Louisiana news briefs

Reward offered in theft of guns
PAINCOURTVILLE (AP) — Federal firearms agents and a firearms industry trade association are offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of those involved in the theft of guns from an Assumption Parish hardware store.
The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives officials announced the reward Tuesday, more than two days after an unidentified man broke into Sagona’s True Value Hardware store in Paincourtville.
ATF Special Agent Kevin Moran said the actual number of weapons is not being disclosed at this time due to the investigation. He said that only handguns were taken, primarily semi-automatic pistols and a few revolvers.

Man booked in Road Home threat
BATON ROUGE (AP) — East Baton Rouge sheriff’s deputies have arrested a Marrero man accused of threatening, during an Aug. 4 phone conversation, to blow up an office housing the Louisiana Road Home program.
According to the arrest warrant, 56-year-old James P. Austin Jr. called the Road Home office to inquire about the status of his application and became irate when officials told him he failed to send in a death certificate required for his application.
Austin was booked Monday into Parish Prison on counts of terrorizing.

Slidell man charged with oil spill claims fraud
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A Slidell man at the center of an investigation into claims of fraud in the BP oil spill settlement program has been charged with two counts of felony wire fraud.
The U.S. Department of Justice said 35-year-old Casey Thonn in 2012 “devised a scheme to defraud” the Deepwater Horizon Economic Claims Center by submitting fraudulent tax return forms with his shrimping claim.
A bill of information charges Thonn with two counts of wire fraud connected with two interstate transfers of funds totaling $357,000 from the fund to his lawyer’s account.
Thonn was the target of an investigation led by former FBI director Louis Freeh who was appointed to probe claims of wrongdoing in the program.

Houma teen
shot, killed by sheriff’s deputy
HOUMA (AP) — State police are investigation the shooting death of a Houma teenager by a Terrebonne Parish sheriff’s deputy.
Troopers identified the victim as 14-year-old Cameron Tillman, a freshman at Ellender High School.
The shooting took place at a home in Houma shortly after 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Authorities have not released the name of the deputy involved in the shooting.
Trooper Evan Harrell says deputies responded to a call of several people entering a house and at least one was armed.
Police have not indicated whether Tillman was armed. They say a weapon was found in close proximity of the shooting.
Harrell says three people inside the house, two minors and one 18-year-old, were taken into custody. He says charges are pending against the trio.

$147M contract
to widen N.O. drainage canal
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Pentagon says a Texas company has won a $147.5 million flood control contract to widen a drainage canal in New Orleans.
According to a daily list of military contracts, Renda/J Bros. JV of Roanoke, Texas, will widen the Florida Avenue Canal from St. Ferdinand St. to Peoples Ave. The company was one of three submitting bids to the Corps of Engineers.
Oct. 15, 2017 is the estimated completion date.

Judge plans hearing on BP
oil spill cases
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The federal judge hearing 2010 oil spill cases says he’ll decide soon whether he needs more than written evidence and arguments to rule on an investigation of alleged corruption within the settlement program.
District Judge Carl Barbier said during a Tuesday status conference the big question is whether two attorneys paid claims office attorney Lionel Sutton to expedite a law firm’s $8 million claim, or whether he just did his job.
Ex-FBI director Louis Freeh has recommended disqualifying the claim and disqualifying those lawyers and Sutton’s wife from representing oil spill claims.
Their lawyers want a hearing. They say statements conflict, so the judge needs to see and hear witnesses to tell who’s truthful.
Barbier says he’ll decide as soon as possible whether to hold a hearing.

2 teens arrested
in pizza delivery driver’s death
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — New Orleans police have arrested two 16-year-old boys, both wearing electronic monitoring devices, in the slaying of 35-year-old pizza delivery driver Richard Yeager.
Interim Superintendent Michael Harrison announced the arrests Tuesday at a news conference. Their identities were not released because of their ages.
Harrison says both face a charge of first-degree murder in the shooting death of Yeager, who was killed shortly after midnight Monday. His car was stolen minutes after he delivered a pizza.
The suspects were arrested Monday night.
Investigators also used tracking information from the suspects’ monitoring devices to link one of them to another violent carjacking that happened Saturday. Police say a 50-year-old woman was pistol-whipped in her driveway and the suspects fled with her purse and 2008 silver Volvo.

Family IDs bodies of woman, child found by highway
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Family members say the bodies of a woman and a young child that were found in the grass along Interstate 10 in New Orleans have been identified and are the pair who had been reported missing since Saturday.
The deceased are 29-year-old Tracy Jefferson and 4-year-old Richard Gordon III.
A man cutting grass found the bodies Monday. Police say the bodies were highly decomposed and appeared to have been in the location for several days.
The family says the woman and child had been missing since a multi-car accident on I-10 near Louisa Saturday morning. Police confirm there was a wreck in the area that day and are looking into whether the woman and child found dead were involved.

Henderson named new Northwestern State president
BATON ROUGE (AP) — Bossier Parish Community College Chancellor James Henderson has been named the new president at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches.
The University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors announced Henderson’s appointment Tuesday during a meeting in Baton Rouge. He was chosen over the other finalist, Lisa Abney, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Northwestern State.
Henderson’s selection was the culmination of a five-month search that yielded 41 applications and 12 candidates seeking to replace Randall J. Webb, the school’s longest-serving president. Webb announced his retirement in April.
Henderson, a Northwestern State graduate, will begin his leadership term on Jan. 1, 2015