By JIM BUTLER

“All personnel go to secure channel.”

That police scanner directive on May 28, 1996 told newspaper and television newsrooms emptying for lunch that a story had begun.

All these years later, it continues.

A divided Louisiana Supreme Court last week reversed and vacated the capital murder conviction of Darnell Robinson, sending the case back to Ninth Judicial District Court for a new trial.

Robinson, now 54, was convicted in 2001 of the murder of four Poland residents – Billy Lambert, Lambert’s sister Carol Hooper, her daughter Maureen Kelly and Kelly’s infant son Nicholas, shot to death in Lambert’s house on Guy Peart Road on that May day.

Robinson and Lambert had met at a VA alcoholism treatment center. Lambert offered Robinson a job on his farm as well as lodging.

Since conviction and losing a direct post-trial appeal, Robinson has been on Death Row at Angola.

Louisiana has not executed anyone in 12 years.

The Robinson order ironically comes at the same time as Gov. Jeff Landry revealing his administration’s intent to study and propose a new way to enforce capital punishment.

The maze of motions, dozens of depositions, and courtroom clashes have generated thousands of pages in the case file, the bulk since the appeal process began.

From that record, the court reached the conclusion that Robinson’s defense team at trial, and by inference the jurors, did not have all potential evidence that the prosecution had access to.

That included that the key witness, who testified to an alleged jailhouse confession by Robinson, may have received a quid pro quo deal, and that a previously undisclosed witness may have seen Robinson elsewhere at the time of the murders.

Also withheld or overlooked, according to the high court, were crime lab findings and additional witness statements that “could have affected jury judgment and put the case in a different light.”

So, the case comes back to the parish. Some of the principals have retired, others have different jobs, some have died. Robinson, then a young laborer is now a middle-aged inmate.

Case record remains, to fill any gaps in witness memory, as does information jurors never heard.

Buhlow Lake has reopened as of Jan. 29, according to the City of Pineville. This rain has really done great things for getting it back to a safe level. During the closure, the City repaired the hole at the bottom of the boat launch, made some adjustments to the dock, repainted the stage to a beautiful Red, White, and Blue theme and added some picnic tables. Work will begin on a beach area around Airport Road by the beacon that will have areas for BBQ, picnics, sand volleyball and more, so stay tuned. As always, please exercise caution while entering the Lake and while on it.

TODAY’S GAME

GIRLS

Alexandria Senior High at Northwood-Lena

TUESDAY’S GAMES

GIRLS

St. Mary’s at ASH
Tioga at Franklin Parish
Marksville at Bolton
Buckeye at Bunkie
Menard at Avoyelles
Northwood-Lena at Logansport
Oak Hill at Reeves
Avoyelles Charter at Rapides
St. Joseph’s-Plaucheville at Plainview

BOYS

St. Mary’s at ASH
Tioga at Franklin Parish
Marksville at Bolton
Buckeye at Bunkie
Menard at Avoyelles
Northwood-Lena at Logansport
Oak Hill at Reeves
Avoyelles Charter at Rapides
St. Joseph’s-Plaucheville at Plainview

THURSDAY’S GAMES

GIRLS

Rapides at Tioga
Huntington at Northwood-Lena

BOYS

Rapides at Tioga

FRIDAY’S GAMES

GIRLS

ASH at Ruston
Pineville at West Monroe
Peabody at Neville
Jena at Bolton
Marksville at Buckeye
Rosepine at Menard
Oak Hill at Pitkin
Plainview at Reeves

BOYS

ASH at Ruston
Pineville at West Monroe
Peabody at Neville
Jena at Bolton
Marksville at Buckeye
Rosepine at Menard
Oak Hill at Pitkin
Plainview at Reeves

SATURDAY’S GAMES

GIRLS

Leesville at ASH

BOYS

Peabody at Wossman

Arrests are accusations, not convictions.

January 25

Domnique Johnson, 35, Alexandria — hit & run, no driver’s license, resisting, contempt 12 counts, $37,000 bail;

Josh Keehan, 47, Ball — aggravated domestic abuse with child present, $5,000 bail.

January 26

Aaron London, 47, Alexandria — violation protective order with violence, unauthorized entry place of business, battery on officer, resisting with force or violence 2 counts, $4,500 bail.

