Crime update 1.21.08

Win some, lose some...

Bar bandit bagged: The NOPD finally took down that black dude who robbed Cosimo's bar on 12.23.07 and Good Friends Bar on 1.6.08. After his image appeared in a video surveillance tape from Good Friends and the photograph circulated widely, Eric Lewis , 34, was arrested without incident on Friday by the Violent Offenders Warrant Squad. He was charged with 2 counts of armed robbery and is in OPP on $200,000 bond.

The question is: When 8th District detective Jason Giroir recognized Lewis as the same perpetrator who appeared in the Cosimo's surveillance tape and the NOPD issued a warrant for him in both robberies, why wasn't the public alerted? This guy was out there roaming bars in our neighborhood for nearly 2 weeks before he was captured. Might alerting residents have accelerated his apprehension? Lewis did appear in the Metropolitan Crime Commission's "Wanted" poster last Wednesday, 2 days before his arrest, but there's a tendency to think those on the poster are problems in someone else's neighborhood. Ain't necessarily so.

Teen thugs taken down: So what?, you might ask, considering how porous the city's juvenile facility is. But nevertheless, the NOPD apprehended 2 black boys, one 13 years old and the other 14, just moments after they robbed 2 white guys, one 21 and the other 28, at gunpoint in front of 508 Burgundy St. near St. Louis Street on Friday night around 7:10 p.m. No word on what the thieves got in the robbery.

The victims flagged down a passing police car and pointed out a gang of young punks running across N. Rampart Street. Police officers on foot pursued the miscreants into the Iberville Housing Development (doesn't it warm your heart to know we provide a refuge for the less-fortunate?) where they caught the one boy at 200 Marais St. and the other at 1400 Conti St. (that's a pretty good sprint--who says our officers are out of shape?) Shown the alleged robbers, both victims "immediately and positively identified both" as the perpetrators.

Since we can't give you the punks' names or show you their pictures because they're juveniles (wouldn't want to scar the little dears for life), here are their descriptions: one was a skinny dude, 5'10" tall and weighing 130 pounds; the other was a little pipsqueak, 5' tall and weighing 100 pounds. And, yes, at least one of them was wearing a "hoodie". Remember: "See a hoodie, report a hoodlum." One was from Baton Rouge (your mama know you're down here robbing white folk?); the other is local and his last known address is 2634 D'Abadie St., off of Broad Street, out by the Fairgrounds.

No country for old women: Okay, they weren't that old, only 55, 59, 62 and 67 years of age. But as white ladies from out of town they were no match for the 3 black guys--all wearing "hoodies"--they encountered in the 1100 block of Chartres Street near Gov. Nicholls Street around 9:26 p.m. Sunday night.

One of the thugs pulled out a small chrome revolver and demanded their purses. The youngest and oldest victims surrendered their purses to the thieves. The other two refused and began screaming. The robbers fled on Gov. Nicholls toward the river--if that's what the police report meant by "south"--right past Brad and Angelina's humble abode.

All the perpetrators were described as 18 to 20 years old, about 5'6" tall, weighing 140 pounds. Only the description of the "hoodies" was different: 2 were dark colored, the other white.

More robberies, no reports: There were 3 other robberies that showed up on the crime map last week, but we've not been able to obtain the police report on them. This might be attributed to an overworked officer who now has to rewrite the reports in the wake of The Big City Daily's demand for them; before he could just pull the reports up on the computer and email them to NOcrimeline. All we know is the location and time of the robberies:

• Thursday, 11:50 p.m., 544 Bourbon St.
• Friday, 12:30 p.m., Royal and St. Peter streets
• Friday, 6:30 p.m., Royal and St. Louis streets

Cut loose, but so what: The DA's office refused to prosecute a couple of cases last week, but they were more the kind that probably shouldn't have bogged down the court in the first place.

One case involved Joshua Blaise, a 34-year-old black homeless drug addict living under the Claiborne Avenue overpass, who was arrested 12.30.07 on Canal Street after trying to grab a man's camera case containing his wallet. The victim threw his hot coffee on the perpetrator and a witness wrestled Blaise to the ground and held him until police arrived. Blaise, who admits having a $200-a-day heroin habit, was charged with attempted simply robbery plus drug charges. Instead of facing those charges here, he's apparently waived extradition back to California where he's wanted on a warrant there.

The other case involved Gregory Myles, 25, who got into a tiff with a drinking buddy at the Dragon's Den Lounge on Frenchmen Street in the early morning hours of 12.19.07. When his buddy refused to pay for his drink too, he grabbed the money from his friend's hand and threatened to throw him over the balcony. It sounds like something the bartender should have settled with his baseball bat, but the offended buddy went downstairs and hailed the police, who wound up charging Myles with simple robbery.

