BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – Questions about Louisiana’s private ankle-monitoring companies are back in the spotlight.

It comes after the East Baton Rouge District Attorney’s Office filed a motion this week to revoke bond for a man who allegedly violated monitoring orders and other requirements.

Prosecutors want a judge to revoke Marcus Washington’s bond after court filings say he violated his conditions when he was arrested in Livingston Parish on drug and gun charges while on ankle monitoring. Washington is accused of firing a gun inside a classroom at a local high school. A judge placed him on house arrest.

The case has renewed attention on Louisiana’s private ankle-monitoring companies.

Monitoring companies lack regulation

“The ankle monitoring companies have never had any regulation about what they can do, what they’re supposed to do,” said District Attorney Sam D’Aquilla, who represents East and West Feliciana.

D’Aquilla said that lack of oversight gained new attention after a separate case where a man violated a stay-away order, killed his wife, then killed himself. In that case, two ankle-monitoring workers were charged and accused of not alerting police when the monitor kept going off. The Louisiana Supreme Court said they can be criminally prosecuted.

“The company is supposed to monitor where they are at any given time,” D’Aquilla said.

Device switched from GPS to phone monitoring

In Washington’s case, the filing says the monitoring agency, Magnolia, reported a charging issue April 7. His monitoring was changed from an ankle GPS device to phone monitoring.

Two days later, prosecutors say his location services were turned off and he was stopped in Livingston Parish, where deputies say they found marijuana, illegal pills and a handgun.

“So that’s been the whole problem all along. It’s like the Wild Wild West. Put an ankle monitor on them, an ankle monitor company doesn’t notify the judge or anybody,” D’Aquilla said.

D’Aquilla said despite legislation combating violation issues, private monitoring companies are not obligated to notify anyone of violations.

“They’re in direct violation of their bond obligation, and they need to be in jail. So we haven’t been doing that,” he said.

The state also noted investigators looked at possible ties to the Mall of Louisiana shooting with Washington, but said a preliminary phone analysis did not put his device near the mall at the time.

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Chris Rogers and Megan Wiley are among 33 finalists selected across a four-state service area

• Acadian Ambulance named paramedic Chris Rogers and EMT Megan Wiley as its Southwest Louisiana finalists for top honors.
• Rogers and Wiley are among 33 finalists selected from across the company’s four-state service area.
• Rogers is recognized for his 10 years of service, advanced skills, and leadership within the company.

Acadian Ambulance has named paramedic Chris Rogers and EMT Megan Wiley as its Southwest Louisiana finalists for Medic and EMT of the Year. 

The company selects 33 finalists annually from across its four-state service area based on peer nominations for patient care, work ethics and professionalism, according to a news release. Winners will be announced May 19 in Lafayette, according to Acadian Companies. 

Paramedic Rogers and EMT Wiley represent the company’s Southwest Louisiana service area. 

Acadian Ambulance has operated in Southwest Louisiana since 1973, when it began serving Jeff Davis and Acadia parishes, the release said. The company has nearly 200 employees in the region, which encompasses Calcasieu, Jeff Davis and Acadia parishes. 

Chris Rogers, Paramedic 

Rogers, based in Calcasieu Parish, has served with Acadian Ambulance for 10 years and is also an Associate Quality Improvement Coordinator (AQIC) for the Southwest Louisiana region. 

LIV Golf may postpone its ‌Louisiana event scheduled for June due to concerns the FIFA World ‌Cup could impact attendance and viewership.

Issues ​such as high temperatures and course conditions are also factors in the decision.

The Saudi-funded ‌circuit has been working in coordination with Louisiana Governor Jeff ​Landry’s office and economic officials to find a new date for the tournament in ​either September or October, the ⁠sources with knowledge of ⁠LIV Golf operations said.

The tournament is currently scheduled for June ‌25-28 at Bayou Oaks at City Park.

The World Cup takes place in the US, Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19.

LIV Golf, Landry and the Louisiana Economic Development are expected to issue a statement ⁠on the matter on Tuesday.

The sources’ comments ​come less than two weeks after ​LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil said the ⁠breakaway circuit’s 2026 season would proceed as planned amid reports that the series is ⁠at risk of losing ​its funding.

The Louisiana event is the only ​LIV tournament on the schedule during the World Cup.

LIV Golf Virginia at Trump National Golf Club is scheduled to begin May 7 in Washington, DC.

PGA CEO considering pathways to reinstate LIV Golfers

PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp says the American circuit is thinking about establishing new pathways to reinstate LIV Golf players, amid speculation over the breakaway league’s future.

Rumours have swirled in the past weeks that LIV Golf could lose its financial backing from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), after the breakaway league was not mentioned in its four-year investment strategy.

McGinley: It’s not going to be plain sailing for the LIV guys

Sky Sports Golf analyst Paul McGinley believes LIV players interested in returning to the PGA Tour or the DP World Tour could face multiple “roadblocks” on their way to regaining membership, adding that the landscape on both circuits has vastly changed since LIV’s inception.

“Over the last four years since LIV has been going, all of the spots these 56 players have had on the DP World Tour or the PGA Tour have been filled,” McGinley said during Sky Sports Golf’s coverage of the final round of The RBC Heritage.

“You can’t just muscle your way back into what is going to be smaller fields than the bigger fields that they left.

“It’s not going to be an easy way back in, should they be allowed to do so.

“Also, there are a lot of roadblocks in the way. There would be suspensions, there would be fines, all the kinds of things that have been talked about in the last few years would have to remain in place in order to be equitable and fair to the guys who remained with the main tours over the last four years.

“There’s a lot of negotiation to be done between the main tours and the LIV players, if LIV is going to fold, in terms of what the future may be.

“It’s not going to be plain sailing for the LIV guys.”

Watch the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, LPGA Tour, majors and more live on Sky Sports, with the PGA Championship (May 14-17), US Open (June 18-21) and The Open (July 16-19) all exclusively live on Sky Sports Golf. Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract.

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