Crime update 10.20.07

Be careful out there...

More on teen gang: Others have had encounters with that teen gang that NOcrimeline reported was terrorizing the Marigny Triangle last weekend.

Just before the gang attacked a group of women at Frenchmen and Burgundy streets and snatched one of their purses, another woman and her husband encountered the gang of 5 or 6 black boys in the 1900 block of N. Rampart Street at about 1:30 p.m. Sunday.

According to the NOcrimeline subscriber's email: "They were walking down the middle of the street, carrying a 2x4 and other lumber. They were twirling this lumber, and when it looked like they were about to hit a car, my boyfriend who was outside yelled at them. At which point, they started to approach him while screaming they were going to '**** him up.' "

The man grabbed his cellphone and told them he was calling 911, and they fled. The couple was surprised when "we actually had a cop car come," though they were less than thrilled when the officers "seemed less than concerned." (If you encounter officers like this, get their badge numbers or, at least, car number, and let Capt. Hosli know at 658-6080.)

In another incident about 6 weeks ago, according to another NOcrimeline subscriber, a gang--this time numbering about 10 and matching the description of the punks in last weekend's episodes--accosted her husband while he was on his bike at Bourbon and Ursulines Streets in the French Quarter at about 8:30 p.m.

They pursued him while he searched for a public place that was open where he could stop and call the police. When he got to the Golden Lantern at Royal and Barracks Street he called 911 and then chased after the kids.

"He found them all gathered one block away, laughing, pumping their arms, simply relishing in their latest hurrah," his wife wrote. He again called 911 to report the gang's location, but no police car showed up. He called 911 again and again, trying to update the operator on the gang's movement and location, but no police car ever responded. Walking home, he flagged down a State Police car but the troopers were less than concerned about his ordeal and drove off in the opposite direction.

Capt. Edwin Hosli, commander of the 8th District, is going to sic his undercover cops on this gang which is giving a bad name to those who wear McDonogh 35's white and khaki.

The gang has been described as 5 to 10 high school age black boys wearing white shirts and khaki pants. Capt. Hosli believes the young thugs are from the 5th District.

"The problem is that since they are juveniles they can't locate any photos to do a line up," he says. "We are well aware of the problem--it's not fallen on deaf ears."

Keep your guard up! They may be just teenage punks now, but they're the hoodlums of tomorrow unless something changes. Chief Riley was quoted this week that the crime problem begins with the kids and their parents failure to supervise them. So how about rounding up these terrorists and have a sit-down with their parents?

Rape on the rise: The French Quarter, which rarely has reported rapes and only 2 reported through August, experienced 3 in 10 days this month.

Because sex crimes are turned over immediately by 8th District cops to the sex crime squad, details are scant. But it appears the 3 latest cases involve tourists, at least as victims, and not local residents.

A rape on 10.7.07 was reported at 9 p.m. at 135 St. Charles St., location of the Royal St. Charles Hotel. Two rapes were reported at 8:50 a.m. and 9:53 a.m. on 10.16.07 at 1630 Canal St., the Day's Inn, and at 400 Bourbon St., the Old Absinthe House Bar.

While perhaps a tourist thing, it does taint the reputation of the city--particularly while the police chiefs are convening.

Maybe crime pays: No more had Capt. Hosli announced that the 8th District has been plagued with 300 car thefts (not to mention nearly as many break-ins) so far this year, than DA Eddie Jordan's office bargained away charges against a multiple offender and a judge set the perp free.

In July, 8th District cops arrived on the scene of a car burglary in progress in the 900 block of Poydras Street. They found a Chevy Trail Blazer with the passenger-side window broken out and a black man fitting the description a witness reported crawling out of the rear door of the vehicle with items from in it. When officers searched the perp's pockets, they found a checkbook and credit card taken from another vehicle that had been broken into in the 500 block of Julia Street earlier in the evening.

They booked Ernest Arceneaux, 42, with one count each of simple burglary and criminal damage under $500 and two counts of possession of stolen property. By the time his case wended its way through the court last Thursday (10.18.07) the 5 charges had been reduced to one: theft of goods under $300. Arceneaux pled guilty and the judge let him walk with a 90-day suspended sentence and 90 days INACTIVE probation. Oh, and the judge fined him--now get this--$200 for victim restitution. Didn't they originally say the car was damaged to a tune of $500 and that the value of goods stolen was $300? Maybe crime pays after all.

