Man indicted in deadly Houma party shooting
A Thibodaux man has been indicted in a deadly shooting that occurred at a party in Houma last year.
After reviewing the evidence Thursday, a Terrebonne Parish grand jury charged Landon Johnson, 23, with second-degree murder and illegal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Johnson is accused of fatally shooting 36-year-old Jason Livas, of Thibodaux, during the early morning hours of Nov. 21 at a party on the east side of Houma.
An indictment does not presume guilt or innocence but indicates the grand jury found prosecutors presented enough evidence to warrant a trial on the charges.
Grand jury indicts Houma man in fatal apartment shooting
A Houma man has been indicted in connection with a fatal shooting at an apartment complex in December.
A grand jury found enough evidence Thursday to charge Joseph Simmons III, 28, with second-degree murder. He is accused of killing Troy Taylor Jr. on Dec. 5 at the Cameron Isles Apartment Complex, 711 Enterprise Drive.
An indictment does not presume guilt or innocence but indicates the grand jury found prosecutors presented enough evidence to warrant a trial on the charges.
Taylor, a resident of the apartment complex, suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was transported to Terrebonne General Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead.
New trial set in fatal Houma stabbing
A new trial has been scheduled for a Houma woman who is charged with stabbing another woman to death in an argument over a man in 2017.
A Terrebonne Parish jury voted 11-1 in 2019 to convict Miranda Cheyenne Gilley, 25, of manslaughter in the fatal stabbing of 24-year-old Jessica McGehee.
State District Judge George Larke Jr. sentenced her to 23 years in prison.
Gilley then took her case to the Louisiana 1st Circuit Court of Appeal in Baton Rouge, which overturned the conviction July 17.
Though Gilley argued there wasn’t enough evidence to warrant a conviction, the appeals court ultimately overturned her conviction because of the split-jury verdict.
1. COVID-19 pandemic
The global coronavirus pandemic hit Terrebonne Parish in March, wreaking havoc on every facet of life. By year s end, the parish had recorded more than 5,900 COVID-19 infections and 148 deaths.
State orders aimed at curbing the virus s spread restricted business and social activity. Orders mandated face masks for anyone in public and encouraged residents to stay at least six feet away from others and wash their hands regularly. Schools offered a mix of online-only and in-person classes and limited class sizes on campus.
Houma-Thibodaux lost 5,800 jobs in April, the first full month of the state’s COVID stay-at-home order. Business closures and layoffs helped elevate the area’s unemployment rate to 12.3%, its highest since the late-1980s oil bust. The area regained most of those jobs by year s end, but the November total was still down 2,000 from a year earlier. Long lines became common at area food banks.
Dagate, Ellender Jr. Sworn in as New Judges for the Terrebonne Parish 32nd District Court
Two judges were officially administered their oaths of office on Tuesday morning.
Former First Assistant District Attorney Jason Dagate and attorney Timothy Ellender Jr. were both sworn in as judges of the 32nd Judicial District Court during an investiture ceremony at the Terrebonne Parish Courthouse.
Dagate and Ellender Jr. were sworn in alongside other city and district court incumbents as part of the ceremony. Dagate and Ellender are filling the seats of two retiring judges, Judge Johnny Walker and Judge George Larke Jr., respectively.
Dagate was a prosecutor for 14 years, and the youngest prosecutor to be named first assistant district attorney in Terrebonne Parish, and won his seat on the bench without opposition over the fall. Dagate was sworn in by Associate Justice, soon to be Chief Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court, John Weimer.