Saturday, May 10, 2008

Suspicious minds

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 sur
e 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 "unconsci
ous," 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."

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?

They fought the law, the law won: 8th District officers several suspects for robberies and assaults this past week:
  • 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.
Auto thieves caught: Contrary to popular belief, the NOPD does, every once in a while, catch thieves who break into cars. Arrested recently and charged with simple burglary and damage to state property were:
  • Floyd Tyuse, 25, (pictured top) black male, 6' tall, 160 pounds. Arrested by 8th District 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.
Graffiti arrest: Likewise, it's rare the police are able to catch up with graffiti artists, but the damage they've been doing in the last month or so in the Lower Quarter is significant. But credit a NOcrimeline subscriber with spotting some spraypainting scofflaws last Saturday night (5.3.08) shortly after 11 p.m., which led to an arrest.

"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.)

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."

Vigilance always helps.

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.

* * *
As always, your comments and suggestions are welcome at NOcrimeline@gmail.com.

Thom Kahler

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Wanted...

Can you believe it?: I was just about to reassure--for the umpteenth time--a NOcrimeline subscriber that the 8th District is, indeed, reporting all major crimes occurring in its bailiwick. Then I sit down to watch the 5 o'clock news and hear there's a warrant out for the little dude who walked free last month in the murder of a popular musician--this time for a shooting Sunday morning (5.4.08) at the corner of Canal and St. Charles streets.

Hmmm, I don't recall reading about a shooting in the report the 8th District sent out at 2:37 p.m. Monday afternoon (5.5.08). But after the story was all over the 5 and 6 o'clock news, here comes another email from the 8th District at 6:50 p.m. reporting that a warrant had been issued for David Bonds, 18, the suspect in Sunday's here-to-fore unpublicized shooting. Maybe we aren't getting all the news from the 8th District, after all.

The white victim (the police refuse to give his age) and a group of friends got into an argument with Bonds and his entourage (that's French, I think, for "gang") at about 5:35 a.m., according to the 8th District's belated report. Bonds allegedly pulled a gun pulled a handgun and fired it, striking the other fella in the chest. The victim is reported in critical but stable condition at a local hospital.

A pair of eyewitnesses to the crime identified Bonds from photographs and a warrant was issued for his arrest on a charge of attempted murder. He's a little twerp: 5'5" tall, weighing 140 pounds.

This is the second shooting mentioned in the same breath with Bonds after his acq
uittal 4.10.08 in the shooting death of Dinerral Shavers in 2006. You remember that case because of the controversy over the reluctance of a young girl to identify Bonds as the shooter, forcing the DA to drop the case. Charges were reinstated after the DA located more witnesses, but when it came time to testify this last time, they went blind when Bonds allegedly made threatening gestures toward them in the courtroom.

Then a week after Bonds went free, one of the witnesses against him, Guy McEwen, who didn't actually identify Bonds, was gunned down on an Uptown street on 4.17.08. Police say there is no connection between McEwen's death and Bonds' trial, and Bonds is not known to have a role in his demise.

But now Bonds is running the streets of the French Quarter and CBD as an armed and dangerous fugitive. Let's hope the NOPD takes him down before one of us becomes a victim.
His 19th birthday is Wednesday (5.7.08). Let's celebrate him into OPP!

More wanted: 8th District detectives have also issued warrants for other suspects in so
me recent robberies. Warrants are out for:
  • Victor Russell, 48, black male, 6'1" tall, weighs 165 pounds: He's wanted for robbing a white woman of her purse on 4.26.08 at 5:15 a.m. while she was walking on Carondelet Street near Girod Street.
  • Mark Melerine, 34, white male, 5'11" tall, weighing 180 pounds: He's wanted for snatching a woman's purse last Tuesday (4.29.08) in the 1300 block of Bourbon Street at 12:25 p.m. He reportedly hopped out of a white SUV and grabbed her purse, splitting her lip in the process. He has short hair and was wearing a white polo shirt and beige pants. His accomplice who was driving the SUV has not been identified.
Melerine is also wanted in a pursesnatching on 4.4.08 at 1:25 a.m. in the 100 block of N. Peters Street. His alleged accomplice in that crime is Randal A. Campo, 40, who is in OPP on $25,000 bond, charged with simple robbery.

Arrested:

  • Jesse Akmin, 18, black male, 6'1" tall, weighing 180 pounds: He and 2 accomplices allegedly held up a white man last Tuesday (4.29.08) who was walking in the 1400 block of Chartres Street near Esplanade Avenue around 10:40 p.m. He was charged with armed robbery and is in OPP in lieu of $100,000 bond.
All the robbers were described as 20 to 30 years old, about 6' tall. The gunman's weight was guessed as 180 pounds, and he was said to have short dreadlocks and corn rows, and was wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans.

8th District police had just arrested Akmin on 4.4.08 in the French Quarter for possession of marijuana. And they say drugs won't hurt you.

Robbery, plain and simple: It's hard to believe there was no commotion of any sort for 3 whole days in the 8th District. But, if that's true, let's herald it as good news. After a slew of armed robberies and pursesnatchings last Tuesday (4.29.08) following a week's hiatus, there was nothing reported by the 8th District NOPD until these incidents this weekend:
  • Saturday (5.3.08), 4:15 a.m., Bourbon and St. Ann streets: A white woman was standing on the corner when a black man came up from the front and grabbed her purse. He fled down St. Ann toward N. Rampart Street. He was described as 6'1" tall, weighing 170 pounds, wearing a red, tan and black striped shirt.
  • Sunday (5.4.08), 3 a.m., 300 block of Burgundy Street: A black man walking down the street was robbed of a gold chain around his neck by a black man who ran up behind him. The victim chased the culprit down Conti Street toward N. Rampart Street and the police apprehended Anthony Johnson, 21, shortly after and charged him with simple robbery, flight from an officer, and criminal trespass.
NONPAC: The meeting is at 5:30 p.m. Thursday (5.8.08) at the Maison Dupuy Hotel, 1001 Toulouse St. (at Burgundy Street).

