La. seeking refunds from thousands

BATON ROUGE — More than 6,000 Louisianans still owe nearly $2 million in accidentally issued tax refunds and some residents may be getting billed by the Louisiana Department of Revenue.

Around 6,230 Louisiana taxpayers have yet to return double tax refunds accidentally sent out in March. The department is still attempting to collect $1,895,749 as of Monday, Dec 23. Those 6,000-plus taxpayers are still being sent collection notices in an effort to retrieve the money.

WAFB-TV reported b y April, more than $23 million of the tax refund overpayments were recovered. A total of 12,650 letters were sent to taxpayers who still owed money on April 15, telling them they have 30 days to pay the balance before they face interest and penalties. The department reported it received around 6,400 responses and collected $2.5 million as a result of the letters.

The remaining taxpayers who have yet to return the money are subject to the ongoing collections process.

Angola inmate sets self afire, dies

ANGOLA — An inmate in Louisiana’s maximum-security prison set himself on fire in the Louisiana State Penitentiary and died in a hospital, authorities said Thursday.

Joel Baker, 62, was serving life on three counts of aggravated rape and lesser sentences on other sex convictions in 1989 in Franklin Parish, corrections spokesman Ken Pastorick said in a news release.

Baker was found in critical condition Sunday morning behind the Main Prison Camp of the prison in Angola, and died Christmas Eve in a Baton Rouge hospital, Pastorick said. He said about 8 percent of Baker’s body was burned.

“All evidence indicates this was a suicide attempt, and there is no indication of foul play,” he wrote. “The investigation continues, and no further details will be released at this time.”

He would not comment about whether investigators are looking at supervision at the prison or how Baker got material with which to set himself on fire.

Couple fights using gun, machete; 1 dead

MADISONVILLE — A New Orleans-area man was killed when a Christmas argument with his boyfriend escalated into a fight with machete and gun, authorities said.

Harry Cleland, 57, of the Madisonville area was jailed on a manslaughter charge, the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office said. The dead man was identified as 21-year-old Christopher Taylor, said James Hartman, spokesman for the parish coroner. “He would have turned 22 this Saturday,” Hartman said Thursday.

Cleland shot his boyfriend multiple times in their home before calling 911 about 7:45 p.m. Wednesday, according to a news release, which said Taylor was armed with a machete. Capt. Scott Lee, a sheriff’s office spokesman, said in an email that the two lived together.

Online inmate information indicated that a judge had not yet set bond for Cleland. It was not clear whether he has an attorney who could speak for him.