Homer man fatally shot by police
MICHELLE BATES, Editor
A Homer
man was fatally shot Friday afternoon when a police pursuit ended in his front
yard.
Bernard
Monroe, Sr., 73, died at Homer Memorial Hospital as a result of multiple
gunshot wounds to the chest and torso area.
Early
reports indicated that prior to the shooting, Homer officers approached a
suspect believed to be involved in drug activity.
“The
(suspect) fled the scene and (police) followed in close pursuit to the
suspect’s residence front yard,” the initial report said. “One of the occupants
of the residence came onto the porch and was shot and killed after engaging
(with a pistol) two HPD officers while they were making an arrest of the fleeing
subject.”
Law
enforcement agencies from across the parish, including Louisiana State Police,
the Homer Police Department and many from the Claiborne Parish Sheriff’s Office
converged on the scene. Pafford Air One was dispatched to the scene, but Monroe passed away at the hospital shortly after arriving.
Once it
was determined that an officer-involved shooting had occurred, state police
were called in to investigate.
The
Shreveport Times reported the officer involved in the shooting to be Tim Cox.
However, state police will not confirm the identity of the officer at this
time. Both officers involved in the incident have been placed on paid
administrative leave pending the completion of the investigation.
Pierrelee
said a fully-loaded pistol was found near Monroe’s body, and The Shreveport
Times reported Pierrelee confirmed that the gun was in his physical possession.
This information has not been confirmed by state police.
“We’re
trying to confirm that the gun was in his physical possession,” Pierrelee said.
“Reports that were provided to us that detail this incident – that’s what we’re
confirming.”
Reports
said initially two Homer officers were involved in the shooting, but it was
later determined that only one discharged his service weapon. Pierrelee reiterated
that the incident is still under investigation and they won’t know exactly what
happened until the investigation is completed.
“We
know a lot right now, but nothing that would change what has been released
already,” Pierrelee said. “We confirm what we can, but there are many people to
interview. We’ll spend next week interviewing people, going back to the scene,
and going back step by step to find out what happened. We don’t want to let one
shred get by and we’ll document everything possible.”
Members
of the community have expressed outrage over the incident and are looking for
answers.
“People
are hurting right now, and we understand they want answers,” Pierrelee
continued. “We hear what they are saying and what I want them to know is that
this investigation is our highest priority; that when we submit this
investigation as complete, we will believe that this is all that can be known
about this incident, and that includes all the witness statements.”
The
NAACP has called a meeting to be held at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, February 25, at New Hope Missionary Baptist Church in Homer. The meeting has been set to discuss the
concerns of the community in regards to Friday’s shooting.
At the
instruction of state police investigators, Homer Police Chief Russell Mills is
not saying much at this time. He did indicate investigators from the State
Police Region II Criminal Investigations Division’s Shreveport Field Office
were at the scene and are handling the case.
No
arrests related to this incident have been made at this time, Mills said.
As of
press time, it is not known if an internal investigation of the police officer
who fired the fatal shots is underway, but Pierrelee said that all aspects of
the case are being investigated to determine exactly what happened.
Funeral
services for Monroe have been set for 10:30 a.m., Saturday, February 28, at Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church in Homer. Interment will follow at Shiloh Cemetery.
Hollenshead pleads guilty to arson
The Guardian-Journal
A Homer
woman pleaded guilty to arson after allowing her home to burn down last year in
order to collect insurance money.
Stacy
Hollenshead pleaded guilty to the charge of arson with the intent to defraud.
She was sentenced to four years at hard labor, suspended, and placed on supervised
probation for five years. She will also have to pay restitution in the amount
of $15,000, according to a press release by the district attorney’s office.
Her
husband, William Hollenshead, pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of attempted
theft in connection with the case. He was sentenced to six months in the parish
jail, suspended. He was placed on supervised probation for six months.
In
November 2007, the Homer Fire Department and Claiborne Parish Fire District 4
were dispatched to the couple’s home at 729 Hollenshead Road. When firefighters
arrived, they were faced with a fire in the living area of their doublewide
mobile home. The fire had destroyed the living area, with moderate damage to
the rest of the home.
State
and local investigators were called in after Fire Chief Dennis Butcher
determined the probable cause of the fire was of suspicious origin.
According
to court records, Mrs. Hollenshead admitted that a fire was started and she
made no effort to extinguish it and left the residence without reporting it.
Assistant District Attorney Jim Hatch said she would not admit to purposefully
burning down her home.