I think these are the kind of cases the Metropolitan Crime Commission has in mind when it says the NOPD spends too much time on trivial cases rather than important one. Aren't these the kinds of cases where the cop is supposed to say, "Go on home, boys" with a sufficient warning to the wise?

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

Thom Kahler

Crime update 1.17.08

How you goin' keep 'em?

Another one gets away: Remember when those young punks were terrorizing the Marigny Triangle and what a celebration when one was finally arrested? Well, don't count your convictions before the DA gets done thinning the caseload flock.

She's turned loose Marshan Bowden, 17, who was arrested just a month after he was no longer a juvenile and charged with first-degree robbery and simple robbery. We just learned the DA refused on 12.27.07 to prosecute him on those charges, despite the victim positively identifying him in a photographic line-up as one of 3 perpetrators who robbed him 11.3.07 at Royal and Ursulines streets.

On Monday, the DA refused to prosecute him on another offense he was charged with on 11.23.07 for possession of stolen property over $500. (We've not been able to obtain the police report to know what that's about.)

Bowden, whose last known address is 1409 Frenchmen St., will be roaming your neighborhood again soon, if he's not already. Look at his picture and beware.

Tourists don't fare so well: Two tourists, one in the 900 block of Dumaine Street and the other in the 900 block of Orleans Street, met up with a couple of our scumbags in the last 2 days:

• At 7 p.m. Tuesday, a 20-year-old woman on Dumaine was accosted while on her way to her hotel by a black guy wielding a big black-handled knife and demanding her purse.

She told the robber she was "shocked" and didn't give it to him. (Hrumph's don't get you much around here, darling.) The police report says he "repeated himself 2 additional times before she complied and gave him her purse." (It makes it sound oh, so genteel, but I bet it wasn't.)

The bandit was described as 18-20 years old, 6'2" tall, weighing 180 pounds, and wearing dark clothing.

• At 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, a 56-year-old man was walking on Orleans when 2 black dudes came up from behind and muscled him into the wall and demanded money. He surrendered $230 and they fled.

Both perpetrators were described as 18-25 years old, 6' tall and weighing 160 to 170 pounds. One was described as wearing a hoodie and the other a toboggan cap with short hair and a dark complexion.

Locals didn't fare much better : Robbers knocked over the Price Busters grocery store at 865 St. Charles St. at 10:23 a.m. on Tuesday.

Two black guys with bandanas covering their faces, both armed with semi-automatic pistols, pointed them at the clerk without saying anything. But he apparently knew the drill and opened the cash register. They scooped out between $1,000 and $2,000 in cash before fleeing up St. Joseph Street.

Both were described as in their 20s, one 5'8" tall weighing 155 pounds, and the other 6'1" tall and weighing 180 pounds.

On Wednesday, at 7:30 p.m., a 37-year-old man was walking up the steps of his home in the 2000 block of N. Rampart Street when a black guy ran up behind him as he was pulling his house keys out of his pocket. The thug pointed a black semi-automatic handgun at him and demanded his money. The victim surrendered his wallet and cellphone.

The thief fled up Touro Street toward St. Claude Avenue. He was described as in his 20s, 5'8" tall, weighing 160 pounds, wearing a white T-shirt, blue jeans, and had shoulder-length braided hair.

They're ready: No wonder more citizens are arming themselves. As one NOcrimeline subscriber said: "Our 911 button is going to be the trigger to our .38."
False rumors: "Don't believe any false rumors, unless you hear them from me." I had to steal that line from former mayor, Victor Schiro, in light of the wild stories floating around this week.

First, there was the email floating around from all directions that "a friend's mom who works at the Metro Juvenile DA's office called and said they have received 'credible' information from their gang prevention unit that there is about to be a major surge in gang initiations over the next few weeks...that would involve random shootings..."

Of course, no one could name the "friend", let alone the "mom", nor did they know what "DA's office" was involved. No one at NOPD knew what it was about, Snopes.com labeled it "false", and Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand finally put it to rest on the evening news Wednesday night.

Then there was the one that bombarded us yesterday from several people that claimed "my dearest friend's son was carjacked and beaten on Dec. 17" while he was in the French Quarter. Someone named "Martha" goes through a whole litany about his ordeal. She ultimately contends, in capital letters no less, that "There were 5 CARJACKINGS that night, and in 2 of those, the car owners were shot" and further asserts, again in all capital letters, "NONE OF THIS WAS REPORTED IN THE NEWS."

