Lafayette Real Estate Developer Indicted For Mardi Gras Knockout

LAFAYETTE, La. (KPEL) -- A Lafayette grand jury has indicted real estate developer Glenn Stewart on simple battery charges stemming from an incident last Mardi Gras during which he hit and knocked unconscious a woman.

Shortly before the Independent Parade started rolling, Erin Fitzgerald had tried to remove a banner from one of Stewart's float. That banner depicted her step-mother, Cherry Fisher May, and made a reference to May's 2010 DUI arrest. May works for the Independent, a monthly Lafayette newspaper.

Police say Stewart and Fitzgerald got into an argument after she tried to take down the banner. At some point, Stewart allegedly hit Fitzgerald in the face, knocking her unconscious.