Crime update 9.25.07

Seasonal allergies?

Fall has fell: The season changes to Fall over the weekend and it brings out the bad guys to wreak mayhem in the neighborhood, after it had been relatively quiet in the latter part of Summer.

• Aggravated battery, Saturday, 2:20 a.m., 201 Chartres St.: A 27-year-old white girl, working as a dancer at Club Ritz was standing near the doorway when a 19-year-old black girl walked up and they got into an argument. The black girl allegedly dragged the white girl out on the sidewalk in the 600 block of Iberville Street and pulled out a lock-blade pocket knife with which she slashed the victim across the shoulder, causing a 6" laceration. Tiffany Page was arrested shortly after the incident in the 100 block of Chartres.

• Attempted armed robbery, Saturday, 4:35 a.m., Dauphine and St. Ann streets: The victim (no age, race, or residence available) was accosted from behind by 2 black men brandishing knives and told to "give up your money." The victim told the robbers he had been in a fight earlier and had lost his wallet. The perpetrators began stabbing him in the back and pushed him to the ground before fleeing.

• Simple robbery, Saturday, 7:55 p.m., 600 block of Orleans Avenue: A 72-year-old man from Colorado was a walking to his car when he was approached by a prostitute selling her wares but he said he wasn't interested. A couple of minutes later when he was about to get in his car, she asked again if he wanted to "have a good time." and again he declined just as a black guy came up behind him and pushed him against his car and took his wallet. The perpetrators fled on foot across N. Rampart Street. The suspects were described as a black man, 25-35 years old, 5'8" tall, weighing 180 pounds, short hair, dark complexion, wearing a white shirt with writing on the shoulder and khaki pants; the woman was white, 30-40 years old, 5'4" tall, heavy-set weighing 170 pounds, blond hair, wearing a white shirt and dark pants.

• Aggravated battery, Saturday, 9:45 p.m., 1005 Canal St.: The victim, a 50-year-old local white man and the suspect got into an argument over a business deal. The perpetrator allegedly struck the victim in the head with a crescent wrench and then kicked him in the head when he fell to the ground and passed out briefly. When he came to, his business associate had fled. A warrant was issued for Eddie Bouie, no age or address given.

Is there a full moon?: These recent armed robberies make you wonder:

• You're not from here, are you?: Three women from Washington state were walking in the 100 block of St. Charles Avenue last Thursday (9.20.07) at 10:45 p.m. when they were approached by a black man with a small semiautomatic pistol. He asked the first woman for her money but she said she had none. He then told the 23-year-old woman in the group to leave, while both of her 43-year-old companions remained. He asked the second woman for her money and began tugging on her purse. She said she had no money but believed the robber "needed a hug" and embraced the bad guy. The perpetrator, obviously bewildered, turned around and walked to Canal Street where he loitered for a while before drifting into the crowd. He was described as 25-25 years old, 5'7" tall, weighing 160 pounds, with short hair and unkempt appearance, wearing a black shirt with white logo letters and a silver chain.

• What's the hurry?: A 24-year-old Algiers couple were returning to their car at Andrew Higgins Drive and Convention Center Boulevard after leaving The Metropolitan bar around 3 a.m. Sunday when they were robbed by a black man who held a gun to the man's neck and demanded everything they had. They surrendered their wallet, purse, cellphone and car keys. The perpetrator fled on foot and the couple caught a cab home. They retrieved their car later in the morning and then reported the crime to the 4th District NOPD station in Algiers around 1:30 p.m. They said they had been too intoxicated to give a description of the perpetrator.

• On the other hand...: A 50-year-old Metairie man thinks he was carjacked this morning in the 600 block of Barracks Street about 12:23 a.m. He said he was about to get into his 1995 red Toyota Camry when a black man approached him and struck him in the head with a handgun and then took his vehicle. According to the police report, "The victim gave 4 different stories to the facts and circumstances of the incident" and "also gave several different descriptions of the perpetrator." But the victim's "injuries were consistent with him being struck in the face with an object."

Good news: Christopher Hoard, the 18-year-old suspect wanted by 8th District cops for at least 2 armed robberies in the French Quarter, has been apprehended in Houston and is due for an extradition hearing tomorrow. It looks like he's had similar scrapes in Texas where he appears to face a couple of armed robbery charges there as well.

Here he's wanted for the armed robberies 8.6.07 of 2 Baton Rouge men in the 200 block of Burgundy Street around 5 a.m. and 8.24.07 of a man walking in the 1000 block of Dauphine Street at about 9:30 p.m.

Hoard, whose last known address is 308 Burgundy St., is a black man, 5'9" tall, weighing 165 pounds, with dreadlocks.

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

Thom Kahler