LUY-Development

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  • Suspect In Hostage Situation Dies During Police Encounter

    Suspect In Hostage Situation Dies During Police Encounter

    GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) — A suspect in a hostage situation died while police were responding early Thursday, authorities said.

    Gulfport police were called to a home just before 2 a.m. after someone reported a domestic disturbance, according to a statement from the agency.

    When officers arrived, they learned a hostage was being held and attempted to speak with the suspect, the statement said. Officials said officers later “engaged” and the suspect died from unspecified injuries at the scene.

    Police did not identify the suspect or say how they died. The victim of the hostage situation was taken to a hospital for treatment.

    The victim was not identified and their condition was not given Thursday.

    Authorities did not comment further on the circumstances surrounding the hostage situation or the death.

    The Mississippi Bureau of Investigations was set to conduct an independent investigation. The officers involved were placed on administrative leave per procedure.

  • 4 Nominees Are Confirmed To Education Boards In Mississippi

    4 Nominees Are Confirmed To Education Boards In Mississippi

    JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The Mississippi Senate on Tuesday confirmed three people to the state Board of Education and one to the state Charter School Authorizer Board.

    Former Madison County Schools Superintendent Ronnie McGehee of Madison was nominated to the nine-member Board of Education by Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann. McGehee is executive director of the Mississippi Association of School Administrators and Mississippi Association of Secondary School Principals. His term on the board will expire June 30, 2028.

    Gulfport School District Superintendent Glen East of Gulfport was nominated to the state Board of Education by Gov. Tate Reeves. East’s term will expire June 30, 2023.

    Angela Bass of Jackson was also nominated by Reeves to the state Board of Education for a term that ends June 30, 2025. Bass has worked as a teacher and is executive director of the Mississippi Early Learning Alliance.

    Kimberly Remak of Olive Branch was nominated to the six-member Charter School Authorizer Board by Hosemann. Her term will end in August 2022. Remak is a nurse with 25 years’ experience and serves on the Mississippi State ABLE Board, which helps people with disabilities.

    Three seats on the state Board of Education are vacant. One member of the charter school board recently died.

  • Mississippi Pushes To OK College Athletes’ Earning On Image

    Mississippi Pushes To OK College Athletes’ Earning On Image

    JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi legislators are pushing forward with proposals to let college athletes earn money from their own name, image or likeness.

    Legislative leaders say all eight of Mississippi’s public universities and the state College Board support the proposals to help the schools compete for talent.

    Senate Bill 2313 passed the Senate on Tuesday and will go to the House for more work later.

    House Bill 1030 is similar, and it could come up for debate in the House this week.

    The two chambers would have to agree on a single bill to send to Republican Gov. Tate Reeves for his consideration.

    A Florida law that takes effect July 1 will let student-athletes make money through contracts. A similar California law takes effect in January 2023. A small number of other states have also enacted such laws.

    The NCAA, which governs intercollegiate sports, says that it is “best positioned to provide a uniform and fair name, image and likeness approach for all student-athletes on a national scale.”

  • Sheriff: Arrest In Black Teen’s Disappearance And Death

    Sheriff: Arrest In Black Teen’s Disappearance And Death

    A Louisiana woman was arrested Tuesday in connection with the disappearance and death late last year of a Black teenwhose body was found days after he was reported missing.

    Janet Irvin, 37, was jailed on charges of felony failure to report 15-year-old Quawan “Bobby” Charles missing and of contributing to juvenile delinquency, Sheriff Tommy Romero said in a news release and video statements.

    He said no bond has been set for Irvin, who was arrested in nearby Lafayette Parish and then moved to the Iberia Parish jail. Deputy Kathleen Breaux, a spokeswoman for Romero, said she did not know whether Irvin has an attorney who could speak for her.

    “I hope this arrest begins to help this family heal. and by no means is this case closed,” Romero said in a news release on video.

    Four attorneys for Charles’ family said, “We are thankful that she is finally being held criminally responsible.”

    The family filed a missing persons report Oct. 30 in the St. Mary Parish town of Baldwin. The teen’s body — which an autopsy report described as unclothed — was found the evening of Nov. 3 about 20 miles (32 kilometers) away in woods near the Iberia Parish town of Loreauville.

