Chasing the truth: NOcrimeline always welcomes information from its subscribers. It sometimes is ahead of the official reports and sometimes it provides details the NOPD is unwilling to. But to be useful, it has to be accurate.
It seems like I've spent all week bugging Maj. Hosli about crimes people think happened and about rumors they've heard here and there. To the 8th District commander's credit, he has dutifully and patiently tracked every one of them down to give the facts as he can find them.
It began a couple of weeks ago with a NOcrimeline subscriber's query about what he called "the brutal beating and robbery (the assailant used a lead pipe repeatedly and with much damage even after Kevin [the victim] was unconscious)" which he said happened in the 900 block of Conti Street on 4.24.08 around 11 p.m."The mugger got off with his wallet, money and keys and left him in a pool of blood in the street," he added. He reported his friend was due to undergo surgery 4.28.08 at University Hospital to try to make bone repairs.
I checked the police reports that the 8th District sends out and found no crime like that reported for 4.24.08, but that there was one a similar one on 4.26.08; I asked was he sure of the date?
His response: "It is verifiable that Kev is in the hospital. Could there NOT be a police report when an ambulance scrapes a body off the street and rushes him to the ER?"
In those cases, says Maj. Hosli, EMS and the hospital usually notify the NOPD.
Now Kevin's friend says, "When the ETs asked the policeman about a report of the mugging, the cop said (according to Kev), 'We don't need a report...he was in a fight'. Kevin is now doing a police report (by email) refuting that."
This was too much for Maj. Hosli. He noted that, if the victim was beaten "unconscious," there must be witnesses who told him the assailant continued to beat him after he was knocked out. So Maj. Hosli sent a detective to the hospital on Thursday (5.7.08) to see if he could find the "victim"; he couldn't.
"I welcome "Kevin" to make a report," Maj. Hosli replied. "I just sent one of my detectives to University Hospital to check on Charles "Kevin" Lenhart. Unless he is also using a different name, he has not been in the hospital in the last couple of months."
So what is our "informant" trying to pull? Trying to manufacture "proof" the police are not reporting all the crime in the French Quarter? If you know Charles "Kevin" Lenhart as well as our "informant" thinks he does, or if you have information about this incident, contact Maj. Hosli at Ehosli@cityofno.com. I think Maj. Hosli has bent over backwards to try to get to the bottom of this effort to malign his crime reporting.
Another rumor: Another NOcrimeline subscriber says she heard from 2 different sources that the kid who was arrested for all those robberies was actually 9 years old, rather than 14. Asked were she heard that, she replied:
"My husband was chatting with a Guardian Angel at the post office across from the Blacksmith Shop...The Guardian Angel told my husband to be careful while walking around the Lower Quarter...that the bad guys are younger than we might think. Husband responded that he was aware of the 14-year-olds carrying guns, and the Guardian Angel told him 'younger than that–how about 9 years old?'
"The other source, an acquaintance of mine, mentioned in passing that she overheard 2 cops speaking on the subject of the 9-year-old caught for the robbery on Burgundy Street."
She speculated that the police might have lied about the kid's age because there would be public outrage if the robber was as young as 9 (there's enough outrage over 14).
Maj. Hosli delved into it and replied: "His date of birth is 9.20.93. 14 years old. It appears your source gave you bad information," adding rather emphatically, "The truth is that if he would have been 9 years old, I would have reported him as being 9 years old."She speculated that the police might have lied about the kid's age because there would be public outrage if the robber was as young as 9 (there's enough outrage over 14).
I believe him. I also believe the source heard what she heard. Does this mean the Guardian Angels, who tout their close relationship with the NOPD's 8th District, are trying to be self-important with supposedly "exclusive" information they've picked up from god-knows-where? And what about those cops? More rent-a-cops (like in the infamous Vietnamese cop incident) spouting off?
- Rodney Jones, 42, (pictured) black male, 5'10" tall, weighs 160 pounds: Charged with simple robbery in an assault on a white man on Wednesday (5.7.08) at 10:05 p.m. in the 1100 block of Bourbon Street.
- Kardell Smith,19, a black male, 5'11" tall, weighs 160 pounds: Charged with aggravated assault after an altercation with a white man and a black man, bouncers at a business at 227 Bourbon St. on Tuesday (5.6.08) at 1:20 a.m. Smith allegedly pulled a gun and pointed it at the bouncers when they followed him to the 100 block of Bourbon Street. Smith, though a defendant in a cocaine drug trial that's been dragging through the court since 2006, managed to make $15,000 bond and walk out of OPP in this case.
- Kenric Wilson, 21, a black male, 5'10" tall, weighing 170 pounds: is wanted on a warrant charging him with the robbery of a white woman last Saturday (5.3.08) at 4:15 a.m. at the corner of Bourbon and St. Ann streets.
- Floyd Tyuse, 25, (pictured top) black male, 6' tall, 160 pounds. Arrested by 8th D
istrict Officers Brandon Ludwig and Billy Tregle for auto burglary at Burgundy and Conti streets on Thursday (5.8.08). He's being held in OPP in lieu of a $30,000 bond.
