FUGITIVE CAPTURED
ID theft suspect in custody
The Guardian-Journal photo/K.H. Hightower
MICHELLE BATES, Editor
A man wanted in a case of identity theft involving more
than $70,000 is now in custody.
Fontonio Carter, 22, a former booking officer at the Claiborne Parish Detention Center, was arrested in Shreveport late Wednesday evening when
Homer Police Officer Ken Wood received a reliable tip on the suspect’s
whereabouts.
When Wood notified Police Chief Russell Mills of the tip,
Mills’ investigation led him to Carter, who was working at Avis Rental Car on Monkhouse Drive, near the Shreveport Regional Airport.
“After determining the exact time the suspect was to
report to work, Mills contacted Sgt. Paul Rambin of the [West Louisiana
Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team (FAST) in Shreveport] and informed him of the
whereabouts of Carter,” said a news release from Homer Police.
Detectives Roy Menefee, Dean Willis, also of the FAST
team, and Shreveport Police Officer Jennifer Gaddy located Carter and arrested
him at approximately 4 p.m. At approximately 5 p.m., Captain Donald Malray and Wood went to the Shreveport City Jail and picked up Carter, who then
transported him to the Claiborne Parish Detention Center where he was booked
without bond.
He is expected to be in Caddo District Court in Shreveport May 9 for arraignment on the forgery charge. As of press time, a court date for
charges in Homer has not yet been set.
In January, Homer police received a complaint from a
local bank regarding suspicious account activity. The branch manager told
police that she suspected identity theft and fraud. She had notified the
external fraud division at the bank and had the individual check a savings
account opened in the victim’s name.
An investigation revealed that Carter had purchased a
vehicle at Holmes Honda, which then contacted the victim’s bank about the
purchase. Later that day, Carter was contacted by cell phone by Homer Police,
and Carter came to the station. During an interview, he stated the bank had
made a mistake on his deposit slip and would “straighten it out” the next day.
The day following the complaint, Detective James Lewis of
the Caddo-Shreveport Financial Crimes Task Force arrested Carter on one count
of forgery, stemming from a $20,000 forged check deposited at a bank in Caddo
Parish. He was booked at the Caddo Correctional Center where he later bonded
out.
An executed search warrant of his residence revealed
several credit card applications in the victim’s name as well as different
accounts opened.
Carter had made payments on a couple of open accounts
he’d acquired through the victim’s name, and once he stopped making payments,
the bills that were sent to Carter’s address began going to the victim’s
address, leading to the complaint.
Police believe Carter gained access to the victim’s
personal information when the victim was booked in the detention center on DWI
charges in September 2007.
“He had all this information right there,” Mills said,
“and in turn, he took this information and utilized it to gain entry to his
accounts.”
When Mills found out where Carter was working in Shreveport, he said, “The scary thing about this is this guy was working at a rental car
place. How many other people’s credit card numbers has he been able to memorize
or jot down?
“If the public did not get involved in this,” Mills
continued, “Fontonio Carter would not be in jail today. Public involvement is a
key role in solving crimes. This is a perfect example of how community
involvement, officers taking this information and putting it into play, and
outside agencies working together will bring a fugitive to justice.”
The investigation is still ongoing, and other charges are
pending. The chief urges anyone who may have had any link to Carter in regards
to deposits into their checking or savings accounts to come forward with this
information to prevent charges being filed. Call the Homer Police Department at
927-4000.
Here’s some tips on how to prevent
identity theft
The Guardian-Journal
The Homer Police Department is offering brochures free of
charge that citizens can pick up for tips on identity theft prevention. Police
Chief Russell Mills said that it is very important for citizens to know how to
protect themselves from this type of crime.
The brochure, called Deter, Detect, Defend, Avoid ID
Theft, gives pertinent information on how people can protect themselves against
identity theft and what to do for those who have fallen victim to ID theft.
The first thing someone should do if he or she finds
fraudulent charges on their accounts is to call the credit card companies and
credit reporting agencies and put what’s called a “fraud alert” on them. Close
the accounts and file a report with the local police department.
“Our job [as law enforcement] is to satisfy the victim
and to get fraud reported to the collection agency or the credit card company,”
Mills said. “Once it gets to the fraud department, then we hope that we can get
this debt that is not owed by you off your credit.”
It is required by law that the three credit reporting
agencies (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) be contacted.