    Two autopsies, one for the family and the other for the Iberia Parish Coroner’s Office, found small amounts of alcohol and THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, in his blood.

    The attorneys provided a copy of the report made for the coroner. It said Charles might have drowned himself during a psychotic episode possibly brought on by marijuana.

    The autopsy said in part, “Reportedly he had been at a residence where drugs were consumed including possible marijuana (THC) and psilocybin mushrooms. Reportedly after smoking a substance the decedent passed out and when he awoke he became combative. Reportedly he said he was ‘going to kill himself’.”

    Tests didn’t detect any psilocybin, according to that report. Although the family’s autopsy is not yet complete, its toxicology report had the same findings for drugs and alcohol, attorney Ron Haley said.

    The report to the coroner said another witness reportedly saw Charles crawling in culverts behind a school, and quoted autopsy witnesses as saying surveillance video showed him alone near the area where his body was found.

    Although the report said Charles’ body was found submerged in a ditch, the attorneys said in their statement about it that he died in far shallower water.

    “It is well understood that the accidental drowning of an able-bodied person in ankle-deep water is nearly impossible,” they wrote.

    In their statement about Irvin’s arrest, the lawyers said she was arrested after sheriffs deputies met with their private investigator to exchange notes.

    “We are thankful that the fruits of this meeting led to an arrest of Ms. Irvin, but this is only the first step in a long march towards justice for Quawan,” they said.

  • Louisiana Accountant Sentenced In $7M Embezzlement Scheme

    Louisiana Accountant Sentenced In $7M Embezzlement Scheme

    NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A Louisiana accountant has been sentenced to just over five years in prison for embezzling more than $7 million from a shipping company and defrauding the U.S. government of more than $1 million in income taxes, according to the Justice Department.

    Deepak Jagtiani, 61, of Metairie, received the 63-month sentence Tuesday in federal court on charges of wire fraud and making false statements on a federal income tax return, according to a statement from The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

    Jagtiani was accused of paying himself excessive salaries and benefits over a decade, beginning in 2009, when he served as the comptroller of Dan-Gulf Shipping, Inc., a Louisiana-based freight forwarding company, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

    Jagtiani managed the payroll and other accounts for the company and admitted he used his authority to embezzle millions from Dan-Gulf and its business partner, according to court documents.

    Jagtiani also admitted to filing false personal tax returns from 2014 to 2017, in which he claimed business losses through a fake catering business and avoided paying more than $1.2 million in federal income taxes, prosecutors said.

    The accountant was ordered to pay restitution to his former employer and the IRS.

  • Police Standoff At New Orleans Hotel Ends Peacefully

    Police Standoff At New Orleans Hotel Ends Peacefully

    NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A standoff with police at a New Orleans hotel lasted nearly 12 hours and ended peacefully with the armed suspect in custody, police said Wednesday.

    Officers arrested Charles Mangrum, 35, early Wednesday, police said. Police Chief Shaun Ferguson said Mangrum is a wanted sex offender out of St. Tammany Parish. Mangrum also was wanted for parole violation, Ferguson said. When officers showed up at the hotel around noon Tuesday, Ferguson said Mangrum barricaded himself in a room with another person, WWL-TV reported.

    Police said during the standoff Mangrum fired five shots at officers from the hotel room, WVUE-TV reported. Several rounds struck a police department armored vehicle, WVUE said. No one was injured.

    Ferguson said Mangrum had several weapons inside the hotel room.

    The other person in the room with Mangrum is believed to be a woman who escaped through a window on the hotel’s second floor. Her role in the incident is unclear. A witness told WWL-TV that she escaped the room after police put a ladder next to the window.

  • ACLU Seeks Louisiana State Police Facial Recognition Records

    ACLU Seeks Louisiana State Police Facial Recognition Records

    BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana said Tuesday it is suing state police for records regarding the use of facial recognition technology.

    The organization’s executive director, Alanah Odoms, filed a public records request in September 2019 for records referencing facial recognition software used by Louisiana State Police and about training of state police by a software company, according to the suit.

    The ACLU is among advocacy groups that have raised concerns about the growing use of facial recognition software in public venues. The lawsuit cited concerns that the technology is used to surveil people without their knowledge and that it contributes to racial profiling.

