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.
Police in Kenner, just west of New Orleans, accused Christian Anderson of renting the car used by Danette Colbert, one of two suspects previously charged with second-degree murder, fraud and theft crimes in the Feb. 5 death of Adan Manzano, 27.
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill has described Colbert, 48, as a “serial fraudster.”
In a news release, the Kenner Police Department said that Anderson, 33, allegedly provided logistical support and spoke extensively with Colbert after Manzano was found dead in a Kenner hotel. The department also accused Anderson of seeking to benefit from Manzano’s stolen assets.
Investigators reviewed text messages and digital communications showing that 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,” the department said.
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.
It wasn’t immediately clear if he has a lawyer to speak on his behalf.
Manzano, a Telemundo reporter, was in New Orleans to cover the Super Bowl. He was last seen entering his hotel room with Colbert on the morning of Feb. 5, Kenner police officials have said.
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. It isn’t clear how the drug, which Manzano did not have a prescription for, got into his system.
A device believed to be Manzano’s cellphone was found at Colbert’s home, police officials have said, and she allegedly used his credit card at a New Orleans-area store.
The third alleged accomplice, Rickey White, 34, was arrested in Florida in March on fraud and theft charges. He was extradited to Louisiana and charged with second-degree murder earlier this month.
An attorney for White has denied the charges. Lawyers for Colbert have not responded to requests for comment but have said in court that she should not be judged on her criminal history.
Colbert has previously been charged in several other similar fraud cases, some of which included allegations of drugging. In one case, the victim accused her of drugging him, leaving him for dead and stealing tens of thousands of dollars through accounts linked to his iPhone.
Colbert was convicted of computer fraud and other charges in October. Despite pleas from the victim, David Butler, that Colbert be given the maximum penalty for what he described in an impact statement as her “continued disregard for others,” she was sentenced to five years of probation in December, two months before Manzano’s death.
After NBC News reported on Butler’s case, the Louisiana Attorney General Office intervened and sought a tougher penalty for Colbert. Earlier this month, the judge who imposed probation found Colbert to be a “habitual offender” and sentenced her to 25 years in prison, the prosecutor’s office said.
“Danette Colbert will finally be held accountable, and she will no longer be free to continue preying on innocent people,” Butler said afterward. “I sincerely hope this decision brings some peace to other survivors and helps restore their faith in the justice system.”
A lawyer for Colbert did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