Back in 1995, this same crook pled guilty to pursesnatching and was given a 10-year sentence as a second-time offender. In 2003, the suspect pled guilty to simple burglary when the DA agreed not to charge him as a multiple offender; he was sentenced to 5 years in prison. Why didn't the DA go after him as a multiple offender and put him away for good? Maybe it would help cut down on all the car break-ins we have in the French Quarter.

GO VOTE: There's still time today to go vote--the polls are open until 8 p.m. Remember, who we voted for--or failed to vote for--is why Eddie Jordan is DA today...and why Warren Riley is running the NOPD instead of sheriff running OPP.

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As always, your comments and suggestions are welcome.

Thom Kahler

Crime update 10.16.07

Watch out for these punks!

Dangerous corner: A gang of black kids hanging out at Frenchmen and Burgundy streets in the Marigny Triangle may be responsible for 2 robberies in broad daylight in 2 days.

On Friday, 10.12.07, at 5:30 p.m. one of the 3 punks punched a 24-year-old white guy who lives in the 3700 block of Dauphine in the mouth, knocking him off his bicycle. Another of the hoodlums took the bike and rode off. The young thugs were described as wearing white shirts and khaki pants--the uniform of McDonogh 35 High School.

On Sunday, 10.14.07, at 2 p.m. a gang of 5 or 6 black boys--one on a bicycle--approached a group of white women walking to a house tour were accosted. The punk on the bicycle grabbed the purse of a 30-year-old white woman who lives in the 2100 block of N. Rampart Street. The victim pursued the kid on the bike up Touro Street and retrieved her purse when its strap broke and it fell from the crook's grasp. Again, the robber was described as wearing a white muscle shirt and khaki pants.

If you see groups of black boys in white shirts and khaki pants hanging out on this corner--Frenchmen and Burgundy--or anywhere in your neighborhood, assume they're the bad guys and call the NOPD--first 911 and then the 8th District at 658-6080. Perhaps some 8th District cops will start patrolling the area more heavily now that these punks have tasted crime.

Notes from NONPAC: Unlike last month's no-shows at the monthly meeting of NONPAC ( New Orleans Neighborhood Policing Anti-Crime Council), about 3 dozen citizens showed up Thursday night to show they cared about crime in the French Quarter, Marigny Triangle and CBD.

"Biggest thing" in crime: While recalling how few crimes have occurred recently in the 8th District, Capt. Edwin Hosli conceded "the biggest thing now" is auto thefts. So far this year there have been approximately 300 in the 8th alone (there were 10 last week and 13 so far this week through Friday). Some arrests have been made, but we've been unable to get information on those yet.

NOcrimeline is going to start listing the location and date of auto thefts in the district to try to give citizens a warning of where cars are most likely to be stolen from. Thank Ofc. Brian Shubert, who supplies all our other crime reports, for his extra effort in compiling this information--particularly since the NOPD hasn't yet fixed his computer.

Not Utopia, but...: The suspect in the knife attack on 5 patrons of the Utopia Night Club was released from OPP last week. A magistrate reduced the charges against Ray Boudreaux, a former Tulane football player, from attempted first-degree murder to one count of aggravated assault and 4 of aggravated battery and lowered his bail from a half-million bucks to $225,000 which his family posted as a personal surety bond.

Capt. Hosli said the incident 9.16.07 at the Bourbon Street club "may have sparked something good." In this case, a fight in the club spilled out onto Bourbon Street where the stabbings took place. "The days of pushing the problem out into the street is over," Hosli asserted.

He and some of his officers have met with the Utopia bar owner and owners of some other establishments and have worked out "how they are going to handle incidents in the bar and when they are going to call us," Hosli said.

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


Thom Kahler

Crime update 10.5.07

Bad guys bagged...

A real baddie: One of New Orleans' true bad asses has been taken off the streets. Gino M. McDowell, 19, was apprehended in Atlanta and extradited to New Orleans on Monday (10.1.07) to face murder charges in a 9th Ward shooting and an armed robbery in the French Quarter.