    “Many commentators have criticized facial recognition as extremely faulty technology that raises issues of racial justice because it falsely identifies people of color as criminals,” the lawsuit said.

    It said state police claimed not to maintain records “responsive” to Odoms’ request regarding software. The state police attorney also said some of the records sought would be exempt from state public records law.

    In a news release accompanying the lawsuit, the ACLU said there is evidence that Louisiana State Police does have records sought by Odoms.

    “Last year, following a separate public records request, the ACLU of Louisiana obtained nearly 50 pages of email requests from the New Orleans Police Department to the Louisiana State Police Fusion Center asking LSP to use facial recognition on various photos and video stills,” the ACLU statement, and the lawsuit, said.

    “Upon receiving the lawsuit, our department will review with our legal staff,” state police Lt. Nick Manale said in an email. “We will not be able to provide statements on pending litigation.”

    The lawsuit also disputes the contention by state police that some of the records are exempt from public records law.

  • Louisiana Sheriff Moves To Drop Virus Suit Against China

    Louisiana Sheriff Moves To Drop Virus Suit Against China

    A Louisiana sheriff is dropping a lawsuit filed in May seeking damages from China because of the spread of the new coronavirus.

    The Tangipahoa Sheriff’s Office filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit Monday in federal court in New Orleans.

    Sheriff Daniel Edwards’ lawsuit was filed as a class-action suit on behalf of sheriffs throughout the nation.

    The suit said there was evidence that the virus originated in a laboratory in China — a contention discounted by experts. It said the spread of the virus and the resulting effect on commerce in the United States caused sheriffs to lose revenue from various fees and taxes, including those tied to property values. And, the suit said, it drove up the sheriffs’ costs of running jails, requiring testing of inmates and guards.

    Monday’s court filing gave no reason for seeking dismissal.

    Legal experts had said there was little likelihood the Tangipahoa suit and others like it filed in the past year by various governments against China would succeed under sovereign immunity laws protecting one nation from being sued in another nation.

    China last month sent a letter to the court saying it was refusing to serve documents on defendants in the case, saying it would be an infringement of sovereignty.

    Edwards’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

  • 4 La. State Police Troopers Charged In Excessive Force Cases

    4 La. State Police Troopers Charged In Excessive Force Cases

    The Louisiana State Police on Monday arrested four troopers accused of using excessive force, deactivating their body-worn cameras and making false statements about two arrests in 2019 and 2020.

    The charges followed a monthslong internal investigation into use of force incidents in the northern part of the state — a probe begun amid mounting scrutiny of the agency’s Troop F, which patrols the Monroe area and the surrounding parishes.

    Federal authorities separately are investigating troopers from the same troop in the 2019 case of Ronald Greene, a Black man whose death in State Police custody still has not been explained. An attorney for Greene’s family has said that body-camera footage — which the state refuses to make public — shows troopers choking and beating the man, repeatedly jolting him with stun guns and dragging him face-down across the pavement.

    One of the four troopers arrested Monday, Dakota DeMoss, 28, also was involved in Greene’s arrest and the high-speed chase that prompted a federal civil rights investigation.

    He and two other troopers, George Harper, 26, and Jacob Brown, 30, face state charges of simple battery and malfeasance in office in connection with a May 2020 police chase in Franklin Parish.

    All three troopers used excessive force while handcuffing a motorist who exited a vehicle and “immediately laid on the ground in a compliant position,” State Police said in a news release. They also are accused of turning off their body cameras.

    Brown is charged with falsifying use of force and arrest reports and failing to “indicate and provide video evidence,” according to the news release.

    It was not immediately clear whether the troopers had defense attorneys who could comment on the allegations.

    State Police also booked Brown on new charges in a July 2019 drug arrest that followed a traffic stop on Interstate 20 in Ouachita Parish.

    Brown and another trooper, Randall Dickerson, 34, used “excessive and unjustifiable force on the handcuffed driver, deactivated body worn cameras and reported untruthful statements regarding the alleged resistance by the suspect,” State Police said in the news release.

    Brown had been arrested in December on battery and malfeasance charges in yet another incident involving a man who says authorities followed him to his house, dragged him from his car and beat and kicked him, breaking his ribs.