None of the correspondents who sent me this email knew who "Martha" is, nor none were acquainted with a "Jan" it was originally sent to. And "Martha" doesn't explain how she knew there were 5 carjackings that night if "none of this was reported in the news."

Add to this the misfortune of the Big City Daily in erroneously reporting yesterday that a victim shot dead Tuesday in Central City was a notorious fugitive wanted for armed robbery and murder.

Supposedly 7 NOPD officers, some close to the investigation, confirmed the victim's identify to the misled reporter. But later a presumably official report identified the victim as someone else.

I always appreciate tips and additional information from NOcrimeline subscribers, but I always make sure I check on claims that--all together now--"seem to be too good (or bad) to be true, probably are." Usually by asking "how do you know what you think you know?" diffuses misinformation. (And bookmark Snopes.com on your computer.)

You could save yourself a lot of embarrassment by asking that question of yourself before you perpetuate emails from dubious sources. The tremendous human desire to know something that no one else knows--and to communicate it--seems to get the best of too many people.

Here's an idea: Lt. Gen. Russel Honore--the "John Wayne dude" who saved New Orleans' butt after the storm--retired from the Army last week. What characterized him from the other post-disaster players was he acted while others talked. He famously told his staff, "You're looking at your calendars; I'm looking at my watch!" What if Mayor Nagin, who gave the general the cowboy appellation, appointed him police chief? I could imagine him saying, "You're talking about solving crimes; I'm talking about preventing them!"

***

As always, your comments and suggestions are welcome.

Thom Kahler

Crime update 1.14.08

Arresting developments

Charges pile up: One of the 2 black dudes arrested for a couple of robberies early last Tuesday added some frequent-felon points in a couple of other crimes the previous night.

Renard Prevost (right) who was charged along with his buddy, Romalice Tate, in 2 armed robberies near Commerce and Julia streets, was positively identified by the parking lot attendant as the guy who held her up Monday night (1.7.08) at the lot at N. Peters and St. Philip streets; she was not certain about Tate.

Two Ohio tourists who came upon Sgt. Troy Williams as he was investigating the Tuesday robberies and noticed Prevost, whom they identified as the perpetrator who robbed them early Monday morning a couple of blocks from the current scene.

Prevost, 20, was additionally charged with the parking lot robbery; he was not charged in the robbery of the Ohio victims because they said they would not return to New Orleans to testify at a trial.

Prevost is now in OPP in lieu of $450,000 bond on 3 charges of armed robbery, 2 of felon with a firearm, and 1 of aggravated battery, plus a host of municipal warrants. Tate is locked up on $250,000 bond on 2 charges of armed robbery.

Another day, another bar: It seems almost that bad. A black guy who'd been 86'd last Wednesday from the Ninth Circle bar at 700 N. Rampart St. because he had no ID, came back an hour and a half later at 1:50 a.m. and held up the bartender as he was taking out the trash.

The robber pulled a small black semiautomatic handgun from his waistband and forced the bartender back inside of the bar, where he forced him to open the cash register and place the money on the counter. He also demanded that the victim give up his wallet, which he did, removing about $60 from his wallet and placing it on the bar next to the cash register.

The robber then forced the bartender to the back room and demanded that he open the safe. When the bartender replied that he did not know the code, the robber demanded that he call his manager and obtain the code. The bartender called the manager and received a code but was still unable to open the safe. (I'm scratching my head. Isn't the point where the manager should be calling the police?)

The robber then walked with the victim back to the register at the front of the bar, retrieved the $60 from the victim's wallet and $396 from the cash register and forced the victim to sit in the back room while he fled.

The perpetrator was described as 20 to 25 years old, 5'8" tall, weighing 200 pounds, with a round face, dark complexion, clean shaven and short hair, wearing a black hoodie, cargo shorts, and a light blue shirt.

Suspect's photo in earlier bar robbery: The NOPD has released a photo from a video surveillance camera of the suspect in the robbery of the Good Friends Bar, Dauphine and St. Ann streets, at 7:30 a.m. on 1.6.08.

The robber took an undisclosed amount of cash and fled up Dauphine to Orleans Street where he got into a small black car driven by another black guy. The car sped down Orleans to N. Rampart Street.

8th District NOPD Detective Jason Giroir, recognized this suspect as the same one who robbed Cosimo's bar, Burgundy and Gov. Nicholls streets on 12.23.07.

The suspect was described as a black male, 30 to 35 years-old, 5'8" to 5'11" tall, with "a broad nose, large lips and wide eyes" (I kid you not. That's how the NOPD press release described him) . He was wearing a dark shirt and jeans; earlier reports had him wearing a black T-shirt under the black leather jacket.