Mr.
Hollenshead signed and completed the claim forms filing for insurance payments
on items that were not burned in the home. Hatch said that evidence indicated
that Mr. Hollenshead had not participated in the planning and actual
destruction of the home.
“He
also knew at the time of the claim that she was responsible for the fire,”
Hatch said. “Those facts were admitted in open court. The evidence indicates
that he participated in the attempted theft by filing a claim for insurance
proceeds when he knew that Mrs. Hollenshead had allowed the house to burn.”
No
injuries were reported the day of the fire.
Writ denied in Marilyn Bush case
MICHELLE BATES, Editor
The
Louisiana State Supreme Court has denied the writ of former Haynesville Town
Clerk Marilyn Bush seeking post-conviction relief.
Her
sentence of 10 years at hard labor has been reinstated. Earlier this month, the
state supreme court would not hear her requests.
“The
ruling of the Second Circuit Court of Appeal has been upheld,” District
Attorney Jonathan Stewart said. “As I understand it, she is going to be ordered
to serve the remainder of her time on her original sentence.”
Stewart,
who is reviewing the case, said that she has 14 days after the court’s decision
to apply for a re-hearing. After that period of time has expired, he said, the
decision will be final. The district attorney’s office will then request the
judge to implement the sentence. If the re-hearing is not granted, then the
second circuit’s ruling will be implemented.
In
December 2007, the Second Circuit Court of Appeal in Shreveport reinstated her
original sentence, but her attorney, Henry Walker, filed a motion to stay pending
the writs.
The
2007 judgment stated the court was not clear on why her sentence had been
reversed. The entire case has been through three cycles of Bush going to jail,
getting her conviction overturned and getting the conviction reinstated.
On the
eve of her retirement in October 2000, Bush was placed on administrative leave
by the Haynesville Town Council after town auditor Mike Rabinowitz discovered
missing funds while conducting the town’s annual audit. She was later arrested
in November 2000 by Louisiana State Police and charged with felony theft over
$500 and malfeasance in office.
The
district attorney’s office is preparing for the implementation of the ruling.
‘Mystery shopper’ scammed
The Guardian-Journal
Another
scam has hit Claiborne Parish; in fact it almost got one Homer resident
arrested.
Halie
Vaughan, of Homer, like many people, wanted to earn some extra money. She gets
a check and a letter in the mail claiming to be a market research company. The
company letter (still looking very legitimate) says that she’s been chosen to
become a “mystery shopper.”
A very
real check is sent with the letter with instructions for the “mystery shopper”
to go to certain stores, buy whatever the shopper desires and fill out the
questionnaire.
Vaughan said a man who called himself Peter Brown claimed to be
her manager. As he instructed, she was to go to Wal-Mart’s jewelry department
and buy $100 worth of jewelry. She was to keep everything she bought and answer
the questions on the survey sheet sent with the checks.
She was
then to go to the money gram department at Wal-Mart and send a money gram in
the amount of $2,900 to an address given. However, Vaughan said, the store
would not send this amount to the address she’d given them, but instead, sent
it to another Wal-Mart store in Canada.
Vaughan was to keep $100 for gas, $300 as payment for her
services and the rest was to go towards her next assignment. “Peter Brown”
instructed her to call him back when she got done and he would give her the
next assignment, which was to shop at a Citgo station.
When
she called back, he did not answer her call.
Approximately
two weeks later, the Homer Police Department shows up at her doorstep in
preparation to arrest her. For what? A $3,500 fraudulent check to Piggly Wiggly
in Homer.
When
she realized what was going on, she began to gather up all the information
she’d been sent and the receipts of everything she bought.
“I kept
all of my information and they (Homer PD) told me they would turn it in to the
DA and they would get back in touch with me,” she said. “That was on a
Thursday.”
Doing a
little investigating of her own, she said, “That Monday, I came up with the
idea to go back to Wal-Mart, because I had failed to mention that I could put
the money order in anybody’s name I wanted to. I put it in my husband’s name.”
She
said she knew that the only way anybody could pick up the money gram was with
an ID. She went back to Wal-Mart and the money gram was still in the computer
and nobody had picked it up.
“I got
all my money back from the money order and the DA decided not to prosecute,”
she said.
She now
owes them $950 total, and she will pay them $60 per week until the full amount
is paid in full.
