A founding editor of both The Independent and ABiz and senior editor at The Times of Acadiana in the 1990s, Leslie Turk has worked in the newspaper business in Lafayette for almost three decades. Her work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Acadiana Advocate and Gambit. Email her at [email protected]
Leslie Turk
Confusion won the day at Pope resentencing
The gist: There’s still zero clarity on whether suspended Lafayette city marshal/convicted felon Brian Pope will serve his time behind bars.
Dirt turning at proposed Amazon site in Carencro
At least tens of thousands of dollars of earth work and soil stabilization is underway, evidenced by photographs taken this week.
COVID-19 hits mayor’s office, administration won’t discuss details
The gist: A key member of Mayor-President Josh Guillory’s staff has tested positive for COVID-19, but the administration is not divulging what it has done to protect others the employee was in contact with.
Sources: Amazon eyeing old Evangeline Downs for massive fulfillment complex
The gist: Tech giant Amazon has set its sights on the remaining portion of the old Evangeline Downs property in Carencro for an expansive fulfillment center with the potential to create hundreds of jobs for Lafayette Parish, according to sources with knowledge of the project.
Forensic audit in hand, Guillory administration turned to FBI on LUS investigation
The gist: City-parish attorneys kicked the findings of a forensic auditor’s report into suspect transactions between LUS and LUS Fiber to the FBI, according to email correspondence with council members. Based on the same evidence in that forensic audit report, and other documents previously handed over, the district attorney declined to prosecute crimes alleged by the Guillory administration.
No evidence of malfeasance, records destruction or other crimes by former LUS director, district attorney finds
The gist: Despite persistent efforts, the Guillory administration failed to mount a compelling ad hoc criminal case against longtime LUS and LUS Fiber Director Terry Huval, the district attorney concludes in a pair of letters to LCG’s legal department and the mayor-president obtained by The Current through a public records request. Further, District Attorney Keith Stutes insists what LCG alleged was a criminal scheme to cover up “illegal” subsidies of LUS Fiber is exclusively a matter for the Louisiana Public Service Commission, which has limited oversight of Fiber.
Family will see redacted video of Trayford Pellerin’s shooting, no timeline set
The gist: A legal path has been cleared for the family of Trayford Pellerin to see the body-worn camera footage documenting the 31-year-old’s fatal encounter with Lafayette police. After a lengthy parlay among lawyers representing Pellerin’s family, Lafayette Consolidated Government and the three media organizations on one hand and the officers involved in the shooting on the other, a temporary restraining order granted to the officers, which blocked release of the video and other evidence, was dismissed Tuesday.
Guillory vetoes City Council ordinance to hire its own attorney
The gist: Over the objections of City-Parish Attorney Greg Logan, who called the ordinance “illegal,” the Lafayette City Council voted 3-1 last week to hire Baton Rouge attorney Lea Anne Batson to represent its interests in determining how city tax dollars are spent.
Judge blocks release of Pellerin body cam videos
The gist: A district judge granted a temporary restraining order Tuesday afternoon preventing the release of police body cam video and other evidence related to the Aug. 21 shooting of Trayford Pellerin. Officers involved in the fatal encounter, in which Pellerin was struck 10 times by police gunfire, sought the order to protect their identities.
Demanding more transparency, Trayford Pellerin’s family releases independent autopsy challenging details of official story
The gist: After police shot 10 bullets into Trayford Pellerin, they handcuffed him, claims the attorney representing Pellerin’s family. Citing an independent autopsy, the attorney challenges the official account of the events leading up to Pellerin’s killing and continues to call for authorities to release body cam footage and other documentary evidence that could clarify what happened.
Trayford Pellerin’s family will meet with Guillory Friday
The gist: Mayor-President Josh Guillory, who waited days to express condolences to the family of the 31-year-old Black man killed in a spray of gunfire by Lafayette police officers on Aug. 21, will meet with the family Friday.
A month later, Pellerin family’s statement on body cam viewing offers window into likely lawsuit
Hedging that they saw video from only one officer, the Pellerins’ attorneys said in a previously unpublished statement it nonetheless shows “crystal clear” evidence Pellerin posed no threat to officers and should not have been shot.