A third person was arrested in the death of a Super Bowl reporter in New Orleans, providing fresh evidence of what authorities described Friday as an organized plot to drug and rob people.
Anderson was arrested on suspicion of simple robbery, purse snatching, access device fraud, illegal transmission of money, bank fraud and computer fraud, the department said.
Manzano, a Telemundo reporter, was in New Orleans to cover the Super Bowl.
Authorities have partly blamed Manzano’s death on the combined toxic effects of alprazolam, an anti-anxiety drug often sold under the brand name Xanax, and ethanol.
The third alleged accomplice, Rickey White, 34, was arrested in Florida in March on fraud and theft charges.
New evidence of what authorities described Friday as a coordinated scheme to rob and drug people was revealed when a third person was arrested in connection with the death of a Super Bowl reporter in New Orleans.
Christian Anderson was charged with renting the vehicle used by Danette Colbert, one of two suspects previously charged with second-degree murder, fraud, and theft crimes in February, according to police in Kenner, just west of New Orleans. 5 27-year-old Adan Manzano died.
“Serial fraudster” is how Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill has characterized 48-year-old Colbert. “..”.
Following Manzano’s death in a Kenner hotel, the Kenner Police Department said in a news release that Anderson, 33, allegedly spoke with Colbert extensively and offered logistical support. Anderson was also charged by the department with attempting to profit from Manzano’s pilfered property.
According to the department, Anderson allegedly “played an active role in a coordinated pattern of targeting victims, drugging them, and stealing personal property, including phones and financial account access,” according to investigators who examined text messages and digital communications.
According to the department, Anderson was taken into custody on suspicion of simple robbery, purse snatching, access device fraud, unlawful money transmission, bank fraud, and computer fraud.
It wasn’t immediately apparent if he had legal representation.
Reporter Manzano of Telemundo was in New Orleans for the Super Bowl. The last time we saw him was early in February, when he and Colbert entered his hotel room. 5. According to Kenner police officials.
Manzano’s death has been partially attributed by authorities to the toxic effects of ethanol and alprazolam, an anti-anxiety medication commonly marketed under the name Xanax. How the medication, for which Manzano lacked a prescription, entered his system is unknown.
Police officials have stated that Manzano used Colbert’s credit card at a store in the New Orleans area and that they discovered a device at his house that was thought to be her cellphone.
Rickey White, 34, the third suspected accomplice, was taken into custody in Florida in March on suspicion of theft and fraud. Earlier this month he was charged with second-degree murder and extradited to Louisiana.
A lawyer for White has refuted the accusations. Colbert’s attorneys have not answered requests for comment, but they have stated in court that her criminal past shouldn’t be used to evaluate her.
A number of other comparable fraud cases, some involving drugging accusations, have charged Colbert in the past. In one instance, the victim accused her of drugging him, abandoning him, and using accounts connected to his iPhone to steal tens of thousands of dollars.
In October, Colbert was found guilty on a number of charges, including computer fraud. Colbert was given a five-year probationary sentence in December, two months before Manzano’s death, despite the victim, David Butler, pleading that she be given the harshest punishment possible for what he called her “continued disregard for others” in an impact statement.
Following NBC News’s coverage of Butler’s case, the Louisiana Attorney General Office stepped in and asked for a more severe punishment for Colbert. According to the prosecutor’s office, the judge who granted probation earlier this month declared Colbert to be a “habitual offender” and gave her a 25-year prison term.
“Danette Colbert will be held accountable at last, and she will no longer be allowed to continue taking advantage of innocent people,” Butler remarked afterwards. “I genuinely hope that other survivors find some peace and that this ruling helps them regain trust in the legal system.”. “”.
A request for comment was not immediately answered by Colbert’s attorney.
