AROUND THE STATE: Cruise passenger goes overboard off Louisiana coast
Cruise passenger goes overboard
The U.S. Coast Guard initiated a search for a cruise ship passenger who went overboard in the Gulf of Mexico some 150 miles from Southwest Pass in Louisiana.
The Coast Guard received a report about 3 p.m. Feb. 16 that a 32-year-old woman fell from the Carnival Valor cruise ship.
The identity of the woman was not immediately available.
Carnival Valor, which has its home port in New Orleans, is a 952-foot cruise ship that offers trips from Louisiana to Caribbean destinations, according to the company. It has capacity for nearly 3,000 passengers and more than 1,000 staff members.
Cynthia Perkins accepts plea deal
Cynthia Perkins, the former Livingston Parish teacher charged in child sex crimes, has agreed to plead guilty to some of the charges against her.
Prosecutors reported she agreed to plead guilty to charges of production of child pornography, second-degree rape, and mingling of harmful substances. In exchange, many of the charges she faced were dismissed.
As part of the deal, she agreed to be called as a witness in the trial of her former husband, Dennis Perkins. She filed for divorce following their arrests in 2019.
“Today, Cynthia Perkins admitted to her crimes and pled guilty in court. She not only waived any right to appeal, and attempt to avoid conviction, but she also spared the victims from reliving her horrific crimes during this particular trial. Today’s conviction is in the best interest of our victims and justice," Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry stated in a news release.
Perkins was sentenced to 41 years in Livingston Parish court on Feb. 18.
Homer man sentenced in killing of bald eagle
A Claiborne Parish man who admitted to killing a bald eagle was sentenced to 30 days in federal prison followed by a year of supervised release.
Daniel Glenn Smith, 20, of Homer, was sentenced after being charged with unlawful possession of a bald eagle feather.
The conviction stemmed from an investigation by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries after learning Smith had been photographed with a dead bald eagle.