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T h u r s d ay, J u ly 17, 2025
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Federal investigation zeroes in on visa scheme
Several La. police chiefs accused in probe of fake crimes
Standoff suspect pleads not guilty Man accused in killing of Lafayette SWAT officer BY STEPHEN MARCANTEL Staff writer
STAFF PHOTO By BRAD BOWIE
Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Eric Delaune speaks during a news conference Wednesday in Lafayette announcing the indictment of five individuals, including law enforcement officers, on fraud and conspiracy charges. BY ASHLEY WHITE
Staff writer
Since 2015, hundreds of non-U.S. citizens in Rapides and Allen parishes have applied for special visas claiming they were the victim of or witness to a crime. In virtually every incident, they were listed on police reports as victims of armed robberies. If approved, they could stay in the country legally for at least four years to help law enforcement investigate and prosecute. Except the crimes never happened, according to federal investigators. Instead, they claim foreign nationals, most of whom were from India, paid Oakdale business owner Chandrakant “Lala” Patel thousands of dollars to help them obtain a visa. Patel would then pay $5,000
to a law enforcement agent to forge a police report listing the applicant as a victim that could be included with a visa application. Federal investigators claim Oakdale Police Chief Chad Doyle, Forest Hill Police Chief Glynn Dixon, former Glenmora Police Chief Tebo Onishea and Oakdale Ward 5 Marshal Michael “Freck” Slaney worked with Patel Patel to create the false documents. Hundreds of visas were granted through the scheme, federal investigators allege. Patel, Doyle, Dixon, Onishea and Slaney all were arrested Tuesday in a sweeping
Livingston Parish board removes library director Four members resign after voting against firing
BY CLAIRE GRUNEWALD
Staff writer
After a year of political turmoil over Livingston Parish libraries seemed to have faded, the system’s director was ousted at the parish president’s direction at a late-night meeting that also resulted in the board’s leadership quitting. Parish President Randy Delatte proposed the removal about 10 p.m. Tuesday to a small crowd at the board’s latest meeting. The board approved his proposal in a 6-4 vote. This came after a nearly two-hour private annual performance evaluation of Michelle Parrish, the library director. Delatte said issues still exist between the library and the community, such as recent contentious split board votes, despite his recent shake-up of the
ä See LIBRARY, page 5A
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operation that involved about 200 officers from various agencies in multiple locations on charges including visa fraud, mail fraud, bribery and money laundering. “I’ve worked in federal law enforcement for almost 27 years. I’ve never seen anything quite like this,” said acting U.S. Attorney of the Western District of Louisiana Alexander Van Hook. “We brought these allegations against who we allege to be corrupt officials. We are not alleging that these are corrupt police departments.” The 21-page indictment handed down by a federal grand jury on July 2 lays out 62 total counts against the four defendants.
ä See VISA, page 5A
A Jeanerette man pleaded not guilty Wednesday after a grand jury formally charged him in May for the death of Lafayette SWAT officer Senior Cpl. Segus Jolivette. Nyjal Hurst, 32, pleaded not guilty to a charge of second-degree murder. The grand jury also charged Hurst with 10 counts of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree kidnapping, one count of felon in possession of a firearm and illegal possession of a stolen firearm. He pleaded not guilty to all charges. Hurst is being Hurst held on a $19.5 million bail. He has been held in the Iberia Parish Jail since the July 2024 shooting. The incident began on July 25 when the Jeanerette City Marshal’s Office attempted to serve a warrant on Hurst, who then reportedly took two people hostage around 10 a.m. in a mobile home in the 2500 block of Martin Luther King Boulevard. Later that day, various law enforcement officers, including the Lafayette Police Department’s SWAT team, arrived to assist in the recovery of hostages and negotiate Hurst’s surrender. Around 4:30 p.m. that day, the standoff escalated into a shooting that resulted in Jolivette‘s death and three other officers being wounded. The officer’s death was the first line-of-duty death the department has suffered since the fatal shooting in October 2017 of Cpl. Michael
ä See SUSPECT, page 4A
Trump lashes out over Epstein files
his Truth Social site, President calls his on using an expletive in his post. “They haven’t learned own supporters their lesson, and probably ‘weaklings’ never will, even after being
BY JILL COLVIN Associated Press
NEW YORK — President Donald Trump is lashing out at his own supporters, accusing them of being duped by Democrats, as he tries to clamp down on criticism over his administration’s handling of much-hyped records in the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking investigation, which Trump now calls a “Hoax.” “Their new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my PAST supporters have ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By EVAN VUCCI bought into this “bull****,” President Donald Trump leaves the East Room of the White hook, line, and sinker,” House after a signing ceremony on Wednesday. Trump wrote Wednesday
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conned by the Lunatic Left for 8 long years. “Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats work, don’t even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I don’t want their support anymore! Thank you for your attention to this matter.” The rhetoric marks a dramatic escalation for the Republican president, who has broken with some of his most loyal backers on issues in the past, but never with such fervor. Though Trump cannot run for another term, he will need strong support from a united party to pass
ä See TRUMP, page 4A
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