Citizens with information that can help solve this crime are asked to call Crimestoppers at 822-1111. You could receive a cash reward of up to $2,500 for information leading to the arrest and indictment of the suspect. You do not have to give your name nor testify to receive the reward.

One robbery, not two: A NOcrimeline subscriber who thought he had come upon the investigation of an armed robbery in the 900 block of Barracks Street last Tuesday morning actually encountered he aftermath of an earlier robbery in the 1200 block of Bourbon Street.

In that robbery, which occurred about 4 a.m., 4 LSU students, 3 men and a woman, all in their 20s, were headed to a residence in the 900 block of Barracks when they were held up by what they thought were 2 black men with their faces partially concealed by bandanas. One of the robbers wearing a hoodie pulled a gun and demanded the victims' wallets and then fled when the mission was accomplished.

Hitting close to home: The robbery last Monday (1.7.08) at 9:55 p.m. that had me worried because I had just passed by there shortly before was indeed close to home for 2 of the victims.

The couple, he 31, she 29, live just up the street from Dauphine and Pauger streets where they, and her 59-year-old mother from Uptown, were robbed by a black dude who looked like "Dr. Dre with a baseball cap." (That's not very descriptive for those of us not into rap music.)

The robber approached the trio as they were getting into their car. He stuck a chrome-plated semi-automatic handgun into the chest of the older woman and demanded her purse, which he grabbed along with a gold necklace from around her neck. When he demanded the man's wallet and was told he didn't have one, the robber fled up Pauger toward St. Claude Avenue.

The "Dr. Dre" look-alike was further described as in his early 30s, 5'9" tall, weighing 200 pounds, with a stocky build and a medium complexion, wearing a brown cap, black jacket and dark colored pants.

"Boys will be boys, and girls will be boys too, sometimes": Reminds me of an old Steve Goodman song. But for a robbery victim Thursday night, it wasn't amusing. The woman (no DOB given in the police report) was on her way to work at a strip club in the French Quarter when she was accosted at Dauphine and St. Peter streets at 10:19 p.m. by what she thought were 2 black men, one with a gun, who demanded her money. The victim turned over a $100 bill and her cellphone and the robbers fled.

Two 8th District officers noticed the suspects fleeing and gave chase. When they apprehended the 2 suspects, it was discovered they were both female. Arrested were: Ashley Netter, 23, (right), last known address was in Kenner; and Danielle Bigham, 21, (photo unavailable), last known address was in Garyville. Netter was charged with armed robbery with a firearm and flight from an officer; she is being held on $77,000 bond in OPP. Bigham was charged with armed robbery with a firearm and is being held on $75,000 bond.

The 2 women are suspects in at least one other French Quarter robbbery.

Sound familiar?: A NOcrimeline subscriber warned us 2 weeks ago of 2 young white males in their 20s, which he described as "skinheads", cruising the Lower Quarter in a large older model black pickup truck in the early morning hours.

Could this have been the duo responsible for 2 muggings in the Quarter on Sunday morning?

At 6:35 a.m., a 36-year-old white man from Harvey was walking in the 800 block of Toulouse Street, between Bourbon and Dauphine streets, when a champagne-colored pickup truck pulled along side of him. The passenger asked the man for directions to I-10 while the driver got out and punched the victim in the face, demanding money. The robbers took the victim's book bag and fled on Bourbon toward Esplanade (presumably in the pickup truck, though the police report doesn't say).

At 6:45 a.m., a 48-year-old black man was walking on Esplanade Avenue at Bourbon Street when he was approached by a dark-colored pickup truck. The passenger, just like in the previous incident, asked for directions to I-10 while the driver got out, punched the victim, and took his wallet.

In both cases, the bad guys were described as white/Hispanic in their 20s, 5'9" to 5'10" tall, weighing 200 pounds, one wearing a white sleeveless T-shirt and blue jeans, and the other with no shirt, white pants, white shoes and a gold-colored hat.

Police think it might be an isolated spree, but considering the warning from the NOcrimeline subscriber, I'd be paying attention to dark pickups occupied by Hispanics cruising the Quarter, man.

West Side Story on the fringe: A group of 6 (okay, I won't call them a gang) of Hispanic men were walking on Iberville Street near N. Rampart Street at about 4:06 a.m. Sunday morning when they got into a verbal altercation with several black kids, 18 to 20 years old.

As the 2 gangs (couldn't resist it) passed, several gunshots rang out. A 29-year-old Hispanic man from Covington discovered he'd been shot twice in the right side of the chest.

