By Emily Lane & Greg Larose | WSDU | June 9, 2021 CLICK FOR VIDEO The pandemic-related backlog of cases ready for jury trial in Orleans Criminal District is “monumental,” said Rafael Goyeneche, president of the New Orleans Metropolitan Crime Commission. “Even more daunting than Katrina,” he added. Orleans Criminal District Judge Camille Buras on…
By Danae Columbus | Uptown Messenger | June 3, 2021 Operation Golden Eagle, the new collaborative partnership between the Louisiana State Police and the New Orleans Police Department, began Tuesday (June 1). Though Mayor LaToya Cantrell is unable to quantify exactly how many state troopers are participating, both she and NOPD Superintendent Shaun D. Ferguson…
By Andrea Gallo | The Advocate | May 31, 2021 Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry’s newly disclosed role as a paid board member for his top political ally’s oil services company is raising questions about whether Landry is following a state law that instructs the attorney general to devote “his full time” to the Attorney General’s office…
Tuesday, May 25, 2021 NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – United States Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that LOIS RUSSELL (“RUSSELL”), age 61 of Gibson, Louisiana, TANYA GIVENS (“GIVENS”), age 43, of Gibson, Louisiana; HENRY RANDLE (“RANDLE”), age 64, of Gibson, Louisiana; JOHN DIGGS (“J. DIGGS”), age 60, of Thibodaux, Louisiana; and DAKOTA DIGGS (“D. DIGGS”), age…
By Kaitlin Rust | WVUE | May 24, 2021 CLICK FOR VIDEO NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – Two 15-year-olds suspected of killing a 52-year-old woman in January will be charged as adults for murder. This comes after New Orleans District Attorney Jason Williams made a campaign promise not to try juveniles as adults. “The decision to…
By Jim Mustian/Associated Press | WWL-TV | May 24, 2021 CLICK FOR VIDEO NEW ORLEANS — In perhaps the strongest evidence yet of an attempted cover-up in the deadly 2019 arrest of Ronald Greene, the ranking Louisiana State Police officer at the scene falsely told internal investigators that the Black man was still a threat…
By Olivia Vidal | WVUE | May 20, 2021 CLICK FOR VIDEO NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – The New Orleans City Council is looking at several ordinances and a motion that would fully decriminalize simple possession of marijuana. Something Council President Helena Moreno said would help NOPD officers focus more on violent crimes. But opponents to the motion…
By Paul Murphy | WWL-TV | May 19, 2021 CLICK FOR VIDEO NEW ORLEANS — The Louisiana House has rejected a bill to tax the sale of pot. The bill’s author, Rep. Richard Nelson, then tabled a separate measure that created the legal framework to sell and possess recreational marijuana. The Mandeville republican said while…
By Danae Columbus | Uptown Messenger | May 13, 2021 In New York, Boston, Seattle, Atlanta, Detroit and even Jackson, Mississippi, crime and police reform have emerged as the go-to issues in the many 2021 races for mayor across the U.S. As New Orleans’ crime rate continues to escalate and the federal consent decree lingers…
By Natasha Robin | WVUE | May 12, 2021 CLICK FOR VIDEO NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) -Homicide cases are surging, up 108 percent from two years ago. “It’s sad when you hear about shootings especially night after night in New Orleans,” says Ken Caron. Every unsolved violent crime, like homicides, creates the potential for…