“There is a myth that if you contact one of them, then
they contact the others,” Mills said, “and this is not always true. There are
certain things the police has to do, but there are certain things the victim
has to do; however, if we satisfy the victim by getting this turned over to the
fraud department – whichever credit card company that has a fraudulent account
open in – and don’t go the next step to help get that person apprehended, then
they’re going to move on to someone else.”
In other words, the victim must report the theft the
Federal Trade Commission, according to the brochure.
“Identity theft is a growing epidemic in all cities, but
in rural areas, it makes you more vulnerable, because everybody knows you,”
Mills said. “People go to the post office here and throw their mail in the
garbage right there – that’s a no-no.”
Some ways people can protect themselves is to follow a
few simple steps.
• Shred all financial documents or paperwork with
personal information;
• Protect your Social Security Number – don’t carry it
with you or write it on a check. Give it out only when it is absolutely
necessary.
• Never click on links sent in unsolicited emails. Visit
OnGuardOnline.gov for more information
• Keep your personal information in a secure place at
home.
“The Internet is a powerful tool, and the people that
fall victim are of all ages,” Mills said. “The older people are more
vulnerable.
“Come by the police department and get one of these
brochures,” he continued. “We’ll sit down and go over it with you.”
Although police will not be able to stop all fraud, they
have some guidelines, some steps to take, to get fraudulent charges off a
victim’s accounts.
To find out more information for protection against
identity theft, log on to the FTC’s website at www.ftc.gov/idtheft. If you
suspect you might be the victim of identity theft, call the Homer Police
Department at 927-4000, and report it.
Murder suspect Wilson must decide on
plea
MICHELLE BATES, Editor
A Homer man accused of the brutal murder of a Lisbon woman was scheduled to appear in court last week, but session was cancelled.
It was cancelled on Thursday, March 27, without his
appearance, but Lovelle Wilson has until May 1 to make a decision whether he
will accept a plea agreement offered by the district attorney’s office.
If he pleads guilty to first degree murder, he will be
sentenced to life imprisonment without benefit of probation, parole or
suspension of sentence, according to a scheduling order by the Second Judicial
District Court in Claiborne Parish.
If Wilson decides not to take the offer, trial is set to
begin September 15.
The case was placed under a gag order in February, which
means attorneys for the prosecution and defense involved in the case are not
allowed to talk about the case outside the courtroom, except to investigators,
families of the victim, and the defendant and his family, according to the
court order.
Wilson and his accomplice, Franequa Jones of Homer, were
charged with first degree murder in the 2006 death of Iva Parker.
The 83-year-old Lisbon resident was found dead in her
home on the morning of August 30, 2006, by an employee of Hinton Well Service.
Claiborne Parish Sheriff’s deputies were called to the scene, and once it was
determined to be the scene of a homicide, the Louisiana State Police North
District Detectives were contacted, according to state police reports.
Once the scene and forensic evidence was secured, an
investigation began, leading to a massive manhunt for Wilson. The interagency
search involved several law enforcement agencies from the surrounding areas as
well as Claiborne Parish law enforcement, when he tried to run. Those agencies
included the sheriff’s department, Louisiana State Police, the David Wade
Correctional Center Chase Team, Union Parish sheriff’s deputies, the Louisiana
State Fire Marshal’s Office as well as the U.S. Coast Guard, who provided a
helicopter for an aerial search.
By the following afternoon, Wilson turned himself in
without incident.
According to her autopsy report, performed by Forensic
Pathologist Frank J. Peretti, M.D., Parker “died of multiple stab and cutting
wounds with blunt force head trauma.”
The autopsy report also revealed defensive wounds on her
left hand and arm, signifying she tried to defend herself.
Both Wilson and Jones were charged with first degree
murder as well as other charges related to the incident. A background check
revealed that Jones had outstanding warrants in other areas, and at that time,
a hold was placed on her.
Both Wilson and Jones were also charged with armed
robbery, attempted aggravated arson and theft of a firearm. Wilson was also
charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
There has been no word what the two will face on the
other charges. Jones has not yet been to court.
Homer man sentenced for timber theft
Special to The Guardian-Journal
A six month long investigation by Department of
Agriculture and Forestry enforcement officers culminated with the sentencing of
a Homer man Monday, March 17, Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike
Strain, DVM, said.
Tommy Lee Evans, 59, of 396 Pias Davis Road in Homer,
appeared before 2nd Judicial District Judge Jimmy Teat and pleaded guilty to
stealing more than $18,000 worth of timber from two Claiborne Parish
landowners.
“I hate seeing anyone cheated and am pleased when one of
the department’s investigators is able to see a theft case through to
conviction and sentencing,” Strain said.