This dude didn't know when he had it good. He was just released a month ago when the DA decided not to prosecute him and his girlfriend for armed robbery with a firearm. Maybe they can make this stick.
- Corey Robertson, 29, (pictured bottom) black male, 5'11" tall, weighing 175 pounds. Arrested by 8th District officers for simple burglary and damage to state property in the 1000 block of St. Philip Street on 5.1.08. He is being held on $10,500 bond.
"My wife and I were walking, turning the corner onto Dauphine Street from Gov. Nicholls Street when we spotted 2 young white guys huddled by the gate at 1137 Dauphine," he reported. "We thought they were either urinating or lighting up a joint, turns out they had tagged the gate.
"They proceeded to walk down Dauphine, stopping to tag a campaign poster near Cabrini Park, we followed them and called 911 to report the incident. They turned right onto Esplanade Avenue and hung out with the crowd at Port O'Call for a few minutes. They began to walk towards Bourbon Street when I flagged down a patrol car and reported the incident to the officer, another patrol car was on the corner of Bourbon and Esplanade and stopped the 2 while the first cruiser stopped to assist.
"Turned out the 2 were from out of town, one was 22, the other underage. In addition to the black marking pen found on the one that we identified as the artist, the police also recovered a bag of marijuana and the 2 were taken away."
8th District officers did arrest Dustin R. Sanders, 22, for possession of marijuana and apparently gave him a municipal summons for the graffiti. He managed to skedaddle out of OPP on the $500 bond for pot, but the graffiti charge means he'll probably get a slap on the wrist at best. (If he was charged under state law, he could be fined up to $500 and given 6 months in jail. Under the city code, the fine is a minimum of $100 and a maximum of $500 plus community service, or up to 3 months in jail.)"Turned out the 2 were from out of town, one was 22, the other underage. In addition to the black marking pen found on the one that we identified as the artist, the police also recovered a bag of marijuana and the 2 were taken away."
The good citizen who reported this laments: "Sadly, their writing is nothing like the others in the neighborhood, so overall this arrest will probably have little to no impact, but I suppose every little bit helps. No telling what all they did the night before we spotted them."
Disorder in the court: Jerome J. Dominick's case on burglary charges from late last
year have been bouncing around the court for months now. The case took another bounce Thursday (5.8.08) when Dominick, 24, decided he didn't like what he was hearing in court and got up and left.According to the court clerk's minutes: "The defendant, Jerome J. Dominick, failed to remain in court for this case. (The) victim stated in court that he is being harassed by (the) defendant. A protective order could not be issued because (the) defendant left the courtroom before this case was called."
Judge Laurie A. White issued a warrant for his arrest; he'll be held without bond when apprehended. He had been out of OPP, free on his own recognizance, thanks to Judge Julian Parker.
Height of chutzpah: In the middle of JazzFest we got this email:
"Can you give me the top 10 places where stolen vehicles end up, post Katrina? My truck was taken Sunday at Bayou Road and N. Broad Street. I was actually very illegally parked and didn't realize it, but the city did not tow my vehicle! I don't what to make of it, but it's definitely been stolen and yet it was parked facing the wrong direction and in a fire zone! Could a tow truck operator be stealing illegally parked cars? (I've called every tow company and no one has it.) Anyway, I wanted to scan the streets myself as the truck was not fully insured."
I'm still trying to figure out how he's so sure his car wasn't towed by the city if it was as illegally parked as he says. Obviously, he hasn't made a police report. Okay, dude, here's what you do: start obeying the laws yourself--and get that piece of junk insured.
How about this?: It would be a shame to let Jim Bernazzani get away after being ousted by the FBI as agent in charge here because he had aspirations to run for mayor in a couple of years, although it turns out he wouldn't meet the residency requirements in 2010. So how about district attorney this year?
True, we've already got a couple of big names running already whose last names end in vowels, but Bernazzani's background might withstand scrutiny a little better. Leon Cannizzaro is indebted to 2 convicted felons with close ties to former mayor Marc Morial after his last run for office. Ralph Capitelli is linked with organized gambling figures.
Or, if Mayor Nagin really was committed to making New Orleans safe again--and had any testicular fortitude--he could appoint Bernazzani as Police Superintendent. Big Chief Warren Riley, bless his soul, is probably good to his mama but he's just not up to the task of ridding the city of crime.
(Word on the street is he wants to hang on to the job until October when he'll have 3 years in as chief and can retire at his full salary. I think the city council would be more than happy to accelerate that if they thought it would get a tough chief with new ideas to reduce crime in the city.)
As seen on TV: Frustrated by the rising crime rate in the French Quarter, Joshua Clark, better known as an author and editor, has launched a campaign called QuarterSafe. At the heart of the movement is an effort to get every residence in the Quarter to install its own video surveillance camera."For 10 bucks and a few minutes of work, you can help drastically curb the daily robberies and assaults on our French Quarter streets," Clark says. "A simple $10 video camera security system for your home can be used with your existing PC. Our goal is to build a reliable network of functioning security cameras in order to both deter and catch criminals who dare to enter the Quarter."
For complete details, go to the NOcrimeline webpage for the link to QuarterSafe in the top right corner.* * *
Thom Kahler