The Hispanic bunch (there, is that better?) fled toward Bienville Street, while the black boys fled toward Burgundy Street.

There, that wasn't so bad, was it?: Some of those previous accounts are based on the first of the "new" reports that have been redacted by the 8th District NOPD in case they fall into the hands of the Big City Daily's reporters. I didn't notice much change, did you?

We may never again get the colorful--or salty--comments of the perpetrators, like "We be da poleeze!", but it looks like we'll still get detailed on information on crimes in our neighborhoods so we can take precautions.

Let's just hope that the clumsy and belated efforts by the TP to get similar reports doesn't screw up our pipeline to that information.

Speaking of belated efforts, TP City Editor David Meeks (He used to be the sports editor, so what's he know about crime? Wait a minute, I take that back--he used to cover sports) claims the newspaper has been fighting for these records for a long time alone "because before the flood New Orleans was known as a place with an apathetic citizenry."

What planet is he from? You can characterize the citizens of New Orleans in a lot of ways, but "apathetic" is not one of them. New Orleanians--of any age, of any race, of any neighborhood--have an opinion on everything whether they know anything about it or not.

The fact remains that the TP has largely sat on its butt regarding neighborhood crime news since the storm. Let's hope that its current efforts to once again generate timely crime news meets with success--but not at the expense of what residents of the 8th District are already getting through Nocrimeline.com.

"Hoodie"=hoodlum: Yeah, I know "hoodie" is what hooded sweatshirts are now called--even I used to have one that I loved dearly (I wonder what happed to it--I hope it didn't fall into the wrong hands).

Remember when the "uniform" of the street thugs was dreadlocks? Now it seems to be hoodies. When a detective arrested 2 suspects last week and was impounding the car driven by the duo, he noticed "hoodies in the rear seat, which were similar to ones described by the victim and a witness" to another armed robbery, leading to more charges against the pair.

Maybe when you see someone wearing a hoodie coming toward you, assume the worst. And have your finger on the 911 button.

***

As always, your comments and suggestions are welcome.

Thom Kahler

Crime update 1.11.08

Okay, here's the deal...

Reporting reports: Yesterday's alarm that the crime reports NOcrimeline is receiving from the 8th District might be curtailed prompted response from many of you, some by attending last night's NONPAC meeting and others by emailing fierce support for our service.

First, let me make it clear that the Times-Picayune in no way was trying to curtail the information we have been receiving from the 8th District for the last 10 months. They just wanted to receive the same information from here and the rest of the districts that make up the NOPD. That's fair enough and the way it should be.

But for some reason, the T-P's request to Capt. Hosli (excuse me, he's now Major--all the district commanders were elevated to major yesterday) some how freaked out the powers-that-be--perhaps because it came with a threat to sue if the information wasn't forthcoming. As I understand it, he consulted with the NOPD's Public Information Office and was told whatever he gave NOcrimeline he had to give the T-P too. So rather than give the T-P copies of the official crime reports he's been sharing with us, he decided that in the future an abbreviated account of each crime would be written by the 8th District and given to the media daily--NOcrimeline and the T-P alike.

At first glance, I see little or no difference in what I had been receiving and the new report. In a meeting this morning with Lt. Eddie Selby and Ofc. Brian Shubert (who compiles the reports) I was given a new-style abbreviated report and shown the official report like I used to get. The only thing missing in the new version was detail I wasn't likely to use anyway, such as routine police procedures. (And it appears I'll be spared the "east-west-north-south" directions the detectives insist on using, rather than the proper New Orleans nomenclature of "up river, down river, toward the lake, toward the river.)

At last night's NONPAC meeting--attended by a larger than usual crowd--Lt. Selby tried to explain to the citizens there that "we have to curtail the verbiage"--but assured them "you are going to get the same information as before without all the other stuff, like witnesses names, etc." and "you're going to know every single thing that happens in your neighborhood."

For the record, I've always withheld the name of the victims and witnesses. And I've made sure not to mention, as the reports often do, that a victim would be able to identify perpetrators in a lineup. I didn't want the perp showing up at the victim's door and saying, "Recognize me?" Bang-bang.

The question poised by a citizen Lt. Selby couldn't answer last night was "What information that the Times-Picayune wants makes you so nervous?"

The Times-Picayune contends--and I believe rightfully so--that these crime reports are public records and should be revealed to the media. The paper is going to pursue efforts to get the NOPD to open up its crime reports citywide, not just in the 8th District. They've relied on diplomacy since the storm without any success. Now they may unleash lawsuits, which the T-P has used in the past with great success to free up information.

