By Mike Perlstein/WWL Staff | WWL-TV| March 12, 2021 CHARLES PARISH, La. — Ever since construction worker Brady Ortego was struck by a hit-and-run driver on the Hale Boggs Bridge and sent flying into the river, his widow Adele has been waiting for a phone call from the State Police. After waiting nearly eight weeks,…
By Mike Perlstein | WWL-TV | March 5, 2021 LULING, La. — The driver in the Jan. 14 fatal hit-and-run accident on the Hale Boggs Bridge has been identified in a wrongful death lawsuit filed Friday on behalf of the victim’s widow and stepdaughter. The suit filed names Hunter Johnson, 22, of Reserve as the…
By ArLuther Lee | The Atlanta Journal-Constitution | March 5, 2021 A New Orleans judge will take another week to decide whether the man who shot and killed former New Orleans Saints player Will Smith will be granted bond after an emotional virtual court hearing Thursday. Cardell Hayes, who gunned down Smith in 2016 after…
By Natasha Robin | WVUE | March 4, 2021 CLICK FOR VIDEO NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – When police arrested a juvenile on Tuesday, they say they found a stolen black Glock, a rifle and several rounds of bullets. “Something is definitely wrong if a juvenile can have his hands on those types of weapons,” says…
By Olivia Vidal | WVUE | March 4, 2021 CLICK FOR VIDEO NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – An emotional day in court today as a bond hearing took place for the man convicted of killing former Saints player Will Smith. The hearing comes after the U.S. Supreme Court vacated the manslaughter conviction for Cardell Hayes, as the jury was not unanimous…
By Tommy Tucker | WWL Radio | Occasionally stories pop up that run parallel to each other. Sometimes its coincidence; sometimes its cause and effect. That was the case today as we discussed raising the curfew age in Orleans Parish. The parallel story to curfew age concerned a teenager whom, according to the Advocate, was…
By Sam Hanna Jr. | The Ouachita Citizen | March 3, 2021 Editor’s Note: This column was first published the week of Feb. 3, 2020. Twelve years ago in Gov. Bobby Jindal’s first year in office, the newly elected governor called a special session for lawmakers to entertain a package of reform bills to improve…
By Natasha Robin | WVUE | February 24, 2021 CLICK FOR VIDEO NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – Orleans District Attorney Jason Williams announced his new Juvenile Division Chief as well as his plan moving forward on how to handle juvenile offenders. Williams announced Tenee Felix as the new Juvenile Division Chief. Felix was formally an attorney…
By Newell Normand | WWL Radio | February 22, 2021 Click below to listen to full interview: A recent consent decree monitor report states the NOPD has not met its goals and that there is more work that needs to be done. Areas of concern include ‘supervision, stop searches and arrests, and performance evaluations.’ Newell invited…
By Garey Forster | The Advocate | February 17, 2021 Eleven months into the pandemic and everyone’s personal behavior, work patterns and consumption choices have changed. Governments have collected fewer taxes, budgets have shortfalls, and services are cut at the state and local levels since only the feds can deficit-spend. It’s anyone’s guess when things…