Louisiana

Cleanup continues for Bayou Lafourche oil spill • Louisiana Illuminator

Published

1 year ago

July 29, 2024

Cleanup continues for Bayou Lafourche oil spill • Louisiana Illuminator

More than 100 workers spent Sunday continuing the cleanup of a crude oil spill in Bayou Lafourche near Raceland, hoping to protect the drinking water supply and wildlife.

So far, the drinking water quality has not been compromised, Lafourche Parish President Archie Chaisson said. Still, residences and businesses from south of Louisiana Highway 182 to Port Fourchon have been advised to conserve water as a precaution.

In Sunday evening update, Chaisson said cleanup crews reported recovering 20 dead animals from the bayou — 17 salamanders, two turtles and one crawfish. Four ducks and three alligators were also seen covered with oil, but none were able to be captured.

The public is asked to call (832) 514-9663 to report any oil-covered animals rather than try to catch and clean them on their own.

Any residents or businesses that want to report personal or property damage from the oil should call 833-812-0877.

The source of the oil leak was a tank at the Crescent Midstream Crude Oil Facility at the intersection of LA 182 and Highway 308 in Raceland. An still-undetermined amount of oil leaked into a stormwater canal and then flowed into the bayou. The leak was contained Saturday, a company spokesman told reporters.

A dark sheen of crude could still be seen Sunday along a long stretch of the bayou between the Highway 182 and the U.S. 90 overpass.

There were 117 workers, 28 boats, seven vacuum trucks, five drum skimmers and three wash pumps being used to clean and contain the spill, in addition to 4,300 feet of containment boom, Chaisson said. Crews are pumping water from the bayou to flush oil from vegetation on the banks into the containment boom so it can be recovered with skimmers for disposal.

Cleanup work has paused at nightfall out of safety concerns and will resume at daybreak.

Bayou Lafourche remains closed to boat traffic from the Highway 182 bridge to the Salt Water Control Structure in Lockport.

Officials have also placed the area from LA 182 to Highway 654 off limits to aircraft, one mile in either direction from Bayou Lafourche. The airspace precautions are being taken so helicopters and drones can safely monitor the spill from overhead.

WVUE-TV Fox 8 reported residents near the spill can smell the oil. Air quality in the area is being monitored out of an abundance of caution, Chaisson said.

“Results have been well below actionable levels,” he said.

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Louisiana

Third inmate who escaped from southern Louisiana jail captured, officials say

Published

9 hours ago

December 20, 2025

Press Room

Third inmate who escaped from southern Louisiana jail captured, officials say

December 19, 2025 / 11:28 PM EST
/ CBS/AP

The last of two inmates who had been on the run since escaping from a jail in the southern Louisiana city of Opelousas earlier this month has been caught, officials said Friday. A third inmate who was also part of the escape died by suicide after being caught by police, authorities previously said.

Keith Anthony Eli II, 24, was taken into custody in Opelousas, St. Landry Parish Sheriff Bobby Guidroz said in a news release. Opelousas is located about 25 miles north of Lafayette.

Guidroz said Eli was captured by narcotics detectives and a SWAT team thanks to a tip.

At the time of his escape, Eli was held on an attempted second-degree murder charge.

The three men had escaped the St. Landry Parish Jail on Dec. 3 by removing concrete blocks from an upper wall area, Guidroz said at the time.

Authorities said the inmates then used sheets and other materials to scale the exterior wall, climb onto a first-floor roof and lower themselves to the ground, Guidroz said.

Escapee Jonathan Joseph, 24, was captured on Dec. 5. He is in custody on multiple charges, including first-degree rape.

Joseph Harrington, 26, faced several felony charges, including home invasion. On Dec. 4, one day after the escape, he was recognized by a tipster while pushing a black e-bike. Police found the e-bike at a neighboring home and heard a gunshot while trying to coax him to leave the building. He had shot himself with a hunting rifle, Port Barre Police Chief Deon Boudreaux said by telephone to The Associated Press.

The escape came more than seven months after 10 inmates broke out of a New Orleans jail. All ten of since been captured.

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Louisiana

MS Goon Squad victim arrested on drug, gun charges in Louisiana. Bond set

Published

21 hours ago

December 19, 2025

Press Room

MS Goon Squad victim arrested on drug, gun charges in Louisiana. Bond set

Eddie Terrell Parker, a victim in the “Goon Squad” case, was arrested in Louisiana on multiple charges.
Parker was stopped for traffic violations and allegedly found with several narcotics and at least one firearm.
The charges include possession with intent to distribute several drugs and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Parker and another man previously settled a $400 million lawsuit against Rankin County after being tortured by former officers.

Eddie Terrell Parker, one of two men who settled a civil lawsuit against Rankin County and the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department in the “Goon Squad” case, was arrested Wednesday, Dec. 17, and is being held in a northeast Louisiana jail on multiple charges.

Louisiana State Police Senior Trooper Ryan Davis confirmed details of the incident to the Clarion Ledger via phone call on Friday, Dec. 19.

Davis said Parker was traveling east on Interstate 20 in Madison Parish, Louisiana, when a trooper observed Parker committing “multiple traffic violations.” Davis said the trooper conducted a traffic stop, identified themselves and explained the reason for the stop.

Parker was allegedly found in possession of multiple narcotics, along with at least one firearm.

Parker was booked around 8 p.m. Wednesday into the Madison Parish Detention Center in Tallulah, Louisiana, on the following charges, as stated by Davis:

Possession of marijuana with intent to distribute
Possession of ecstasy with intent to distribute
Possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute
Possession of cocaine with intent to distribute
Possession of drug paraphernalia
Possession of a firearm in the presence of a controlled substance
Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon

Details about the quantity of narcotics found in Parker’s possession were not immediately available.

Davis told the Clarion Ledger that Parker received a $205,250 bond after appearing before a judge.

Parker, along with another man named Michael Jenkins, was tortured and abused on Jan. 24, 2023, at a home in Braxton, at the hands of six former law enforcement officers who called themselves “The Goon Squad.” Parker and Jenkins filed a lawsuit in June 2023 against Rankin County and Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey.

Each of the six former Mississippi law enforcement officers involved in the incident are serving prison time for state and federal charges. Those officers were identified as former Rankin County deputies Brett McAlpin, Hunter Elward, Christian Dedmon, Jeffrey Middleton and Daniel Opdyke, and former Richland police officer Joshua Hartfield.

Court documents show U.S. District Judge Daniel P. Jordan III issued an order on April 30 dismissing a $400 million lawsuit brought by Jenkins and Parker, saying that the two men had reached a settlement with the county and Bailey. Jenkins and Parker sought compensatory damages, punitive damages, interest and other costs.

According to court records, the case was dismissed with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled. However, the order stated that if any party fails to comply with settlement terms, any aggrieved party may reopen the matter for enforcement of the settlement.

Jason Dare, legal counsel for the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department, stated the settlement agreement totaled to $2.5 million. According to Dare, the settlement was not an admission of guilt on the county’s or the sheriff’s department’s part.

Pam Dankins is the breaking news reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Have a tip? Email her at pdankins@gannett.com.

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Port of South Louisiana welcomes new leadership

Published

1 day ago

December 19, 2025

Press Room

Port of South Louisiana welcomes new leadership

Julia Fisher-Cormier. (Courtesy)

The Port of South Louisiana on Thursday announced that Julia Fisher-Cormier has been selected as its new executive director.

The announcement follows a national search and a unanimous vote of a…