Bourbon Street Hustler Gets 25-Year Sentence in Unrelated Case
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill announced on Thursday that Danette Colbert, a woman charged in the murder of a Kansas City-based sports reporter, has received a 25-year prison sentence as a habitual offender. The sentence comes after a New Orleans judge ruled that Colbert, 45, qualifies as a repeat offender with five prior felony convictions involving fraud. Colbert is also facing second-degree murder charges in Jefferson Parish for the death of Adan Manzano, a 27-year-old Telemundo sports reporter who died in February after being found dead in a New Orleans hotel with Xanax in his system. Murrill expressed hope that justice will be served in the Jefferson Parish case, where Colbert is also charged with murder. The AG’s office filed a habitual offender bill, and Judge Nandi F. Campbell agreed that Colbert is a repeat offender, leading to the 25-year sentence without benefits.
Colbert, known as the ‘Bourbon Street Hustler’ for her alleged criminal activities in the French Quarter, is accused of drugging and robbing multiple tourists over the years. Her accomplice, Ricky White, was arrested in Florida and is also facing murder charges. The case highlights the ongoing investigation into Colbert’s alleged crimes, including other alleged drugging and robbery incidents in New Orleans and Las Vegas.
Adan Manzano, a 27-year-old Telemundo sports reporter, traveled to New Orleans on assignment to cover the Super Bowl in February and was found dead in his room at the Comfort Suites hotel in Kenner with Xanax in his system. Murrill praised the cooperation between prosecutors in New Orleans and the State Police’s Troop NOLA, thanking District Attorney Jason Williams for his cooperation. The evidence presented in the case indicated that Colbert was a serial fraudster who had taken advantage of multiple tourists and innocent people over many years.
In 2024, the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office found Colbert guilty of theft, computer fraud, and the illegal transmission of monetary funds, and a judge sentenced her to a 10-year suspended sentence, meaning imprisonment could be delayed. However, prosecutors argued that the sentence was illegal due to her prior felonies, but Orleans Criminal District Court Judge Nandi F. Campbell denied their motion to correct Colbert’s prior sentence. The AG’s office also filed a habitual offender bill, and Campbell agreed that Colbert was a repeat offender and sentenced her to 25 years without benefits.
Kenner Police Department Chief Keith Conley stated,