Louisiana news briefs

New education board member opposes Common Core
BATON ROUGE (AP) — The newest member of the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education opposes the Common Core education standards.
Mary Johnson Harris, principal of a Shreveport elementary school, said on Tuesday she would like to see something replace Common Core “that’s more beneficial to our students.”
Harris’ position isn’t entirely a surprise, since she was given the temporary BESE appointment by Gov. Bobby Jindal, a leading critic of the multistate standards.
That brings to four the number of Common Core opponents on the 11-member board, not enough to strip the standards from classrooms.
Jindal named Harris to fill the BESE seat until a March 28 election is held to choose a new member to replace Walter Lee, who resigned as part of a plea deal involving theft charges.

Mom charged with negligent homicide over son’s drowning
BATON ROUGE (AP) — Baton Rouge Police have arrested the mother of a 4-year-old child who fell in a water-filled hole and drowned.
Investigators filed negligent homicide charges Tuesday against Brittni Clark, saying improper supervision of Jassiah Clark led to his December death.
Police say the child was reported missing Dec. 20 after his mother said he had been playing outside their home with an 11-year-old neighbor, and she later realized he wasn’t there.
Tuesday, police said Clark lied when she told investigators that she had last seen her son around 6 p.m. that day. It was later revealed that she had not seen the child since noon that day. She also admitted to not checking on him for three hours while she watched a movie.

‘Blue Dog’ heist: Painting stolen from Rodrigue gallery
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The son of the late Cajun artist George Rodrigue says one of his father’s famous “Blue Dog” paintings — valued at $250,000 — was stolen in a brazen daylight theft.
A statement issued Tuesday evening by Jacques Rodrigue said the painting entitled “Wendy and Me” was taken from the wall of the Rodrigue Gallery in New Orleans’ French Quarter on Tuesday afternoon. The theft was recorded on security video being reviewed by New Orleans police.
George Rodrigue already had a following for his paintings of Acadiana life when he gained fame for his depictions of a small blue dog with pointy ears and yellow eyes. Jacques Rodrigue’s statement says “Wendy and Me” shows a tuxedo-clad blue dog standing next to the late artist’s wife Wendy in her wedding gown.

Sunset man accused of hunting from moving vehicle
BATON ROUGE (AP) — The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries says a 40-year-old Sunset man is accused of illegal night hunting, hunting from a moving vehicle, and hunting from a public road.
Spokesman Adam Einck says agents arrested Allen W. Moreau on Jan. 3 in St. Landry Parish after he shot a deer from his vehicle with a .243 rifle.
He says they had set up surveillance because area hunters complained about night hunting in the area.
If convicted on all three counts, Moreau could get up to nine months in jail and $1,800 in fines plus $1,624 restitution for the deer.
It was not clear whether Moreau has a lawyer. He could not be reached for comment because an online directory did not include a phone number for him.

New Orleans police officer suspended after arrest
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A New Orleans police officer has been placed on emergency suspension without pay after his arrest in St. Bernard Parish.
Police, in a statement Tuesday, said Officer Tony Burrell was arrested Monday following a domestic disturbance in a home in Chalmette. He was booked with disturbing the peace (domestic). It was unknown if he has an attorney.
The New Orleans Police Department’s Integrity Bureau suspended him pending the outcome of an administrative investigation. The St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office is also conducting a criminal investigation.
Burrell is a five-year veteran of the New Orleans Police Department and was most recently assigned to the department’s Fifth District.

Westwego man gets 40 years for sexual abuse of child
GRETNA (AP) — A Westwego man has been sentenced to 40 years in prison after pleading guilty to sexually abusing a 6-year-old boy and possessing child pornography.
State District Judge Donnie Rowan sentenced 52-year-old Kevin Muth, who agreed to the sentence as part of a plea deal.
Westwego Police booked Muth April 8, 2013, after the child’s mother altered them to the abuse. According to his arrest affidavit, Muth performed oral sex on the child and tried unsuccessfully to have the boy do the same on him. Police say Muth also showed the child pornographic videos. Detectives found hundreds of child pornography images on Muth’s home computer.
If released from prison, Muth would have to register as a sex offender for life.

St. Bernard nearly doubles water and sewer rate
CHALMETTE (AP) — The St. Bernard Parish Council has approved an ordinance amendment that nearly doubled resident’s water and sewer rates, and tripled them for some commercial users.
The council said Tuesday the rate increase will help improve water quality about a year after a brain-eating amoeba was found in its water system.
The parish’s water and sewerage rates had not changed since 1997. The average residence in St. Bernard will see its water rate jump from about $13 a month to $24 a month.
The average sewer rate will increase from about $15 a month to $36 a month.
The parish will use the rate increases to pay acquire and pay interest on two state loans needed for capital improvements

Police make arrest in
4-year-old double homicide
BATON ROUGE (AP) — Baton Rouge police have arrested a man suspected of killing two men more than four years ago during an argument.
Police say 29-year-old Ahmad Rashad Murphy, of Baton Rouge, is accused of fatally shooting 31-year-old Alton Spears Jr. and 56-year-old Johnny Kelley.
Murphy was arrested Tuesday evening.
Investigators say a witness saw Murphy and an unnamed “associate” drag the bodies to the parking lot of a nearby apartment, where the bodies were discovered on Oct. 19, 2010.
It wasn’t immediately clear how recently Murphy was pinned as the suspected killer in the 2010 double homicide. But a warrant was issued for his arrest in late September.
It was unclear whether Murphy has an attorney