He's accused of killing a man on July 31--just one month after he allegedly robbed a Covington couple, a man 36 and a woman 23, who were strolling about 12:30 a.m. on June 30 when they stopped to admire a garden at 715 Gov. Nicholls St. The suspect crossed the street and pulled a gun on the pair, forcing the man to kneel on the sidewalk facing the wall. The robber got $30 and two credit cards from the man. You think armed robbers aren't dangerous? Think again.

McDowell is charged with being an accessory to first-degree murder, attempted accessory after the fact, 2 counts each of aggravated battery by shooting and aggravated assault, and one count of armed robbery. He is being held in OPP without bond.

Last year, McDowell walked on a burglary charge when the DA couldn't get it together to charge him within the 60-day limit. In May of this year, McDowell got a 6-month suspended sentence and one-year's unsupervised probation after he pled guilty to possession of marijuana and possessing a concealed weapon. (Imagine: if he'd been serving that 6 months instead of walking the streets, the murder and the armed robbery may not have happened. Or maybe it would have just delayed the inevitable.)

Another baddie: The NOPD arrested Billy Gaines, 23, on 8.29.07 for a robbery June 22 at "Crack Corner"--Dauphine and St. Louis streets. He was charged with simple battery and simple robbery.

His bond was set at $25,000 on 8.30.07, but he's apparently walking the streets again. He must have bonded out of OPP, since the sheriff has no record of him as an inmate. He is due back in court 10.30.07 for a hearing.

Gaines, whose last known address is 1122 Behrman Hwy. in Algiers, is described as a black man, 5'11" tall, weighing 150 pounds, with dreadlocks.

According to the police report, a witness saw the suspect standing on the corner of Dauphine and St. Louis streets with a group of black men and women about 3 a.m . and heard him tell his buddies he was going to punch the approaching victim in the face. The suspect, according to the witness, went up behind the victim, an 18-year-old guy who lives in the 400 block of Burgundy, in the 900 block of St. Louis and punched the guy in the head and took his wallet containing $35 and his cellphone.

This is crime fighting? There's a terrible irony that last Monday--the same day Big Chief Riley announces cops are going to be working 60-hour shifts to put more officers on the the streets and the Metropolitan Crime Commission criticizes the NOPD for wasting manpower on minor crime--20 police cars swoop down on a second-line parade in Treme and arrest 2 musicians.

The charges? Parading without a permit and disturbing the peace. What ever happened to the "right of the people peaceably to assemble"? The Constitution says nothing of having to pay the cops a fee for that right. That smacks of having to pay a poll tax to vote.

Is this how the NOPD is going to use its extra manpower? And when have you ever seen 20 NOPD cop cars swoop down on anything, let alone a spontaneous parade to honor a dead man? When a knife-wielding bar patron sliced up 5 foes on Bourbon Street last month, there were no cops around at all. Most citizens would be happy to get one police car to respond when they call 911.

A new approach to crime fighting?: One of the musicians hauled away from the parade in handcuffs, sees music in Treme as a crime fighting tool. Derrick Tabb, a snare drummer, has been teaching neighborhood kids as young as 9 to play musical instruments because they can't get into the school band until they're 14 and in the 9th grade.

"By then," the Times-Picayune reported he said, " drug dealers are whispering into children's ears, showing them how they can make money."

When the cop car drove off Monday with Tabb and his brother cuffed in the back seat, 3 of the men's young cousins who were in the band were crying. Tabb was disturbed, the T-P said, "about what message that sent to young people aspiring to become musicians."

Tabb in the last six months has been working on starting a nonprofit music school called Roots of Music. He is hoping the school will teach as many as 200 children after-school and in the summer.

According to Katy Reckdahl, who is providing the excellent coverage in the T-P, "the local Backbeat Foundation is serving as a pass-through for donations until his 501C3 is approved. With Derrick's connections, the school already has commitments from most of the city's top-flight jazz musicians. Together, they could make enormous progress with local middle-children, who are at such a vulnerable age."

We often view Treme the source of our crime in the French Quarter and Marigny Triangle. Maybe this is a way to change things. Want to try an unorthodox approach to fighting crime? Contact Derrick Tabb at derrick_tabb@yahoo.com.