All of
the information she’s received in the mail is postmarked in Canada. The actual paperwork shows an address in Farmingdale, New York. The check is real,
she said, but the account it was written on is bogus. Just last week, she
received another check in the mail for a little more than $3,600. She has since
taken that check to the police department.
When
asked if she would consider something like this again, she gave an emphatic
“No.”
Erratic driver busted
The Guardian-Journal
An
erratic driver was arrested on drug charges after he was seen driving in a
reckless manner.
On
Thursday, February 19, Claiborne Parish Sheriff’s Deputy Jeff Pugh and
Detective Randy Smith responded to a call on Hwy. 3062 concerning an erratic
driver. Complainant Civil Deputy Sonya Williamson observed the driver,
identified as Michael D. Foster, of Ruston, driving in a reckless manner.
Deputy
Williamson also observed objects being thrown from the vehicle. A search of the
area revealed a white plastic container with a greenish brown substance in it
that looked and smelled like marijuana. Two pipes were also located in close
proximity of the marijuana. Both pipes have what appeared to be burnt marijuana
in them.
Foster
claimed ownership of the marijuana and the pipes and was arrested by Pugh. He
was transported to the Claiborne Parish Detention Center and charged with
possession of drug paraphernalia with a bond of $500; simple possession of
marijuana with a bond of $500; speeding with a bond of $500 and careless
operation with a bond of $500.
Firefighters stay busy
The Guardian-Journal photo/Michelle Bates
Claiborne Parish firefighters were kept
busy Friday afternoon when this call came in near Ruple Road and Standpipe Road. A grass fire got out of control, going all the way to the tree line.
Louisiana Agriculture and Forestry were called in on both calls, requesting
plows to help battle the blazes. While they were battling this blaze, another
call came in on Hwy. 146, where firefighters battled another grass fire started
with a burning vehicle. No injuries were reported.
Haynesville Town Council meeting rescheduled
The regular monthly meeting of the Haynesville Town Council on Thursday, March 19, has been rescheduled. The meeting will be held Thursday,
March 26. For more information, please call town hall at 624-0911.
Athens qualifying ends with three
The Guardian-Journal
Qualifying
for the two aldermen positions in Athens has been closed – and three people
will now be on the ballot for the April 4 election.
Those
to be on the ballot are: Ann Brown, Prentis B. Washington and Ardis L. Willhite
Jr. During the first qualifying period from February 11-13, only one person
qualified for an alderman seat. All three candidates running have no party
affiliations.
Haynesville
Mayor Sherman Brown will see four more years as the town’s mayor as he
qualified unopposed.
Haynesville
Chief of Police Anthony Smith will also be unopposed. All districts in
Haynesville will run unopposed except Districts 1 and 3. District 1 Councilman
Dump Hatter has an opponent – Valinda “Faye” Webb. Incumbent District 3
Councilwoman Joyce Major will be running against Barbara Beene “Net” Torrence.
District
2 Councilman Herbert Taylor, District 4 Councilman Brian Bogle and District 5
Councilwoman Carla Smith, are all unopposed.
Corney Lake to be drawn down
The Caney
Ranger District of the Kisatchie National Forest will be drawing down Corney Lake, north of Summerfield, Louisiana, begining September 8, 2009 through February, 2010. The proposed action will aid in mitigating the current levels of
invasive aquatic vegetation. Drawing down the lake during the proposed dates
will ensure the lake is drawn down during a timeframe to be most effective in
controlling the aquatic weeds that are currently overtaking the lake.
Drawdowns also benefit the fisheries resource and help to ensure healthy fish
populations.
If you
wish to provide comments in writing to: District Ranger, Alvin Womack, Caney
Ranger District, Kisatchie National Forest, 3288 Hwy 79, Homer, LA 71040.
Individuals wishing to submit comments by telephone or who wish to receive
additional information may do so by contacting James Williams, project leader
at 318-927-2061. Please respond with all comments regarding the proposed
action by November 21, 2008.
FINS director Mev Clark addresses DART
advisory board
JIMMY DEAN, Feature Writer
Mev
Clark, Director of the Second Judicial District’s FINS (Families in Need of
Services) program, addressed members of the Claiborne Parish DART Advisory
Board at its monthly meeting on February 19 at the old Claiborne Electric Building.
Focusing
primarily on children up to age 17, Clark explained how FINS can help troubled
youth and their families deal with truancy, rebelliousness, use of intoxicants,
and other self-destructive behaviors.
The
program represents an alternative to juvenile detention.