January 27

Edward Allen Jr., 48, Pineville — sexual battery victim less than 13 offender more than 17, contributing to delinquency, incest crime against nature aggravated, $210,000 bail. 

Kendrick Howard, 34, Alexandria — aggravated assault home invasion, contempt 2 counts, 20,500;

Dquincy Walker, 23, Alexandria — felony domestic abuse battery with child present, $2,000 bail. 

Arrests are accusations, not convictions. 

January 26

Richard Aymond, 21, Alexandria — possession, contempt, $7,500 bail;

Billy Boothe, 64, Alexandria — possession, paraphernalia, criminal trespass, $3,500 bail;

Montravion Bryant, 24, Alexandria — possession, firearm with drugs, firearm possession by convicted felon, probation violation, $500 bail;

David Taylor, 40, Ruston — possession, headlight required on bicycle, contempt, $2,100 bail. 

Northwestern State University announces the names of 552 students named to the President’s List for the Fall 2023 semester.  Students on the President’s List must be enrolled full-time at Northwestern and have a grade point average of 4.0.

For questions regarding the President’s List, contact the NSU Registrar’s Office at (318) 357- 6171 or email registrar@nsula.edu.

Students listed from Rapides Parish are as follows.

Alexandria – Rebel Bonntte, Alexis Briggs, Emmalee Brinkman, DeShod Dixon, Brody Heard, Devon Powell, Hailey Rachal, Arminie Tanner;

Boyce – Victoria Fatula, Abagail Jennings;

Deville – Carolie Deloach, Peyton Fuller, Tara Grimm, Mitchell LeBlanc, Alaina Norris, Maxwell Sanders, Briana Smail;

Forest Hill – Soomayra Sierra;

Glenmora – Atziary Perez;

Pineville – Alyssa Austin, Hallie Below, Brady Benoit, Faith Bryant, Kylie Combs, Nathan Doine, Kaylee Green, Jillian Gresham, Chris Litton, William Murdock, Sally Raxsdale, Aimee Sefcik, Allison Smith, Madison Smith, Kara Speir, Karly Stansell, Andrew Thiels, Joseph Kendrick;

Tioga – Halo Goudeau;

Woodworth – Caroline Blanchard;

By JIM BUTLER

LSU at Alexandria, growing hand over fist, had an operating deficit in the fiscal year ending last June 30, but non-operating revenue put the school in the black.

According to its audit report issued this month, the university had campus revenues of $27.1 million.

Tuition and fees, according to the audit, actually totaled $27.3 million but scholarships’ values lowered that to $21.9 million. Auxiliary enterprises contributed $4.2 million.

On the operating expenses side of the ledger, instruction costs were $16.3 million of $43.6 million total expenses.

Non-operating revenues ($7.3 million state appropriation, $10.3 million federal grants and programs and gifts of $969,000) turned the $16.4 million operating deficit into an overall $2.3 million plus for the year.

That and capital improvements and gifts and grants created a change of $4.1 million in net position.

The Rapides Parish School Board announced that there are two calendar options to consider for the 2024-2025 school year. Please complete this survey online at bit.ly/3ueCuHB to submit your vote. Voting ends on Feb. 4 at 4 pm.

As the calendar pushes to February, teams are making their playoff pushes for seeding.

The second half of district play is among us as there continues to be some great basketball action in Rapides Parish.

Once again, we delve into the top storylines from this past week with the Rapides Parish Hoops Report.

Peabody suffers rare home loss

Peabody losing at the Emerald Palace is as rare as seeing snow in Rapides Parish.

Both phenomena happened recently as the Warhorses suffered only their ninth loss in the history of their gym after Liberty came away with a 52-46 win last Friday.

Missing star center Jordan Mathews to injury, junior T.J. Hullaby was Peabody’s leader with 11 points, but a 25-10 Patriot run in the second and third quarters erased its 18-6 first quarter lead.

Peabody regrouped against Southwood the following day and remains in firm control of the No. 2 seed in Division II select.

Bolton fades in second half to Bunkie

For one half, it appeared as if the Bolton Lady Bears were about to throw a wrench in the District 2-3A standings.

Leading 20-10 at halftime, the Lady Bears were outscored 38-13 in the second half as Bunkie remained perfect in district play.