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

Thom Kahler

911: How to call the police ...and get them to respond

HELP!: Police response to 911 calls continue to alarm citizens, heightened by episodes such as the attempted rape on Royal Street a while back in which the caller to 911 felt the police failed to respond. A constant theme of the emails NOcrimeline receives from subscribers detail frustrations with their calls to 911.

The common refrain in all these emails seems to be summed up in one word: Panic. Panic is a natural response if you're witnessing a crime or, worse, you're the victim. It's understandable you want the police there right NOW.

But the cause of the panic seems to be this: the caller feels the questions being asked so calmly by the 911 operator--who doesn't seem to share your sense of urgency--is delaying dispatch of police to the scene. I've also complained about 911 in the past--I dredged up an email I sent in 2002 to Capt. Demma when he commanded the 8th District, expressing my exasperation over what I thought were inane questions by a 911 operator after I was reporting a traffic accident on my block.

Help is on the way: Capt. Demma forwarded my complaint to Capt. Robert Williams, then commander of the Communications Division, who gave me a detailed explanation of what the 911 operators asked and why, and how the system operated. I spoke recently with his successor, Capt. Stephen J. Gordon, a 32-year NOPD veteran who's spent 18 years assigned to communications. He corroborated what Capt. Williams explained and added some details of his own:

"Many people, unfamiliar with our 911 and computer-aided dispatch system, assume that responding to the operator's questions delays our response to the call. This is not the case."

"When the operator creates the incident by entering the type of incident and the location, a call for service is automatically generated and sent to a dispatch position for a unit to be assigned.

"The operator continues to gather all available information about the incident which is updated on the dispatcher's computer screen as supplemental information, which the dispatcher can relay to the responding unit."

Just the facts, ma'm: 911 operators have to practically be psychologists to defuse the panic callers feel. They're trained to calmly ask questions that will get the answers they need and in the order that's most important:

Location: If you're calling on a land-line, caller ID will relay your location to the operator's computer screen. If you're calling on a cellphone, you've got to give them your location. (In the recent attempted rape, police could not figure out where the caller was as he tailed the suspect. They weren't even told where the attack took place.)

Situation: What appears to be happening--a suspicious person roaming your neighborhood, someone attempting to break into a building, a drug deal going down, etc. You don't need to embellish your report hoping it will speed a response. (A well-known realtor in town used to report derelicts sleeping on the steps of nearby houses. When the 911 operator inquired if the suspect looked drunk, he'd reply, trying to speed up the response, "I don't know--he looks dead!") Giving false information could get you in trouble and does nothing to get the police there faster.

Description: Describe any suspect (or suspects and the number of them) in as much detail as you can:

• Sex and race.
• Estimated height and weight.
• Clothing: color and style of shirt and pants; color of shoes and brand; same for hat, if he's wearing one.
• Other identifiers: logos on clothing, hair style, facial hair, jewelry, etc.
• Weapon: If you see a weapon, describe it as best you can. A handgun? An assault rifle? A knife? It will help responding officers to know what they are facing.

• Anything else the 911 operator asks you.

Some of the questions may seem inane, but they're not asking them just because they enjoy chatting with you. (I once had an operator ask me the color of the cars involved in the accident. What the hell difference does this make, I wondered. I later learned and it made sense.)

It would be nice, in the course of this interrogation, if the 911 operator would volunteer that the police have been dispatched. But if you're wondering, ask. Courteously. Then you can relax and give them all the additional information they need.

Follow up: Too often citizens call 911 and then say, "There! I've done my part." That's a big part, but sometimes the police may have additional questions after apprehending a suspect and not know how to contact you to get that information. Call the 8th District station (658-6080)--or the station near where you live--and identify yourself as the person who called 911. Ask if they need any additional input from you. Let them know how they can get in touch with you if they do.

Subscribers have said in emails to NOcrimeline that they contacted the station and never heard anything back. Again, it would be nice to be thanked by the police and assured they will call you if they need more information.

But, folks, I'll tell ya--based on some of the emails I get, there's an awfully lot left out that would be informative. Make sure you're giving the police as much information as you possibly can so they can do exactly what you want them to--keep you safe.

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

Thom Kahler

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