RSS Feed

A Houma man has been sentenced to serve 25 years in prison at hard labor in connection with the 2015 stabbing that injured his ex-girlfriend in Franklin, a news release said.

Harold Verdin, 43, of Houma, was sentenced Monday after pleading guilty Jan. 8 on one count of attempted second-degree murder, Assistant District Attorney Anthony Saleme of the 16th Judicial District said in a news release.

On Nov. 15, 2015, the victim, who had ended a yearlong relationship with Verdin months earlier, was attacked as she exited the McDonald’s restaurant on Main Street in Franklin, Saleme said.

The victim received multiple stab wounds to her neck, chest and back before knocking the knife from the assailant’s hand. Thereafter, the assailant fled the scene. A folding knife with a four-inch blade was located in the parking lot near where the victim was attacked, Saleme said.

The victim identified Verdin as her attacker. On Nov. 30, 2015, Verdin was taken into custody by the Franklin Police Department. During the two weeks that Verdin was a fugitive, he admitted to having stabbed the victim to several individuals, Saleme said.

The Berwick Lady Panthers upset North Webster 5-3 on the road Friday in Class 3A first-round playoff action.
No. 18 Berwick (15-13) never trailed No. 15 North Webster as Berwick led 4-1 after an inning and 5-2 after two complete innings.
North Webster added single runs in the fifth and sixth innings but could get no closer.
“The game was like the scouting reports that I got,” Berwick Coach Joe Russo said. “The top of their order was really tough to pitch to. Their pitcher was a good little pitcher. She hit spots well. That game … went down to literally to the last pitch. It was a hard-fought game both ways.”
In the bottom of the seventh, Berwick successfully shut down the top of North Webster’s lineup, Russo said. Those batters, Russo said, had produced during the game.
The win was Berwick’s first postseason victory since 2013 when Berwick defeated Jewel Sumner in the first round before falling to Crowley in round 2.
Berwick will continue postseason play Tuesday when it hosts No. 2 seed and District 8-3A foe North Vermilion at 4 p.m. North Vermilion advanced to round two after defeating No. 31 Loranger 12-0 in five innings in other Class 3A first-round action on Thursday.
In Friday’s victory, Bronwyn Colbert earned the win. In seven innings, she surrendered three earned runs on six hits with two strikeouts.
Russo said Colbert had a solid game and her defense performed well to back her up.
Offensively, Alyssa Gray led Berwick with a 3-for-4 performance with a run. Other top Berwick offensive contributors were Maddie Carline, 1-for-4 with two RBIs and a run; Anna Vaccarella, 2-for-3, a run; and Ashlynn Fitter, 1-for-4, an RBI and a run.
The Lady Panthers made the trip in two days, staying in Bossier City Thursday evening before making the last, leg of the trip Friday to Springhill. The park literally was on the Arkansas border.
Russo said the trip was beneficial to break up in two days.
“You can’t ever be 100-percent, but I can tell you there was no way we could have made that (trip) in one day,” Russo said. “That wouldn’t have happened, so breaking it up those two days, and our thought process was to stay in Bossier City and we could treat it like a game played at Pelican Park (in Carencro). That would be about the trip we would travel to play at Pelican Park, so that’s basically what we did.”

With Patterson’s season on the line, Patterson Head Softball Coach Matt Lipari turned to Makayla Knight to lead the No. 24 seed Lumberjills on the mound in their Class 3A first-round playoff game at No. 9 Iota Thursday.
Knight, a senior who Lipari said recently returned from an early-season injury, delivered for the Lumberjills helping them a 4-2 upset victory.
“It was a huge victory,” Lipari said. “Huge victory. We put all our eggs in a basket. Makayla came back from being injured. She pitched a hell of a game, one of the best games I’ve ever been a part of. She pitched seven innings. We practically had to carry her off the field to the outfield (after the game). It was unbelievable. She did a great job.”
The win was the Lumberjills’ first in a playoff contest since 2013 when Patterson defeated Loranger on the road.
Like Thursday’s win, that contest featured the Lumberjills making a lengthy road trip. The seeds were similar, too, as Patterson was the No. 23 seed and Loranger, the No. 10 seed.
Thursday, Knight surrendered two runs on four hits and fanned five.
Offensively, Patterson, which never trailed, scored all of its runs in two innings. Gabby Marcel connected on a two-RBI double in the top of the first inning for a 2-0 Patterson lead, while Layla Giroir contributed a two-RBI triple in the third that extended Patterson’s lead to 4-0.
“We had some clutch, clutch hits at the right time,” Lipari said.
Iota scored a run in the third and another in the seventh via a home run.
The home squad made things interesting in their final at bat as an additional runner reached base in the bottom of the seventh with no outs and the team trailing 4-2. However, Patterson’s defense recorded a double play, and Knight got a called third strike on another batter to preserve the victory.
Lipari said Lumberjills won Thursday’s game because every player fulfilled their role on the field.
He said his bench was vocal, too.
“The kids on the bench kept all the girls fired up the whole game,” he said.
Layla Giroir, Gabby Marcel and Kara Lawrence were Patterson’s top hitters. Giroir was 1-for-3 with a triple and two RBIs, while Marcel was 1-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. Lawrence finished 2-for-3.
Patterson will continue playoff action next week in the regional round when it faces the winner of No. 8 South Beauregard and No. 25 Baker. That first-round game will be played Friday.