Junior guard Tamiah Word led Bolton with 17 points, but Lady Panther senior Carlesia Fields erupted for 25 of her 27 points in the second half. Fields rallied Bunkie with 19 in the fourth quarter.

The Lady Bears slip to two-and-a-half games back of the district but remain on the right side of the bubble as the No. 22 team in Division II select.

Best wins of the week

Glenmora’s girls share the honor once again this week after getting a big 44-42 home win over Menard on Tuesday.

Lady Cat senior Aubree Martin made a go-ahead 3-pointer late and finished with 16 points to help them move up to No. 5 in Division III select.

This week, the Lady Cats will share that honor with Buckeye, which snapped a 12-game losing streak with a 48-34 win at Caldwell Parish.

Natalie Graves led the Lady Panthers in scoring with 14 points as they now find themselves on the right side of the Division II select bubble as the No. 24 and final playoff seed going into Friday. They are also battling Bolton and Peabody for one of those last few spots, so expect that chase to be fierce.

For the boys, Alexandria Senior High earned a gritty win against defending Division V select champion Avoyelles Charter on the road.

It was a rough night for brothers Jordyn and Jaylin Johnson, but seniors Ashton Bobb and Markel Gaines picked up the slack by combining for 29 points.

10 games for the next 10 days

Here is this week’s look at the 10 most anticipated games for this weekend and next week involving Rapides Parish schools.

Girls

Neville at Tioga (tonight): The Lady Indians’ biggest challenge for the District 2-4A crown will come against a Neville team that is always a tough out.

Hicks at Oak Hill (tonight): Oak Hill played well at Hicks to open district play on Jan. 9, but had a tough 68-57 loss. A home win can turn things around in the second half of district play, though.

 ASH at Northwood (Jan. 29): A couple of Rapides Parish’s top point guards duel in The Swamp as Lady Gator senior Rhianna Battles goes against Lady Trojan sophomore Thamerin Balthazar.

 Huntington at Northwood (Feb. 1): Closing a stretch of three games in four days, the Lady Gators are making another title push as they welcome Division I select’s top team to The Swamp.

 Rosepine at Menard (Feb. 2): Forget Groundhog Day, Feb. 2 is Eagle Day for the two convocations of Lady Eagles. Menard welcomes the defending Division III non-select champions to its nest.

 Boys

 ASH at Pineville (tonight): Anytime the Trojans and Rebels face each other, it is always a good one. The key matchup will be inside the paint as Pineville senior JaVonte Thomas goes against ASH sophomore TyShawn Duncan.

Marksville at Buckeye (Feb. 2): The Panthers won for the first time in 17 years at Marksville on Jan. 12 and could be looking for a rare season sweep with a home win here.

 ASH at Ruston (Feb. 2): Another key District 2-5A game for the Trojans as they look to slow down Ruston sensational freshman Ahmad Hudson.

 Peabody at Neville (Feb. 2): Peabody survived the Tigers’ best effort by coming away with a 59-55 win on Jan. 12. Now it must travel to Monroe as it marches towards its third straight district title.

 Peabody at Wossman (Feb. 3): The Warhorses remain in northeast Louisiana to face Division II non-select’s top team as both teams sharpen their games before Marsh Madness.

 A former sports reporter for The Town Talk in Alexandria and the Natchitoches Times in Natchitoches, LaMar Gafford has covered the sports scene in Central Louisiana for the last 10 years. Along with contributing a weekly basketball column for the Rapides Parish Journal, the 2023 recipient of the LHSAA’s Prep Journalism award and eight-time LSWA award winner writes about Cenla sports for his website CenlaPreps.com. You can contact LaMar by e-mail at lamargafford@gmail.com or on Twitter/X @lamargafford.

By RON HIGGINS, Journal Sports

BATON ROUGE – Sometimes, losing a game has nothing to do with Xs and Os.

“They were tougher than us,” LSU guard Flau’jae Johnson said.

Johnson cut to the chase on why No. 9 LSU faded at the end of two quarters instead extending an eventual 11-point lead as No. 1 South Carolina reeled in a 76-70 victory in the closing minutes Thursday night before a crowd of 13,205 in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

After LSU led 41-36 at halftime, the Gamecocks (18-0, 6-0 SEC) turned everything up a notch. It outscored the Tigers (18-3, 5-2) 40-29 after halftime, using a 22-12 rebounding domination. The Gamecocks’ defensive pressure on the perimeter also forced LSU to use valuable seconds off the shot clock to get into offensive sets.

