Louisiana news briefs

Teen pleads guilty in fatal crash
HOUMA (AP) — An 18-year-old Montegut woman has pleaded guilty to negligent homicide tied to a May 5 collision involving a golf cart she was driving that left a man dead.
Katelyn Marie Duplantis was sentenced to five years on Monday but will not serve jail time after state District Judge George Larke of Houma suspended the time. She will be on probation for three years, will pay $1,500 in fines and serve 240 hours of community service.
Cleveland Towns, 63, of Montegut, was driving along a dark stretch of La. 24 in Bourg when he swerved to avoid Duplantis’ golf cart.
Towns’ car veered from the road and struck a tree. He wasn’t wearing a seat belt and sustained head injuries. He died six days later.

Port Allen council set to tackle budget again
PORT ALLEN (AP) — The Port Allen Council finally could have a definitive spending plan in place this week for the remaining portion of its 2013-14 fiscal year.
City leaders said the council’s second attempt at adopting a 2013-14 budget will be successful when the council holds a budget hearing Wednesday.
The council likely will entertain a vote on the approximately $7 million spending plan, which was presented to the council on Dec. 23.
The council is more than six months late adopting a 2013-14 budget.
It missed its June 30 deadline because of the contentious battles a majority of the council had with former mayor Demetric Slaughter.

Kaplan audit cites problems
KAPLAN (AP) — An audit of the city of Kaplan cites several problems, including use of the city’s credit card for personal purchases by the mayor and, for a second year in a row, the purchase of equipment by the police department without proof of bids.
The Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s Office released the independent audit Monday for the fiscal year that ended June 30.
The auditors cited one instance in 2013 in which $10,000 in equipment was purchased for the police department without obtaining quotes or bids.
Mayor Kirk Champagne, in the management’s corrective-action plan within the audit, said he will not allow the city to pay invoices from the police chief for goods or services above $9,999 without proper documentation.
Champagne said he self-reported the incident involving the credit card.

Another execution date
for DeSoto Parish child killer
MANSFIELD (AP) — For the third time in just over a year, an execution date has been set for a DeSoto Parish child killer.
State District Judge Robert Burgess set March 7 as the execution date for 69-year-old Christopher Sepulvado, of Mansfield. If it’s carried out, the execution will fall one day shy of 22 years since he beat and scalded to death his stepson, 6-year-old Wesley Allen Mercer.
Sepulvado’s attorneys already are mounting an appeal.
In an email, attorney Gary Clements said Monday that a writ will be filed with the U.S. Supreme Court.
Burgess took action Monday on the new execution warrant after the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans on Friday reversed its previous injunction and stay of execution.
The federal appeals court in November overturned U.S. District Judge James Brady’s ruling canceling Sepulvado’s Feb. 13 execution. Burgess later set the death date for Nov. 5. But because a mandate had not been issued, that, too, was vacated by the Louisiana Supreme Court.
Brady’s delay of the death sentence was at the request of Sepulvado’s attorneys who contend the state had not provided information about the execution protocol and the single-dose drug that will be used. Another death row inmate, Jessie Hoffman, filed suit in December 2012 challenging the execution process, claiming it was “cruel and unusual punishment.”
A DeSoto Parish jury convicted him in 1993 and sentenced him to death.
Sepulvado killed Mercer on March 8, 1992 by beating him in the head with a screwdriver then putting him in a bathtub of scalding water.

Lafayette detox unit reopens
LAFAYETTE (AP) — Within hours of reopening Monday after an 11-month closure, four patients had been admitted to the detox medical unit at the former University Medical Center.
Daryl Cetnar, Lafayette General community relations director, said a few more admissions are expected.
The voluntary program will provide 24-hour, medically supervised evaluation and treatment of patients 18 years old or older who are taking the first step in their rehabilitation from the dependence on alcohol or other drugs.
Lafayette General took over operations of the public hospital in June and renamed the facility University Hospital & Clinics.
The public hospital faced major budget cuts over the past few years, resulting in the reduction of some services and the closure of others, including the detox unit, which closed in February 2012.

Tangipahoa deputy arrested
AMITE — A Tangipahoa Parish sheriff’s deputy has been arrested after he allegedly brought marijuana and tobacco into the parish jail to sell to inmates.
The Sheriff’s Office says 58-year-old Patrick Collins was booked Monday on one count of malfeasance in office, two counts of introduction of contraband into a penal institution, and possession with intent to distribute Schedule I narcotics.
Collins, of Independence, will be housed in St. John the Baptist Parish. Bail has not been set.

DeSoto DA: BESE
member to face theft charge
MANSFIELD (AP) — DeSoto Parish District Attorney Richard Johnson says a member of the state education’s policy-making board will face at least one count of felony theft in connection to an investigative audit released last month.
Johnson said he should complete his full review of the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s report this weekend and will have a better idea how he’ll proceed with allegations against Walter Lee.
The report indicates Lee, an elected member of the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and retired superintendent of DeSoto schools, appears to have broken state law and the constitution by double-billing expenses to the school district and BESE and improper termination of a vehicle that benefited him personally while costing the district. The report also raises questions of how Lee ignored raise calculations from the district’s business director and instead provided his own numbers, bumping his salary considerably to levels unknown to School Board members.
An investigation into Lee’s School Board and BESE expenses by The Times early last year revealed discrepancies in reimbursements. The information prompted board member Neil Henderson to file a formal criminal complaint, which went through the hands of the DeSoto Parish Sheriff’s Office and FBI before landing before the state auditor’s office.
The final audit, released to the School Board in late November, was forwarded to the DeSoto district attorney and U.S. Attorney’s Office in Shreveport for further consideration.
“I definitely don’t think he’s done anything to violate any criminal laws,” said Taylor Townsend, Lee’s attorney.
Townsend said he is still going through the audit report, too, along with additional documents. He hopes to be in a position at a later date to respond to the allegations.
Townsend added it’s been documented by the newspaper that there were “obvious issues” between Lee and the board before his retirement in November 2012. Townsend said those issues were resolved by a civil resolution at Lee’s departure.
Auditors concluded from September 2009 through Oct. 19, 2012, Lee received $13,073 in reimbursements from BESE for travel expenses that he did not personally pay. Instead, Lee charged the expenses to the School Board’s credit card and did not forward the BESE reimbursements to the school district. Auditors recommend Lee reimburse BESE that amount.