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Man hailed as hero after Katrina is indicted

A man hailed by some as a hero for stealing a school bus the day after Hurricane Katrina to take 60 stranded residents to safety in Houston has been indicted on federal drug and gun charges.
/ Source: The Associated Press

A man hailed by some as a hero for stealing a school bus the day after Hurricane Katrina to take 60 stranded residents to safety in Houston has been indicted on federal drug and gun charges.

Jabar Gibson, 21, was charged Thursday by a grand jury with cocaine and heroin trafficking and possession of a gun while dealing drugs.

Authorities said Gibson was carrying 1.7 grams of cocaine, an undisclosed amount of heroin and a .357-caliber revolver when he was caught by New Orleans narcotics detectives and federal agents on Jan. 7.

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

Gibson got a movie offer and coast-to-coast media attention after he stole a yellow Orleans Parish school bus and drove 60 people from New Orleans to the Astrodome in Houston. He was not charged for swiping the bus.

Gibson was arrested Nov. 25 shortly after he returned to the city from a temporary home in a Houston hotel. He was free on bond at the time of his second arrest, authorities said.