The turning point for LSU came with 4:02 left to play when star forward Angel Reese fouled out with 4:02 left as the Tigers clung to a 67-65 lead. 

“When you don’t have Angel Reese on the floor the last four minutes of the game, it takes you out of your rhythm,” LSU head coach Kim Mulkey said. “It takes you out of your confidence. The game came down to exactly what it usually does. It’s toughness, it’s experience.”

Chloe Kitts scored 14 points to lead the Gamecocks, who beat the Tigers for the 15th straight time and snapped LSU’s 29-game home winning streak and a 33-game regular season homecourt streak.

“Once we settled in, it was a dogfight and it was a game of runs,” South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley. “They made big plays, we made big plays., It was the team that made the last play was the one who was going to win this basketball game.”

It was Gamecocks’ guard Bree Hall who came through in the clutch.

Hall, who missed her first six shots, made her final four in the game’s last six minutes and finished with 10 points.

Hall and LSU’ Hailey Van Lith traded 3-pointers, the latter with 1:37 remaining for a 70-70 tie.

LSU immediately called a 30 second timeout to set its defense, but Hall hit the lead-taking corner 3 with 1:14 left on a post pass from Cardoso.

Former South Carolina star Aliyah Boston, who attended the game and sat behind the Gamecocks’ bench, gave Hall advice that calmed her.

“She said something to Breezy during a timeout that relaxed her,” Staley said. “She (Hall) was able to see the ball come at her and hit them like practice shots she does every single day we’re out on the court.”

Aneesah Morrow had 16 points and 13 rebounds for LSU. Reese had 15 points and eight rebounds before fouling out. Van Lith finished with 12 points. Mikaylah Williams scored 12 and Johnson had 10.

LSU led 24-18 after one quarter and 41-30 late in the second, but the Gamecocks closed the period with a 6-0 run, including a 3 by MiLaysia Fulwiley at the buzzer. South Carolina took its first lead since the first basket of the game when Cardoso converted a layup for a 63-61 advantage with 6:04 left in the fourth.

LSU called timeout six seconds later, Reese re-entered, and the Tigers went on a 5-2 run for a 67-65 lead before Reese fouled out South Carolina’s Raven Johnson tied the game with two free throws.

Without Reese and LSU failing to get the ball to Morrow who had played exceptionally well, the Tigers couldn’t hang on.

“We’ve got work to do,” LSU’s Johnson said. “At the end of each quarter (in the first half), we gave up 3s and we lost by 6. We have to tighten up on things like that. That was the No. 1 team in the nation and we were almost there.”

LSU hits the road for a game Monday at Mississippi State before returning home vs. Florida on Feb. 4.

Contact Ron at ronhigginsmedia@gmail.com

The LSUA Generals mounted a full-throttle attack on visiting LSUS and won the battle for first place Thursday night in Red River Athletic Conference basketball action, but the LSUA women couldn’t quite climb into a first-place tie.

The LSUA men won 103-98. The LSUS women escaped with a 74-73 victory at the Fort on the LSUA campus.

In the men’s game, LSUA held on to the league lead and split its season series with LSUS.

The Generals (12-5, 10-2) opened a 13-point halftime lead and got a 26-point performance from Kashie Natt, who snagged 12 rebounds, and Jaren Curry added a 23/10 double-double. Jordan DeCuir poured in 26 for the Pilots (13-4 overall, 8-3 RRAC) who rallied with 60 second-half points.

The visiting Lady Pilots stayed unbeaten in conference competition, going to 11-0 with a 15-2 overall record. LSUA fell to 13-4 overall and 10-2 in the RRAC, both losses to LSUS.

The decisive point came on a 3-point basket with 1:09 left by Erynn Williams for a 74-71 LSUS lead. The Lady Generals got a pair of free throws from Dannah Martin-Hartwick  with 39 seconds left, and came up with a defensive stop but missed a shot just before the final buzzer.

LSUS rallied in the final 3:17, going on a game-ending 13-5 run.

Jewel Jones scored 20 and Amani Gray added 15 to lead four double-figure scorers for LSUA.

Saturday, LSUA hosts Texas A&M-Texarkana in an afternoon doubleheader.

