RSS Feed

(Editor’s note: The charges listed here and the narratives that go with them are provided by the police agencies that made the arrests. Guilt or innocence has not been determined in court.)

A Berwick woman was arrested by town police Thursday after officers searched her home and found items believed to have been stolen, arrest reports say.
Berwick
Police Chief David Leonard reported this arrest:
—Nicole Fisher, 48, Berwick, was arrested at 4:48 p.m. Thursday on two counts of theft and on a 16th Judicial District Court warrant.
About 4:24 p.m. Thursday, officers with the Berwick Police Department executed a search warrant at a Trevino Street residence in reference to a recent theft investigation.
Items that had been recently reported stolen were located inside the residence and seized as evidence. During the course of the investigation, Fisher was located inside and placed under arrest on active warrants that Berwick Police Department held for her arrest, which stemmed from  this investigation.  
Fisher was later transported to Berwick Police Department, where she was booked on the theft charges and additionally booked on a 16th JDC warrant for failure to appear.
She posted bond of $8,000 and was released.

St. Mary
Sheriff Blaise Smith advised that over the last 24-hour reporting period, the Sheriff’s Office responded to 32 complaints and reported this arrest:
—Shannon Gail Wright, 30, Patterson, was arrested at 11:59 a.m. Thursday on a charge of entry or remaining on premises after being forbidden. Bail was set at $500.

Morgan City
Police Chief James F. Blair reported that over the last 24-hour period, the Morgan City Police Department responded to 43 calls for service and made this arrest:
—Gary J. Johnson, 46, Egle Street, Morgan City, was arrested at 3:10 p.m. Thursday on a warrant for illegal use of a movable.

Franklin
Police Chief Morris Beverly reported that the Police Department responded to 16 complaints over a 24-hour period ending Thursday and made these arrests:
 —Latricia Marquez, 37, Judy Lane, Patterson, was arrested at 11:19 a.m. Thursday on a warrant dated May 12 for the charges of possession of methamphetamine, possession of Vyvanse, possession of drug paraphernalia and unlawful possession of a controlled dangerous substance in presence of persons under age 17.
Marquez was booked, processed and transported to the St. Mary Parish Law Enforcement Center.
—Christopher Marquez, 35, Judy Lane, Patterson, was arrested at 12:39 p.m. Thursday on a warrant dated May 12 for the charges of possession of marijuana (second offense), possession of drug paraphernalia (second offense) and illegal use of s controlled dangerous substance in the presence of persons under age 17.
Marquez was booked, processed and held with no bond set.

St. Martin
Sheriff Becket Breaux reported these arrests:
—Bryalon Dugas, 27, Valsin Street, was arrested Thursday by the Breaux Bridge Police Department on charges of simple battery, aggravated assault with a firearm and possession of a firearm in a firearm-free zone.
—Matias Francisco Juan, 23, Huval Street, Henderson, was arrested Thursday by the Henderson Police Department on a charge of child endangerment/domestic abuse simple battery.
—Copper Cormier, 43, St. Peter Street, was arrested Thursday on an extradition warrant.
—Jimmy Lafleur, 44, Angelwood Road, Breaux Bridge, was arrested Thursday on a charge of aggravated domestic abuse battery (aggravated).
—Jorge Medrano Del Toro, 19. Quonset, Sacramento, California, was arrested Thursday on charges of criminal conspiracy and manufacture, distribution or possession with intent to distribute Schedule II drugs.
—Johnella Sam, 37, Sugar Creek Road, St. Martinville, was arrested Thursday on a charge of obstruction of justice.
—Derrick Zachery, 45, Dogwood Lane, Beaumont, Texas, was arrested Thursday by the Breaux Bridge Police Department on charges of vehicular negligent injury, careless operation and drivers must be licensed.

The masks hid their smiles, but you know they were there. Saturday was graduation day for Central Catholic High School's Class of 2021 in a 1 p.m. ceremony at Holy Cross Catholic Church in Morgan City. It wasn't quite a return to normal, because the graduates, many members of the audience, and clergymen and altar attendants wore masks at the urging of Houma-Thibodaux Diocese Bishop Shelton Fabre, who presided at Saturday's graduation. Otherwise, mitigation measures have been relaxed enough to allow a mostly traditional commencement. Five valedictorians and one salutatorian led the graduates into the church. Click on this text to find more about them.

