defender $1 million a year from the city-parish budget, but its author, State Rep. C. Denise Marcelle, D-Baton Rou…