Monday, April 17, 2006

Hero from Katrina evacuation faces federal indictment



NEW ORLEANS A man some saw as a hero for stealing a school bus the day after Hurricane Katrina to take 60 stranded New Orleaneans to safety in Houston faces drug and gun charges.

A federal grand jury in New Orleans has indicted Jabar Gibson on cocaine and heroin trafficking and gun possession charges.

Authorities say Gibson was carrying cocaine, heroin and a revolver when he was caught by New Orleans narcotics detectives and federal agents on January Seventh.

At the time of his arrest, he faced heroin charges in an unrelated case from November. New Orleans police say he tried to ditch the drugs while being chased by officers in a public housing complex.

Gibson got a movie deal and coast-to-coast media attention after he stole an Orleans Parish school bus and ferried 60 people from New Orleans to the Astrodome in Houston. He wasn't charged for swiping the bus.