The monthly market and Bayou Shopping Days promotions drew shoppers to tables under the bridge Saturday in Berwick. Lowdown is scheduled to perform 5-9 p.m. near the lighthouse.

The Daily Review/Bill Decker

The St. Mary Parish Levee District heard about progress on a list of big-ticket projects Thursday, and will consider looking to see if more are needed in the parish’s west end.
The district’s board, meeting at Morgan City’s Emergency Operations Center, also set its property tax rate for the year at its regular second-Thursday meeting.
Big projects
The district staff reported continuing progress on the Bayou Chene and Bayou Teche flood-control structures. Each project consists of a barge that can be moved into a permanent gate to prevent flooding.
The Bayou Teche structure would block storm surge from moving into the Franklin-Garden City-Centerville area by way of the Charenton Canal.
Work there is down to the final details, and completion of that $11.5 million project is expected this month. The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development is funding 90% of the work. So far, the district has received $7.3 million in reimbursement from DOTD.
The long-awaited Bayou Chene structure will block back-flooding potentially affecting six parishes when the Atchafalaya runs high.
Phase One, consisting of dredging and clearing, was performed by Patriot Construction and is complete at a cost of about $3.5 million.
Phase Two includes construction of the flood wall and receiving structure. Sealevel Construction Inc. has the $23.7 million con-tract for that work.
The south flood wall is complete and work continues on the north flood wall.
Phase Three, for which Sealevel has the contract, is for construction of the flood gate.
Bollinger Shipyard in Amelia has completed the 16 modules of the barge that will serve as the gate. The total Phase Three contract is for $22.8 million.
Phase Four includes construction of the Avoca Road Levee. Rigid Construction has the $5.4 million contract for the first portion of that work.
“All of those projects are going well,” Executive Director Tim Matte said. “They’re all on schedule.”
The work could be complete in September, he said.
Vessels trying to move past the construction sites have been tough on dolphins.
These dolphins aren’t the Flipper variety. They’re posts combined into columns to protect the structures as they’re built.
A tugboat hit a wooden dolphin and a guide wall on the Teche structure.
The Bayou Chene structure has been struck at least four times by vessels. One metal dolphin is already at the site, and commissioners voted Thursday to install another nearby as extra protection. The cost is expected to be $360,000.
The commission also voted to spend $63,000 on a system that can automate some of the functions of the struc-ture.
The staff also reported that a proposed route has been identified for the Yokely levee extension and flood wall. Miller Engineering & Associates has scheduled the geotechnical work, and appraisals have been conducted for the rights-of-way needed for the work. The Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority has committed $3 million for the work.
The work is near the Metal Shark and Gulf Craft shipyards. Gulf Craft has asked what criteria will be used for closure, Matte said.
For now, the gate would be closed if a hurricane is approaching the coast to the west of that area, or if any hurricane is expected to bring a storm surge of 4 feet or more.
Taking a look
Matte suggested using modeling to identify areas west of the Charenton Canal and south of U.S. 90, where future flood-control projects will be needed.
No funding source has been found yet for levee work in that area. Matte said the district might do some inexpensive investigating to see if work might be undertaken in sections.
Commission Chairman Bill Hidalgo suggested making contact with engineer Patrick Landry, a DOTD engineer who works with modeling for Louisiana’s multiagency Watershed Initiative’s Region 5, which stretches west from the Atchafalaya River to cover Acadiana.
One novel idea came from Commissioner Will Terry, who wondered about automated game or trail cameras to monitor those areas.
Taxes
The commissioners voted Thursday to keep this year’s property tax rate at 5 mills.
Owners pay 1/10th cent of tax for each mill on each dollar of assessed valuation. Taxes are assessed on 10% of their market value.
The district has received about $2.6 million in property taxes for the 2020 calendar year, Matte told the commissioners.