BATON
THURSDAY, APRIL 9, 2015
Zachary Man Accused of Running Sex Trafficking Ring out of Baton Rouge Pleads Guilty The leader of a sex trafficking ring pleaded guilty today to charges stemming from his interstate prostitution enterprise, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney J. Walter Green of the Middle District of Louisiana and Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Anderson of the FBI’s New Orleans Division. Jeremie J. Tate, 33, of Zachary, Louisiana, pleaded guilty this morning before U.S. District Judge Shelly D. Dick of the Middle District of Louisiana to conspiracy to unlawfully use interstate facilities in aid of racketeering, two counts of use of interstate facilities in aid of racketeering and enticing another to travel interstate for prostitution. After evading arrest for several days, Tate was apprehended in Houston, Texas, See TRAFFICKING, on page 2
District 5 Community Meetings to be Held
Please join us this year for our free Citizen Advisory Council Meetings. They are a chance to air grievances, speak directly to department officials, and learn about the exciting programs offered in our community. The meetings will be held at 10am on the dates below. Mark your calendars with the following dates: Saturday, June 6th Times of Refreshing Ministries 3745 Mohican Street, Baton Rouge, LA 70805 (225) 356-3004 Saturday, August 1st Delmont Gardens Library 3351 Lorraine Street, Baton Rouge, LA 70805 (225) 354-7040 Saturday, October 3rd Greenwell Springs Library 11300 Greenwell Springs Road, Baton Rouge, LA (225) 2744450 For additional information, please contact Tyra L. Banks the Legislative Assistant to Councilwoman Ronnie Edwards representing Metro Council District 5 at 225-389-4831 or by tbanks@ brgov.com.
ROUGE,
LOUISIANA
VOL. 40 • NO. 19 • FREE
PEOPLE’S PUBLICATION
Holden: Miss USA will Return Walter Scott’s Family Reacts to to Baton Rouge for 2015 Video of His killing
Judy Scott tearfully describes her reaction to released cellphone video of her son’s final moments alive, “running like you would kill an animal.”
Miss Nevada USA Nia Sanchez, center, is congratulated by her fellow Miss USA contestants after being named the 2014 Miss USA at the Miss USA Pageant held at the Baton Rouge River Center on June 8, 2014.
Baton Rouge Mayor-President Kip Holden said the Miss USA pageant will return for 2015 during a press conference for Keep Baton Rouge Beautiful on April 8, according to a source within city-parish government and media reports. The pageant was held here in 2014, and rumors began swirling in March that it would return when Holden requested the Metro Council to allot $230,000 within the city’s budget for expenses associated with hosting it again. The council is scheduled to vote on that request today, April 8. “I am happy to tell you Miss USA is coming back to Baton Rouge,” Holden said, according to the Baton Rouge Business Report. “They enjoyed it so much last year they called us and said they’re coming back.” The news is not exactly un-
Mayor Melvin ‘Kip’ Holden
expected, and the pageant community has generally believed it would return to Baton Rouge for some weeks now. Many have gone so far as to book hotels in the city
for the weekend leading up to July 12, which is rumored to be the date of the televised pageant. A representative for the Miss Universe Organization, which organizes the Miss USA pageant, did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but one source within city government did acknowledge that a no-go from the Metro Council decision would likely reverse the news. But, the source said, the cost of the pageant is far less than the tax benefits the city receives. Holden’s request, which he submitted to the Metro Council on March 19, noted that he would also supply an additional $50,000 for pageant-related expenses from his economic development program budget. Additionally, the state’s tourism office would put up another $50,000 for the pageant See HOLDEN, on page 2
Walter Scot
Officer Michael Thomas Slager
The family of a black South Carolina man who was fatally shot by a white police officer as he was running away following a traffic stop is speaking about the dramatic cellphone video, taken by a witness, that captured his killing. “When I looked at that tape, that was the most horrible thing I’ve ever seen,” Walter Scott’s mother, Judy, said on “Good Morning America.” “I almost couldn’t look at it. To see my son running defenselessly being shot, it just tore my heart to pieces. And I just
pray that this doesn’t have to happen to another person. This has got to stop.” “When I saw it, I fell to my feet and my heart was broken,” Scott’s father, Walter Scott Sr., said on NBC’s “Today” show on Wednesday. “It would have never come to light. They would have swept it under the rug, like they did with so many others.” Walter Scott, a 50-yearold father of four, was killed Saturday by North Charleston See KILLING, on page 3
Behind Obama’s Commutations: ‘Clemency Project’ Off to a Slow Start President Barack Obama commuted the sentences of 22 federal prisoners with one stroke Tuesday, more than in his first six years in office. For the first time, the grant included a handful of prisoners represented by Clemency Project 2014, the outside group of nonprofit advocates created last year to help dramatically increase the president’s use of his pardon power. But despite Tuesday’s commutations, the Clemency Project has moved at a glacial pace. It’s been bogged down by the difficulty of training 1,500 pro-bono lawyers in the complicated art of petitioning for presidential mercy; and the group also lost some of its most experienced hands when the federal court system decided last summer that court–appointed defense lawyers have no authority to work on clemency cases. The initiative has also been dogged
by criticism from Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who says it’s inappropriate for four nonprofit groups to help vet applicants for clemency, which is typically done solely by the pardon attorney’s office in the Department of Justice. The group was set up last year in response to Obama’s desire to clear federal prisons of hundreds and perhaps thousands of federal prisoners who have served more than 10 years for a nonviolent crime that would be penalized less harshly under today’s laws (for example, someone sentenced for dealing crack cocaine under older laws that punished possession of crack 100 times more harshly than possession of powder cocaine). More than 35,000 prisoners apSee PROJECT, on page 2
President Barack Obama in the Oval Office, March 31, 2015.
ALABAMA HIRES AVERY JOHNSON AS BASKETBALL COACH http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/btrbb-renaissance-baton-rouge-hotel/ STATE & LOCAL NEWS STATE & LOCAL NEWS BUSINESS NEWS
RELIGION
NEW: Lela Kelly informs you about gospel events happening in Baton Rouge...See Page 4
INDEX State News...............................2
FUNDRAISERS FOR CASA HELD Two recent fundraising events supAlabama is hoping Avery Johnson’s NBA pedigree will translate to success in the Southeastern Conference and NCAA Tournament ..See Page 6
ported Capital Area CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) Association, a nonprofit organization that trains community volunteers to speak up for abused and neglected children..See Page 3
SU STUDENT WINS SCHOLARSHIP
Baton Rouge, Louisiana. - Maritza Smith-Romero said she just wanted to see “what would happen” when she completed the application to be in a competition for a $10,000 scholarship from Internet giant Google.. See Page 3
QUAKER STEAK & LUBE OPENING
Pennsylvania-based casual dining restaurant Quaker Steak & Lube is opening its first Baton Rouge-area restaurant in a Gonzales shopping center in June, according to company spokeswoman Samantha Russo... See Page 5
Religion....................................4 Business....................................5 Classifieds.................................5 Sports.......................................6
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