Woman arrested

in La. slaying

HOUMA — A Mississippi woman has been booked with first-degree murder after a man’s body was found in a south Terrebonne Parish swamp near Dulac.

Ciegie Brown Cheramie, 25, of Ovett, Miss., also faces charges of armed robbery and obstruction of justice.

Sheriff Jerry Larpenter says two other suspects are being sought in the fatal robbery.

Larpenter won’t release the victim’s name until his family is notified.

He says it’s unclear whether the shooting-armed robbery took place early Sunday morning or late Saturday night.

The body was found Sunday morning.

Cheramie is being held in the Terrebonne Parish Jail awaiting a bond hearing.

1 killed, 1 injured in N.O. shooting

NEW ORLEANS — New Orleans police are investigating a double shooting that left one man dead and another injured.

The shooting happened around 8:40 Monday night.

Officer Garry Flot says detectives determined the shooting took place inside a house.

Flot says a 46-year-old man died at the scene from multiple gunshot wounds.

The other man, who is 23 years old, suffered a gunshot wound to the leg. He was taken to the hospital and is in stable condition.

Their names have not been released.

Police are still investigating a motive for the shooting.

Another plea in court bribery scheme

LAFAYETTE — Former Acadiana Outreach Center case manager Sandra Degeyter became the fifth person to plead guilty in federal court for her participation in a bribery scheme involving the District Attorney’s Office in Lafayette.

Degeyter pleaded guilty on Monday to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery.

Elaine Crump, also a former Acadiana Outreach Center case manager, pleaded guilty Feb. 5 to one count of misprision of a felony for failing to report a bribery scheme.

Prosecutors say Degeyter accepted up to $5,000 in cash for herself and in-kind donations for the Outreach Center from a private investigator to falsify more than 50 documents certifying that the investigator’s clients had completed community service work required by the courts.

Polozola funeral set

BATON ROUGE — A funeral Mass will be held Wednesday for U.S. District Court Judge Frank J. Polozola, who died Sunday night after fighting a long bout with cancer. Polozola was 71.

Polozola worked for the court for four decades, starting as a law clerk. He was nominated to the bench by President Jimmy Carter in 1980 and served as chief judge from 1998 to 2005.

He assumed senior status in 2007, meaning he began handling fewer cases.

Polozola presided over several high-profile cases, most notably former Governor Edwin Edwards’ riverboat gambling corruption trial.

Edwards was convicted in May 2000 and sentenced by Polozola in January 2001 to 10 years in federal prison.

The funeral will be held at St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Baton Rouge.

Judge refuses

to block evidence

BATON ROUGE — A state judge has ruled that evidence recovered from the Baton Rouge home of a man now accused of fatally shooting two employees of the CarQuest Auto Parts store in March 2011 can be used at trial.

The evidence — money, Regions Bank bags and CarQuest deposit slips — was seized from the home of Lee Turner Jr. on March 28, 2011, the day after Edward Gurtner III, of Denham Springs, and Randy Chaney, of Greenwell Springs, were gunned down inside the store that Gurtner managed.

Scott Collier, one of Turner’s attorneys, said he will ask the state 1st Circuit of Appeal to review state District Judge Richard Anderson’s ruling.

Turner is charged with two counts of first-degree murder.

Brusly man accused of extorting woman

BRUSLY — A former assistant chief of police for the Brusly Police Department was arrested after he allegedly threatened to post obscene photos of a woman on the Internet.

Police Chief Jamie Whaley said 50-year-old Thomas Charleville was arrested at his home Sunday after he allegedly threatened to expose a relationship he was having with a woman.

Whaley said Charleville also allegedly told the victim he would post the photos on a social media website if she didn’t come to his job and perform a sexual act.

Charleville was booked on counts of improper telephone communication and extortion.

Major crime down in B.R. in 2012

BATON ROUGE — Murders, rapes and robberies increased in Baton Rouge last year, but the city saw an overall decrease in major crimes when compared with 2011. That’s according to figures released Monday by the city’s police department.

Property crimes dropped 4.66 percent while violent crimes against persons increased by 1.62 percent. Those categories combined accounted for a 3.65 decrease in major crimes, furthering what police described as a long-term downward trend.

Overall, the police department said serious crimes dropped for nine of the past 12 years — including a 33 percent decrease since 2000, even as the city’s population has grown.

Rouge averaged more than seven homicides a month during the first eight months of 2012, but that average fell to three over the last four months.

Abandoned vehicles to be auctioned

NEW ORLEANS — The city of New Orleans will auction off 138 vehicles that were left abandoned on neighborhood streets or left unclaimed by residents who ran up parking fines.

The auction will begin at 9 a.m. Thursday at the Almonaster Auto Pound.

Potential buyers can register and preview the cars at the auto pound on Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. No one will be admitted to Wednesday’s preview session after 3:30 p.m. A preview of the cars up for auction, and online bidding, also is available at the Brown’s Auction Company website.

Since May 2010, the city has held 12 vehicle auctions, and has sold 1,185 abandoned cars. The auction has raised $736,000 for the city’s general fund.

Talent judges headed to Big Easy

NEW ORLEANS — Howard Stern, Howie Mandel and former Spice Girls singer Melanie “Mel B.” Brown head to New Orleans next week for the taping of auditions for “America’s Got Talent.”

The three judges of the popular NBC reality TV variety show, which is in its 8th season, will be walking a red carpet at the UNO Lakefront Arena on Monday.

Certain contestants selected from the open-casting round of auditions held in New Orleans earlier this month will be invited to perform in front of the celebrity judges. The process will repeat in select cities across the country, with the top 48 acts moving on to compete during this summer’s live televised shows.

The top prize is $1 million and a headlining show in Las Vegas.

“America’s Got Talent” is hosted by actor and comedian Nick Cannon.

The search is open to acts of all talents and ages. Previous auditions have included singers, dancers, comedians, contortionists, jugglers, magicians and ventriloquists.

Last season’s winner was Richard and Nick Olate, of Olate Dogs, a fast-paced act filled with impressive dog tricks.

From The Associated Press.