* * *
As always, your comments and suggestions are welcome at NOcrimeline@gmail.com.

Thom Kahler

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Too good to last

Armed robberies resume: After more than a week with no reports of armed robberies in the 8th District, the bad guys are back in action. The lull coincided with the apprehension of that little 14-year-old black boy and his cousin for a number of robberies. Don't think the little twerp's out roaming the streets of the French Quarter at all hours again, do you? That's the trouble with these juvenile jerks--you don't know whether they're still in jail or some kindly judge has sent them home to the bosoms of their mamas.

But here's what's been going on, armed robbery-wise:
  • Tuesday (4.29.08), 6 a.m., 600 block of Dauphine Street: A black man was walking on Dauphine (toward Toulouse from St. Peter) when he was approached from behind by a silver-colored 2-door vehicle driven by a black dude who pulled a pistol and demanded the victim's money. The victim complied and the robber sped off toward Canal Street.
The robber was described as heavy set, medium complexion, with short hair, wearing a baseball cap.
  • Tuesday (4.29.08), 5:30 p.m., 800 block of Union Street: A black female was walking on Union between Carondelet and Baronne streets in the CBD when she was approached from behind by a black man who stuck an "unknown object" (presumably a gun) in the small of her back and demanded money. The victim complied and the robber fled on foot.
He was described as 5'7" tall, weighing 180 pounds, wearing a green collared shirt, blue jean shorts, and white tennis shoes.
  • Tuesday (4.29.08), 10:40 p.m., 1400 block of Chartres Street: A white man was walking on Chartres in the Marigny Triangle toward Esplanade Avenue when eh was approached by 3 black men, one of whom pulled a handgun and demanded money. The victim complied and then ran away.
All the robbers were described as 20 to 30 years old, about 6' tall. The gunman's weight was guessed as 180 pounds, and he was said to have short dreadlocks and corn rows, and was wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans.

Pursesnatchings back in vogue: Are we ever free of them? But how to protect yourself against them is another thing. Consider the first one, in broad daylight, with people all around. And yet...
  • Tuesday, (4.29.08), 12:25 p.m., 1300 block of Bourbon Street: A white woman walking on Bourbon between Barracks Street and Esplanade Avenue had her purse snatched by a white guy who hopped out of a white SUV, splitting her lip in the process, while her husband stood helplessly by. Others on that busy block, including an AT&T crew working in a manhole at the corner, were just as startled at the bravado of the bandit in broad daylight.
The robber was described as in his 20's, 5'11" tall, weighing 180 pounds, with short hair, wearing a white polo shirt and beige pants. The victim could not see the driver of the vehicle.

(Remember how Maj. Edwin Hosli and Chief Warren Riley lambasted NOcrimeline for not reporting crimes exactly as they submitted them to us? If we did that, we would have been guilty of numerous inaccuracies, such as the one in this report. Here's how it came from the 8th District: "...she was approached from behind by an unknown BLACK male...The subject is described as: WHITE male..." [capitals and boldface added by us for distinction]. Sloppy police work or knee-jerk reaction? We had local knowledge to determine which was which.)
  • Saturday (4.26.08), 5:15 a.m., Carondelet and Girod streets: A white woman walking on Carondelet was approached from behind by a black man who demanded her purse. She complied and he fled on foot.
The robber was described as in his 40's, 6'1" tall, thin build, wearing all black clothing.
  • Saturday (4.26.08), 3:50 a.m., Conti and Dauphine streets: A white man was punched by someone who then took cash from his pocket. The victim was unable to give any description of the perpetrator.
  • Thursday (4.24.08), 12:30 p.m., 711 Canal St.: A white woman was standing inside McDonald's when a black man snatched her wallet from her hand and fled out the Royal Street exit and headed into the bowels of the Quarter.
The robber was described only by what he was wearing: a black T-shirt, blue jeans, and dirty white shoes.

Some arrested: 8th District officers hauled in a few bad guys, but gave little information on why:
  • Sunday (4.27.08), 10:10 a.m.: Sgt. Mark Mumme, along with Officers Jack Buzali and Lawrence Hall, arrested Patrick Bell, 47, for theft from 332 Chartres St. No word what is located at that address or what the alleged thief supposedly stole.
  • Sunday (4.27.08), 1:20 a.m.: Lt. Charles Little and Sgt. Patrick Baxter of the 8th District's "Bourbon Promendade" arrested James Fulford, 43, for pickpocketing near The Famous Door, 341 Bourbon St. No word on who the victim was, but best guess he's from out of town, since no local would be seen in the tourist-trap section of town at that hour.
  • Friday (4.25.08), 3:45 p.m., Jackson Square: Police arrested Tyrone Gaygen, 52, and charged him with aggravated battery after he allegedly cut another homeless man on the hand with a box cutter after they got into a verbal altercation.
Go forth--and be careful out there...

* * *

As always, your comments and suggestions are welcome at
NOcrimeline@gmail.com.

Thom Kahler