It was this lack of information in the T-P since the storm that led to the birth of NOcrimeline. Our efforts have concentrated on the 8th District (French Quarter, Marigny Triangle, CBD). None of the other 7 police districts provide the information that the 8th District has been providing for the past 10 months, fully, honestly and transparently.

Let's see how it goes. If I feel we're not getting all the information about crime we deserve, I'll yell louder and longer than anyone. I'll make a T-P lawsuit seem like a party invitation.

Not tooting our own horn, but...: The outpouring of kind comments from subscribers yesterday in response to the alarm email was gratifying. A couple in particular captured the essence of what NOcrimeline is attempting to do.

One in particular, by a woman who describes herself as "a single woman living alone in the French Quarter, epitomized our goal: "Because of this information, I have not been robbed, beaten, raped or murdered. I know where there are trouble spots and who is causing the trouble so I can avoid conflict. I also pass the information on to my friends so they can protect themselves."

Another, by a woman who just bought a home in the Quarter, was more detailed. She had contemplated moving from New Orleans after the storm because of the crime problem: "Since I began to receive the level of relevant and time sensitive crime related data that you provide, I felt more in control and actually, more at ease in not only living in the quarter, but also entertaining here...Your reports have enabled me to govern my own comings and goings, and those of my visiting friends based on real, unbiased warnings regarding what I can do to avoid being a victim...Nobody visiting me, nor anybody in family has been harmed or robbed."

Instead, she bought a home here: "Once I was made aware of your NOcrimeline mailing list and began to receive your regular reports I began to feel a little better about living here, in general. The crime in the Lower Quarter is bad, very bad, but your reporting helps to make it something tangible and real and something that feels easier to live with...and because your accurate reporting made the whole crime problem feel less overwhelming, we made plans to continue to live in the city and even make a permanent investment by buying a property rather than moving away simply because of crime."

She went on to say: "Even while shopping for the property, I used the information from your reporting to help me make a decision as to location. Personal safety was at the top of the list of priorities, even above square footage!"

Noting the need for NOcrimeline, she said that without it: "...as bad as crime is in the Lower Quarter, rumor and speculation will make it feel even worse...Without your information, we would be either armed, become prisoners in our own homes, or we would simply leave."

I hope NOcrimeline has a similar impact on your lives. If it does, we're achieving our goal.

***

As always, your comments and suggestions are welcome.

Thom Kahler

Crime update 1.8.08

Robbers running rampant...

Until some of them are caught, that is: It had been relatively quiet, but in the last 2 days the 8th District has been plagued by 8 robberies. Details are sketchy on some of the crimes, but you need to know the bad guys are out there perpetrating their crap even if most of us are reveling in LSU's championship.

Two armed robberies 5 minutes apart this morning near Commerce and Julia streets in the CBD resulted in the apprehension of 2 suspects.

The first occurred at 12:05 a.m. when 2 black guys accosted a couple walking in the 800 block of Commerce. (The victims were not identified. The police report only said they were "Known" . Whether this means they were celebrities out carousing or some high-muck-a-mucks, I don't know.) The first robber struck the man in the head several times with a black semi-automatic handgun and demanded his money, taking his wallet and cellphone from his pockets. The other robber stuck a small chrome and black handgun in the woman's side before going through her pockets and then taking her purse. The robbers fled in a dark-colored sedan.

The second robbery 5 minutes later occurred when a 21-year-old white man was walking to his apartment in the 300 block of Julia. The black robber walked up in front of him and demanded, "Get on the f*****g ground!" The robber cleaned the victim's pockets of unspecified "property". The victim gave the police a detailed description of the robber and a witness told the dispatcher the robber had fled in a silver Ford Taurus.

A short while later, 8th District detectives combing the area found 2 suspects sitting in a dark gray Ford Taurus only 2 blocks from the scene of the crimes. Arrested were Renard Provost, 20, (top) whose last known address was in Marrero, and Romalice Tate , 19, (bottom) whose last known address was in Slidell.

Provost was booked on 3 counts of armed robbery with a firearm, 2 counts of felon in possession of a firearm, and one count of aggravated battery.

Tate was booked with 2 counts of armed robbery with a firearm.

Both were being held in Central Lockup this afternoon without bond. (That have anything to do with that "Known" couple they allegedly held up?)

Yesterday, a black boy grabbed a cellphone from a white man walking on O'Keefe Street near Howard Street about 12:45 p.m.

Officers responding to a detailed description spotted a juvenile fitting the perpetrator's description a block and a half away by the WDSU building on Howard. They noticed something in his hand and ordered him to drop it. Instead the punk took off running up Baronne Street. But he was no match for the officers who captured him at Calliope Street.