LSUS plays at Louisiana Christian on Saturday. LCU swept its home doubleheader with A&M-Texarkana Thursday evening, winning the women’s game 64-62 in overtime, and taking the men’s contest 94-87.

Northwestern State University named 856 students to the Dean’s List for the Fall 2023 semester.  Students on the Dean’s List must be enrolled full time and earn a grade point average between 3.5 and 3.99. 

For questions regarding the Dean’s List, contact the NSU Registrar’s Office at (318) 357-6171 or email registrar@nsula.edu. 

Students listed from Rapides Parish are as follows.

Alexandria – Peyton Bordelon, Skylar Branton, Mya Brown, Michael Clinton, Elizabeth Cook, Maggie Creamer, Jacob Croom, Danielle Dauzat, Anna DeSelle, LaKeisha Dorsey, Isabelle Ducote, Catrice Ellis, Leila Ford, Kamille Fuselier, Meghan Goss, Aaniyah Hardwell, Amber Harris, Aniya James, Jamie Kirkman, Malaiah Ledet, Bre’Asia Lee, Shelby Lemoine, Taylor Levasseur, Sydnie Michiels, Joshua Miranda, Tami Misse, TamiJo Ray, Danielle Richardson, Cody Ruiz, Tyler Sibley, Madeline Simpson, Aaliyiah Soto, Torrianna Stewart, Nicholas Zona;

Ball – Makayla Cestero-Morales, Ashley Constance, Cameron Ducote, Miguel Flores;

Boyce – Allie Ainsworth, Haleigh Franklin, Hannah Leslie, Kelsey Miller, Kelsey Robinson, Faith Stevenson, Kristin Thiels, Jessie Turner;

Deville – Lona Aucoin, Robert Belgard, Marissa Bianchini, Paige Ratcliff, Alyson Tarver, Audrey Wiggins;

Glenmora – Mycah Doyle, Katie Dupre;

Lecompte – Isabelle Dunn, Curry King, Natalie Mathews, Lanai Miller;

Pineville – Dontrell Allen, Andrew Benoit, Jack Blair, Korey Brossett, Emily Carter, Raima Cazes, Amanda Coleman, Laurel Dickinson, Zachary Dubroc, Madison French, Emily Hamilton, John Hattaway, Skye Howard, Jenna Johnson, Jack Martin, Curtessa Morrow, Kylee Mott, Abigail Nelson, Hannah Peppers, Sterling Player, Stephanie Rachel, Veska Robbins, Ashlyn Saucier, Eva Scallan, Kirstyn Smith, Malory Speir, Kevin Thomas, Tyler Trahan, Katarina Transier-VanGossen;

Arrests are accusations, not convictions.

January 24

Jason Deville, 52, Deville — firearm possession by convicted felon, contempt, $1,100 bail;

Jacoree McGill, 18, Pineville — attempted armed robbery with firearm, criminal conspiracy, contributing to delinquency, no bail set;

Joshua Moody, 40, Alexandria — aggravated assault, false imprisonment with dangerous weapon, $40,000 bail;

Kayla Scott, 36, Alexandria — aggravated assault, unlawful communication telephone/telecom improper language/harassing, $3,000 bail.

Arrests are accusations, not convictions.

January 24

Patrick Battles III, 19 — possession with intent, illegal use of dangerous weapons, no bail set. 

Brandon Lawrence, 41, Pineville — possession 2 counts, paraphernalia, improper lane usage, $27,100 bail.

Parish schools’ planned lunch menus are subject to substitutions. 

Monday, Jan. 29

Sloppy Joes
Buttered corn
Combined vegetables 
Salad/dressing
Banana 
Milk 

Tuesday, Jan. 30

Chicken tetrazzini
Glazed carrots 
Lettuce and tomato
Salad/dressing
Buttered roll
Fruit cup
Milk

Wednesday, Jan. 31

Corn dog/mustard
Potato rounds
Seasoned green peas
Mandarin oranges 
Milk 

Thursday, Feb. 1

Red beans & sausage
Fluffy white rice 
Seasoned turnip greens 
Cornbread 
Pear halves
Milk 

Friday, Feb. 2

Groundhog if it predicts six more weeks of winter 
Chicken patty on bun
French fries/ketchup
Seasoned green beans
Fruit cocktail
Milk