“FINS
seeks to reduce formal juvenile court involvement while bringing together
appropriate area resources to benefit the child and improve family relations,”
according to Clark.
A
written complaint alleging that a family is in need of services ordinarily
starts the FINS process. Although referrals usually come from school officials,
parents, and law enforcement personnel, anyone can initiate a complaint.
“Once a
complaint is filed, the family is expected to cooperate with efforts to resolve
its problems as recommended by FINS,” Clark said. “If the recommendations are
not followed,” she added, “harsher consequences may result. FINS may ultimately
refer the family to court.”
An
assessment to determine what services may be needed begins with a comprehensive
intake interview.
This
leads to a family service plan in the form of a contract, and FINS monitors
compliance for up to six months. Successful completion of the contract allows
the family to avoid further judicial involvement.
Clark cited advantages to participating in FINS. Children and
families, for example, may avail themselves of services designed to address
effectively the underlying causes of pre-delinquent behavior, and future
involvement with the legal system may be minimized or eliminated.
Mary
Ellen Gamble, Rural Advocate for the Domestic Abuse Resistance Team (DART) in
Claiborne Parish, reminds everyone that if you are a victim of domestic abuse
or want additional information, call her at 927-2818 or the domestic abuse hotline,
888-411-1333. All calls are confidential.
Police jury tackles rather short agenda
The Guardian-Journal
The
Claiborne Parish Police Jury rejected a request from the Claiborne Parish 4-H
for some funding of its outdoor skills program at its regular meeting for
February.
Robin
Bridges, with the Claiborne Parish Outdoors Skills program, made a request of
the police jury to help fund the added expenses, but due to the recent economic
issues, the police jury respectfully declined to make a one time donation or
continual help in funding the program.
The
decision was made to ask other interested parties to help in funding the
program.
In
other police jury news, they agreed to the repairs of a bus turnaround at the
end of Roger Road and repairs to the Haynesville Junior High playground.
J.T.
Taylor also gave a presentation on area transportation projects including the
junction of Hwy. 79 and Alternate 2 in Haynesville stating it lacked ample
space for large trucks to make turns. Also, a request was made to widen the
turning lane of Hwy 79 and Standpipe Road just north of Claiborne Academy to aid in turning into the school and its sports fields.
The
committee positions for 2009 were announced and approved by the board.
They
are: Buildings and Grounds - Bob McDaniel, Chair, Joe Sturges, Lavelle Penix
and Roy Mardis; Claims - Joe Sturges, Chair, Bob McDaniel, Lavelle Penix and
Roy Mardis; Finance - Jerry Adkins, Chair, Mark Furlow, Roy Lewis and Reverend
Willie Young; Garage - Lavelle Penix, Chair, Brian “Butch” Bays, Mark Furlow
and Bob McDaniel; Grants - Rev. Willie Young, Chair, Roy Mardis, Roy Lewis and
Jerry Adkins; Housing - the Jury as a whole; Personnel - Mark Furlow, Chair,
Joe Sturges, Jerry Adkins and Rev. Willie Young; and Road - the Jury as a whole.
The
Jurors made the decision to accept a standby generator project bid with a low
bid of $125,000 from TGS Contractors in Minden for three permanent generators.
Middlefork Water System was also approved for a trailer mounted generator for
$37,000 that can also be transferred to other facilities as needed.
The
jury voted to accept bids to purchase a portable generator from the state which
should provide backup power for all water systems in the parish.
A
request was made to accept quotes to remove heavy and overhanging tree limbs on
area roads that will eventually become a parish-wide hazard in the case of
natural disasters. The expenses of the project were limited to $5,000. The
request was approved and the decision was made to look into available grants to
offset expenses.
Njeri
Camara with the Alliance for Education made a brief presentation about the
establishment of a Human Service District in Northwest Louisiana. The Alliance is a nonprofit organization that seeks to promote systemic change in school
health in Louisiana.
The Alliance serves as a convener for meetings and public forums to work collaboratively
between hospitals and public schools for public interests locally instead of at
the state level to give each district a voice. An individual in Claiborne
Parish would need to eventually be appointed to this board.
The
police jury made the decision to seek further information and bring it back to
be acted on at a later date as it was such a large amount of information to
absorb.
Alice
Stewart asked the members of the police jury to show support for the Sparta
Groundwater Commission in any and all of the meetings being held in other
parishes to become better educated about the source of the parish’s water
supply.
One
such meeting will be held at Minden City Hall on March 5 in the City Council
Chambers at 11 a.m.
