Two Washington Parish inmates face new charges in connection with jail fire
Two inmates are facing new charges in connection with a July 18, 2026, fire that caused the evacuation of the entire Washington Parish Jail in Franklinton. Following an investigation by the Louisiana Office of State Fire Marshal’s Fire (SFM), 69-year-old Harold G. Russell, an inmate from Bogalusa, and 41-year-old Eric Causey, an inmate from Franklinton, were each charged with Fire Raising in a Correctional Facility, a violation of Louisiana Revised Statute 14:204.1.
State Fire Marshal investigation leads to Monroe woman’s arrest
A 42-year-old Monroe woman has been charged with insurance fraud and theft over $5,000 after a Louisiana State Fire Marshal (SFM) investigation determined a fire-related insurance claim was filed for damage that ccurred several months before the policy took effect. An arrest warrant was obtained July 21, 2026, for Tashira Glover, 42, of Monroe. Glover surrendered to the Ouachita Parish Sheriff’s Office on the same day.
The investigation began following an insurance fraud referral from the Louisiana Department of Insurance. SFM investigators determined an insurance claim was filed with USAA on Jan. 13, 2026, for fire-related damage to a home in the 200 block of Eisenhower Drive in Monroe.
Additional investigative efforts determined the reported loss had actually occurred several months before the inception of the insurance policy.
State trooper make arrest in connection with fatal hit-and-run in Bossier Parish
Troopers have made an arrest in connection with the fatal hit-and-run crash that claimed the life of 43-year-old Jerry Vest. As a result of the investigation and through information obtained, Troopers identified the vehicle involved in the crash as a 2015 Chevrolet Tahoe and determined that 71-year-old Miguel Angel Ceballos-Vasquez of Shreveport was the vehicle’s driver when it struck Vest. On July 20, 2026, working in coordination with local, state, and federal authorities, Troopers located Ceballos-Vasquez and took him into custody without incident. Ceballos-Vasquez was transported to the Bossier Parish Maximum Security Jail, where he was processed on charges of felony hit-and-run driving and obstruction of justice. This investigation remains active and ongoing.
Louisiana Bureau of Investigation arrests Baton Rouge man for defrauding EBR Program
Attorney General Liz Murrill’s Louisiana Bureau of Investigation (LBI) agents arrested a Baton Rouge man on charges of fraud involving an East Baton Rouge City-Parish program. The suspect, Roderick Shannon of 79th Avenue in Baton Rouge, was identified after agents received credible information alleging that Shannon may have defrauded an East Baton Rouge (EBR) program known as Safe, Hopeful, Healthy BR, a sub-unit of Mayor’s Healthy City Initiative (MHCI).
On June 20, 2026, Shannon was arrested on the following charges:
· LRS 14: 133 – Filing or Maintaining False Public Records (2 Counts)
· LRS 14:67 – Theft (Felony)
Fields will not seek re-election; plans to run for state Senate
Democratic U.S. Rep. Cleo Fields said Tuesday he would not seek reelection to his redrawn Louisiana congressional district that was at the center of a major U.S. Supreme Court ruling on race and redistricting.
The majority Black congressional district was redrawn by the state legislature in May to favor Republicans in November’s midterm elections. A month earlier, the Supreme Court ruled that Fields’ district relied too heavily on race and was an “unconstitutional gerrymander.” Fields, who a longtime fixture in Louisiana politics, said he would instead seek a seat in the state Senate.
SEC changes kill certain football rivalries
The league is introducing a nine-game league slate this season in an attempt to boost strength of schedule for what is now a playoff system that has a committee awarding seven at-large spots in the 12-team field. According to the AP, the once-a-year matchup between Florida and Tennessee that, back in the day, featured Steve Spurrier, Peyton Manning, Phillip Fulmer and snark that sometimes even outweighed the stakes — “You can’t spell Citrus without ‘U-T’” — is absent from the schedule for the first time in 37 seasons. Alabama-LSU — soon that’ll be gone, too, for the first time since 1963. The Gators and LSU — they’ll miss each other this year for the first time since 1970. Such is the price of progress in the Southeastern Conference, which has grown from 10 teams in the old days to 16 now.