They booked the 15-year-old scamp--who coincidentally has the same last name as one of perpetrators in the previous case (you think it's a family thing?)--into the juvenile bureau.

No one caught here: Police were not so lucky in solving 3 robberies in the Lower Quarter and Marigny Triangle overnight.

Last night at 9:55 p.m. an armed robbery at Dauphine and Pauger streets hit home. We passed by there just a few hours earlier on the way to my son's to celebrate the Orthodox Christmas. We debated the safety of walking there, but we figured what could happen in 3 blocks? We did get a ride home, perhaps sparing us from becoming victims.

We're still awaiting the police report on that one.

Then this morning at 4 a.m. another armed robbery in the 1200 block of Bourbon Street was also too close for comfort. The police report is incomplete (it lists only one victim by name but mentions "victims" plural). It says the victims, one of whom was a 24-year-old white woman from Baton Rouge, were accosted by 2 black dudes, one of whom was wearing a hoodie and pulled a handgun, demanding the victims' wallets and contents of their pockets. The robbers then fled down Barracks Street.

The incomplete report gives no description of the robbers.

Another robbery reportedly occurred about 5:45 a.m. this morning in the 900 block of Barracks Street. A NOcrimeline subscriber (keep those reports coming, folks) who was on his way to run in City Park came upon the scene while cops were investigating the hold-up of "3 or 4 white males/females in their 20s or early 30s."

Police had no information yet on that crime.

Don't shoot the piano player: The piano player at Good Friends Bar, which was robbed Sunday morning, wondered "where do WE get a small chrome semi-automatic handgun (like the ones we read about every day)?"

He suggested: "I think the police ought to confiscate them from the druggies and sell them back to us dirt cheap so WE can stick it back in THEIR faces if required!"

Speaking of which: At a recent party preceding the caroling in Jackson Square to herald the birth of the prince of peace, one woman talking about recent robberies revealed, "You'd be surprised how many in this room right now are armed."

Maybe not. I hear all the time about those who have "carry" permits and go about their business in the Quarter and Triangle fully armed. One of these days the bad guys are going to mess with the wrong guy--or woman.

***

As always, your comments and suggestions are welcome.

Thom Kahler

Crime update 1.7.08

Knew it was too good to last...

Bar bandit strikes again: The same robber who knocked over Cosimo's bar on Burgundy Street 2 weeks earlier took down the Good Friends Bar, Dauphine and St. Ann streets, Sunday morning about 7:30 a.m. A black dude wearing a faded black leather jacket laid a note on the bar, and after getting the bartender's attention, spun the note around so the bartender could read it. It said: "I have a gun don't make me shoot, just put the money in the bag."

The rest of the transaction went something like this: The bartender asked, "Are you f*****g kidding?" The robber advised him he would "blow him away." The bartender replied that he would have to shoot everyone in the bar. The robber then reached into a black bag he was holding and pulled out a chrome revolver, pointed it at the bartender and said, "Don't make me do it!"

Apparently convinced at this point that the robber meant business, the bartender went into the cash register and gave the crook all the money, an undisclosed amount. The robber fled up Dauphine to Orleans Street where he got into a small black car driven by another black guy. The car sped down Orleans to N. Rampart Street.

The perpetrator was described as 35 to 40 years old, 5'9" to 5'10" tall, weighing 150 pounds, with short hair, wearing a black T-shirt under the black leather jacket. 8th District NOPD Detective Jason Giroir, who's been run ragged with 3 other bar robberies in the past couple of weeks, recognized this robber on the video surveillance tape as the same one who hit Cosimo's on 12.23.07.

What good's video if it's not working?: The parking lot on N. Peters Street near St. Philip Street was robbed this morning at 2:40 a.m. by 2 black guys. One stuck a black semi-automatic handgun in the window of the booth, pointed at the attendant working there. She handed all the cash out in the drawer to the other robber.

Detectives investigating the case were told that the video surveillance cameras in the booth and the parking lot were not working. (Hmmm. Wait till the parking company's insurance company hears about that.)

The robbers were described as 18 years old, one 5'2" tall, weighing 125 pounds, the other 5'9" tall, weighing 140 pounds, both were wearing black hooded sweatshirts (ready-made work clothes for those in the robbing profession), one of the hoodies had a silver design on it.