The conviction was the result of complaints filed by
Claiborne Parish landowners Sandra Causey of Homer and Porter Bell of North Brunswick, New Jersey.
According to Jim Baldwin, forestry enforcement manager,
Evans contracted with both landowners between July and December 2005 to legally
log their timber and failed to pay for all the loads cut from the properties.
“Of the 115 loads that came off both properties, we found
eight loads belonging to Mrs. Causey valued at $14,160 and four loads valued at
$4,317 belonging to Mr. Bell that had not been paid for,” Baldwin said.
Judge Teat sentenced Evans to two five-year concurrent
sentences and suspended the sentences. Evans was placed on five years
supervised probation and ordered full restitution along with a $1,000 fine.
LDAF enforcement officials are asking other people or
companies, who have dealt with Evans who may not have been paid for timber or
have had difficulty in getting paid for their timber, to come forward.
To report suspected timber theft or other agriculture and
forestry related crimes, call the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and
Forestry district office in Monroe at 318-345-7595.
Traffic stop nets drugs, paraphernalia
Woman, passenger arrested on other
charges
The Guardian-Journal
A traffic stop by the Claiborne Parish Sheriff’s
Department led to the arrest of a Homer woman on several charges.
Jacqueline D. Malone, 38, of Homer, was arrested on
several charges Friday, March 28, after she was stopped. CPSO Deputy Roger
Ellerbe was patrolling La. 9 and observed a vehicle whose driver was known to
have a suspended license.
Ellerbe initiated the traffic stop and requested the
proper paperwork from Malone. He observed the passenger in the vehicle, Jerry
Lee Mitchell, 44, of Homer, had an open container of an alcoholic beverage
beside him. Upon checking the paperwork, Ellerbe found that the vehicle was
uninsured and Malone had a suspended driver’s license.
Lt. Jimmy Brown and Narcotics Agent James Spillers came
on scene to assist, and while conducting a search of the vehicle pursuant to
arrest, a small clear plastic bag of marijuana was found in a brown purse that
was unzipped and open.
Malone, nor Mitchell claimed ownership of the marijuana.
Also discovered was an approximately 2-inch metal pipe
with copper brillo on one and three oblong-shaped tablets, white in color.
Malone was transported to the Claiborne Parish Jail and charged with driving
under suspension, no registration in vehicle, no insurance, simple possession
of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. Each charge had a bond set
at $500, for a total of $2,500. Mitchell was transported to the Claiborne Parish Detention Center and booked on open container, simple possession of
marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. Each of his charges had a $500
bond set for a total of $1,500.
Summerfield honors fallen marine
The Guardian-Journal photos/K.H.
Hightower
Pictured top is the entrance to the newly
named Bowman field. Above are several people, including friends and family, who
joined Bowman’s family for the dedication ceremony.
The
memory of Jon Eric Bowman, a 2004 graduate, will live on at the baseball field
of Summerfield High School. The field was named Bowman Field Saturday, March 29
in a ceremony held before the Summerfield-Junction City game.
Bowman
was a north Louisiana Marine killed in combat in Iraq in late 2006.
The
baseball field has now been lighted thanks to a $70,000 donation from Noble
Drilling Services.
Bowman's
widow, Dawn Bowman, who graduated from the same school in 1998, attended the
ceremony along with other members of the Bowman family, including Bowman's
father, Johnny Bowman, who works for Noble Drilling.
The
assembly included the Patriot Riders and the Christian Motorcycle Riders. U.S.
Marine Corps Reserve SSgt. Gerald Lee posted the colors as Patti Helms sang
“The Star-Spangled Banner.”
Comments
about Bowman were made by Summerfield High principal D'Arcy Stevens and his
father Johnny Bowman.
Stevens
recalled Bowman as a good student and a baseball player who cared. A third
baseman, Bowman "was a pretty good player, not the best, but he loved the
game and he gave it all he had."
In
thanking Noble Drilling, Stevens said the lights had been used once already,
helping the school with its first tournament, something it had been unable to
do before lights allowed night games to be played.
The
game following the ceremnony was played against visiting Junction City.
Bowman
was from Sharon Community, near Summerfield in the area of Claiborne Parish
bordering Union Parish.
The
school previously had erected a scoreboard in the graduate's memory and had
retired the number on the jersey he wore when he played.
Bowman
died Oct. 9, 2006, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his
Humvee. Soon to be promoted to corporal, he joined the military to support
himself and for college benefits. But according to a state Senate resolution
passed shortly after his death, he entered the military in part due to
"the terrorist attacks in 2001 on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon near Washington, D.C."