    The newly appointed State Police superintendent, Col. Lamar Davis, said that unjustified use of force is “inexcusable and tarnishes the exemplary work of our dedicated men and women.”

    “Although we once again face a situation that will undoubtedly bring negative public attention to our agency, we must remain committed to holding each other accountable,” he told rank-and-file troopers in an internal email obtained by The Associated Press.

  • New Boost For Minority Businesses In Underserved Communities

    New Boost For Minority Businesses In Underserved Communities

    NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Small minority-owned businesses have often struggled to gain access to capital and other tools to grow, a challenge made more daunting by the economic upheaval of the coronavirus pandemic. But a new effort announced Tuesday aims to address those disparities in pockets of the nation long gripped by poverty.

    Hope Enterprise Corporation, which runs a Jackson, Mississippi-based credit union that specializes in lending and other financial services to underserved communities, is partnering with seven cities and nine historically Black colleges and universities to launch the “Deep South Economic Mobility Collaborative.” Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses initiative is providing up to $130 million to the endeavor, which will be available to clients in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas and Tennessee.

    It’s estimated that well over 100,000 small U.S. businesses have failed since the COVID-19 pandemic began, with underserved communities struck especially hard. Many struggling companies were unable to get loans, including newly formed businesses and those whose financial records didn’t meet bank requirements.

    “We’ve seen businesses close in record numbers, particularly small businesses, mom and pop businesses, those owned by people of color,” said Bill Bynum, CEO of Hope Enterprise Corporation, speaking exclusively to The Associated Press ahead of the launch. “We think right now the resources that we have and the partnerships that we can bring to bear with cities and with anchor institutions like HBCUs is needed now more than ever.”

    The collaborative is something like a “one-stop shop for business support,” said Bynum.

    Participating small business owners can access capital provided by Goldman and take online classes offered through Goldman’s 10,000 Small Businesses Initiative. Other resources include small business development centers offered by some HBCUs, and procurement and contracting programs in certain cities, Bynum said.

    Any business owner in the five states can apply, but the program aims especially to help minority-owned businesses in a region that has struggled to address deep poverty and racial economic disparities.

    Hope gave out nearly 3,000 loans in the Deep South in the first round of lending of the Paycheck Protection Program, a key federal effort to help businesses hurt by the economic closures arising from the pandemic.

    Chris Johnson, owner of The Barber Club Shop LLC in a New Orleans suburb, was one of them. After spending a frustrating two hours on hold with a major bank only to get disconnected, he reached out to Hope and got a live person immediately.

    He was told that he didn’t qualify at that time because he was the sole proprietor without any employees. But the Hope employee took his name and email and contacted him later when the guidelines changed. He applied and received a loan, enabling him to stay open.

    A June study by University of California, Santa Cruz economist Robert Fairlie showed that while 22% of businesses nationwide closed in the immediate onslaught of the pandemic, the situation was far worse for minority-owned businesses: 41% of Black-owned businesses and 32% of Latino-owned businesses closed. When later data showed a business rebound, minority-owned businesses were slower to reopen.

    An analysis by The Associated Press in December also found that it took longer for minority owned businesses to obtain funding through the PPP.

    Margaret Anadu, Goldman Sachs Managing Director and Head of the Urban Investment Group, said the collaborative aims to tap Hope’s expertise and experience in a region that has suffered economically. Anadu said the goal is very focused: “Let’s get capital to Black-owned businesses in the Deep South where there is some significant distress and do it with our public sector leaders and the best mission driven lender in that region.”

    The project aims to help small businesses not just survive the immediate loss of revenue but figure out how to adapt their economic models for the long haul, Anadu said. For example, how do they create an e-commerce portal or develop better social media strategies?

    Jackson, Mississippi, is one of the cities taking part in the collaborative. Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba said a lot of the businesses in the city where 85% of the residents are Black suffer from lack of access to capital. Many of the business owners are skilled at their craft but don’t always have the financial education or resources they need to grow.

    “Part of my goal in supporting minority businesses is the expectation that if we can create the hole and they run through it then … they hire and support those people from the community which gave birth to them,” the mayor said.

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    Follow Santana on Twitter at https://twitter.com/ruskygal.