According
to a citation his widow and father later received accompanying a posthumous
medal, he died trying to save fellow Marines.
The
21-year-old, on his second tour to Iraq, was with the 1st Battalion, 6th Marine
Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, out of Camp Lejeune , N.C.
Bowman’s
mother Jill Puckett and brother Logan Puckett presented the Noble Drilling
representatives a plaque in appreciation for the donation during the ceremony.
Following
the ceremony, the Noble Drilling representatives were treated to a dinner by
the Bowman family and Summerfield High School representatives. During the
dinner, Summerfield School officials and family members presented appreciation
plaques to the company representatives.
The
company representatives appreciated the recognition stated they didn’t want the
donation to take away from the recognition given to the fallen hero, Lcpl Jon
Eric Bowman. They said they just wanted to show their appreciation for Jon Eric
and the other soldiers who sacrificed their lives for this country by making a
generous donation to Summerfield High School baseball field, which is now
renamed in Jon Eric’s honor to Bowman Field.
HMH goes smoke-free April 14
MICHELLE BATES, Editor
Warning: the deadline is approaching. As of Monday, April
14, Homer Memorial Hospital (HMH) will be smoke-free.
That means no one on the premises, including in the
parking lot, will be able to smoke.
On April 14, signs will be posted in and around the
hospital campus stating that it is a smoke-free zone.
“There are two reasons for doing this,” Doug Efferson,
hospital administrator, said. “Hospitals are being pushed by Medicare and
Medicaid companies to be healthy.”
Also, discussions by the hospital board began
approximately one year ago about making the campus smoke-free.
A program called Operation Against Smoking/Inhaling
Secondhand Smoke (OASIS) is a state and national program that provides professional
training, signage and other materials in its initiative to establish smoke-free
hospitals in the state.
The Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco Free Living (TFL) is
funding a three-year effort to establish smoke-free rural hospitals, clinics
and federally qualified health centers, according to a press release from the
Louisiana Rural Health Association.
Although HMH took the bull by the horns and began the
initiative early, Efferson said this initiative is not about money – even
though it could be considered an incentive.
He said that hospitals that are not completely smoke-free
may see a decrease in Medicare and Medicaid payouts of up to two percent.
Instead of the hospital receiving 100 percent of the payouts, it would have
received only 98 percent, depending on what the two companies decided.
Currently, Medicare and Medicaid payments encompass 75
percent of HMH’s total revenue. Only 18 percent of the hospital’s revenue comes
from commercial or outside health insurance, Efferson said.
“We’re doing it now because the board wants to do it,” he
said. “The money is not the big issue right now.”
The smoke-free policy includes patients, employees and
visitors at the hospital. The employees were offered a six-week smoking
cessation course, giving them the option of free help to quit smoking. Six
employees attended the class, and all six have since quit smoking, Efferson
said proudly.
He said, though, that if employees who are smokers are
caught smoking on campus that disciplinary action, according to their policies,
would be taken.
From a patient’s perspective, it is not conducive to the
health of the patient to allow him/her to smoke while in the care of the
hospital. Efferson said that there are medications that will keep them from
going through withdrawal symptoms while in their care.
“Our goal isn’t to make them quit smoking, it’s just,
don’t do it while you’re here,” he said.
For more information about the smoke-free campuses, go to
the Louisiana Rural Health Association’s website at www.lrha.org, or call the
hospital at 318-927-2024.
Dream Foundation recipient passes away
The Guardian-Journal
A woman whose dream was to shake the hand of television
diva Oprah Winfrey has passed away.
Gwen Pixley Eades passed away in the early hours of
Monday morning after succumbing to a hard-fought battle against breast cancer.
Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday, April 2, at Rose-Neath
Funeral Home’s chapel in Homer. Dr. James Simeon will officiate.
Two weeks ago, the Dream Foundation, a nonprofit organization
whose sole purpose is to fulfill the dreams of the terminally ill, came to
Eades’ home to tell her that her dream had come true. She was going to Chicago, Ill., to meet Oprah Winfrey. Her dream was to shake Oprah’s hand and tell her what
a great humanitarian she is.
“She has always given back,” Eades said when
representatives of the Dream Foundation came to visit. “She takes her money and
puts it to good use. She remembers where she came from. She never has forgotten
and she remembers what it was like to be poor and do without. I appreciate the
things she does.”
Eades was to be picked up by limousine March 24, and
flown first class to Chicago, but sadly, she was taken to the emergency room
Friday, March 21, due to complications from the cancer. She never recovered
from them.
Aggressive steps on state legislative
agenda
The Guardian-Journal
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal has announced his workforce
development package of bills, which was expected to be introduced in the
regular legislative session that began Monday, March 31.
Claiborne Chamber of Commerce Vice President J.T. Taylor,
of Haynesville, is a member of Jindal’s Workforce Advisory Council, and he said
this plan could impact the parish in a number of ways.
The governor’s plan for comprehensive workforce redesign
includes five key steps:
·
Strengthening and prioritizing
community and technical programs to match workforce needs, meet market demand
and fill available jobs;
·
Immediately responding to urgent
workforce opportunities and challenges;
·
Maximizing the input of business and
industry to realign and integrate Louisiana’s workforce strategy at the
statewide and regional level;
·
Expanding the career options of high
school students;
·
And recruiting and train new workers
to fill thousands of available jobs.
“As of today, we already have nearly 100,000 job
opportunities across our state,” Jindal said in a press release, “These are
thousands and thousands of jobs, many in the growing industries of
transportation, healthcare, manufacturing and construction. That’s the good
news. The bad news is that our Louisiana employers are struggling to fill these
positions – and year after year more sit vacant.”
In his comprehensive plan, he intends to utilize guiding
criteria in the funding formula for two-year institutions that will better
account for real program costs and create incentives for strengthening
high-demand programs. He will also begin to develop “centers of excellence” at
Louisiana Community and Technical College Systems (LCTCS) and establish a “day
one guarantee” for Louisiana employers that hire workers with LCTCS degrees
and/or certificates.
To change the lack in capacity to address
workforce-related opportunities and challenges, Jindal intends to appropriate
$10 million annually to establish a standing training fund for high-demand,
high-cost training programs at LCTCS, as determined by market demand and
economic and employment projections. He also wants to establish the Louisiana “Fast Start” program to support the Louisiana Department of Economic Development,
in partnership with LCTCS, with customized, turnkey workforce training
solutions for business expansion and recruitment.
To maximize the input of business and industry, Jindal
wants to realign and integrate Louisiana’s workforce strategy at the state and
regional levels. In order to do this he wants to do away with the Department of
Labor and establish the Louisiana Workforce Commission which Jindal says will
move Louisiana toward a business approach to workforce programs, deleting the
bureaucracy and red tape.
The Louisiana Workforce Investment Council will replace
the existing Louisiana Workforce Commission in the office of the governor.
According to a press release from the governor’s office, this council will
create a common vision for an integrated workforce delivery system across the
state, advise the governor with strategies to meet the needs of the state’s
employers and workforce, direct the Occupational Forecasting Conference to
determine official information necessary to plan and budget for workforce
development and serve as the state’s workforce investment board in accordance
with federal law.
Also, the membership of Louisiana’s 18 Workforce
Investment Boards (WIBs) will now be led by business leaders – half of which
must represent small businesses – in partnership with local government,
organized labor, community-based organizations, educational agencies and other
groups. Other improvements include streamlined management of the one-stop
delivery system, a uniform, statewide client application and enrollment process
and an online comprehensive labor market information and job matching system.
The fourth element in Jindal’s plan is to expand the
career options of high school students which includes $4 million in this year’s
executive budget for dual enrollment. This dual enrollment will allow students
to earn credit for college courses and workforce training while still in high
school. He also wants to expand career and technical education programs in
middle and high schools to be utilized in classrooms across the state.
Awareness would also be raised on the variety of career options available to
students. Marketing campaigns will boost recruitment to community and technical
colleges and highlight the fact that many high-paying jobs require more training
than a high school diploma, but less than a four-year degree.
Jindal wants to make sure that Louisiana takes aggressive
steps to recruit workers to our state and to recruit and train out-of-work
citizens. In doing this, he plans to design and conduct a national marketing
campaign on a pilot basis this year in order to fill jobs in high-demand fields
for which additional training cannot adequately address market needs. Target
populations, such as citizens without high school diplomas or the underemployed,
will be recruited across the state and the region. Entry-level workforce
development programs can prepare these workers to find and fill available jobs.
In the coming weeks, The Guardian-Journal will take this
five step plan and break it down, and explain how these changes will affect
citizens in Claiborne Parish. Watch for the first installment in the next few
weeks as the regular legislative session takes on these tasks.
This Film by Michael Haynes Productions was created in conjunction with 