No way to treat tourists: Two 23-year-old men from Ohio, in town for tonight's BCS Championship game, were robbed this morning about 4 a.m. on S. Peters Street near Notre Dame Street by 2 black guys. They were walking down S. Peters when one of the perpetrators tapped one of them on the shoulder from behind. The tourist turned around to face a small chrome semi-automatic handgun pointed at him. The robber ordered him face-first to the ground and took the victim's wallet and cellphone from his pockets. The second robber pointed a small handgun at the second victim and ordered him to give up his wallet. the robbers were described as 18 to 25 years old, one 5'10", weighing 160 pounds, wearing a white shirt, with a dark complexion and shoulder-length dreadlocks; the other 5"9", weighing 150 pounds, wearing a blue shirt with stripes.

Good idea: I recently chided some women for parking on N. Rampart Street, where they were attacked by robbers in the wee hours of the morning, which I tend to think of as the time people are staggering out of the bars. Not necessarily so, says a NOcrimeline subscriber.

"Unfortunately most of us who work in the upper Quarter have to use these parking lots," she wrote. "Many of us do not get out of work until 2 or 3 a.m. or later. Most of us have to be in work between 5 and 6 p.m." when restrictive parking regulations are still in effect, forcing them to park in these distant parking lots.

"Most of us do walk in pairs or get some guys to go along, and drive each other to our cars. Unfortunately/fortunately weapons are not allowed in the work place, so if we have them, they are in the car. If I could afford it I would take cabs all the time but most of us can not afford $20 a day for cabs."

That's the problem. Here's her solution:

"Have the cops patrol these streets where most of the people parking are working in the Quarter. That would be Conti, Bienville and Iberville along Rampart. Most of the police just hang out on Bourbon. I rarely see any foot patrols in these areas. If there was a patrol along Rampart, these areas may not be so vulnerable." (She also suggested revamping the parking regulations in the upper Quarter so workers would not have to resort to parking lots in the danger zone, but recognizes the futility of getting that done in our lifetime.)

Good topic for NONPAC: The previous subscriber's suggestion would be a good one to throw out for discussion at this week's NONPAC (New Orleans Neighborhood Policing Anti-Crime Council) meeting Thursday. The meeting is at 5:30 p.m. at the Maison Dupuy Hotel, 1001 Toulouse St. at Burgundy Street.

***

As always, your comments and suggestions are welcome.

Thom Kahler

Crime update 1.4.08

Where'd the crime go?

Down, way down: Amazing what adding a bunch of extra cops to the streets does to crime. It drives it down, down to an almost imperceptible level. Imagine that.

Since Capt. Edwin Hosli, commander of the 8th District, flooded the French Quarter with extra officers in preparation for the Sugar Bowl last Tuesday and the BCS Bowl this Monday, crime has been virtually nil. Sure, there was a carjacking Thursday morning and a few piddling robberies during the week, but otherwise, almost nothing. Even car thefts were down to only 10 this week to date, and only 4 car break-ins. Amazing.

Maybe Chief Riley needs to consider getting some of those desk jockeys at headquarters off their butts (the entire population of the NOPD's Office of Public Affairs comes to mind) and onto the streets, rather than moaning that he lacks manpower. As a letter writer to the Times-Picayune maintained this week, if you keep the French Quarter--which most tourists consider to be New Orleans--clean and safe, the inflows of tourists and conventioneers will bring enough cash to upgrade other neighborhoods and services in the city. Put pressure on the city council--which controls the pursestrings--to give the NOPD the funds it needs to make this the safest city in the U.S., not perceived as the most dangerous.

Nitpicking: True, there were a lot of extra cops all over the streets. I even saw some on lower Decatur Street for the first time in a long time. But...when they go to dinner, how about sending them 2 x 2 to restaurants--rather than allowing them to congregate in groups--so they're showing more of the blue presence more places even while dining. It's all about deployment of the manpower you do have.

Sunday, 6 of them joined for dinner at Margaritaville for an hour. Monday, 4 of them dined at Louisiana Pizza Kitchen. You can't blame their choice of eateries (maybe lured by cop-friendly discounts, like the 30% at LPK).

But imagine if they split up into 2s and made their presence felt at a couple of other places, how much more visible they would have made the big blue force.

As I said, nitpicking over a fine job done all week long in the throngs of tourists.

Ugly carjacking: Just after parking a 2003 Jeep Cherokee on Dauphine Street near Esplanade Avenue at about 4:14 a.m. Thursday, 2 white women in their 20s and a white man also in his 20s were accosted from the rear by 2 black men who demanded the car keys. When they refused, the perpetrators punched 2 of the victims in the face. One of the crooks grabbed the purse from the arm of one of the victims and dumped its contents into the street where he grabbed the car keys and the woman's wallet. The 2 bandits fled up Dauphine toward Canal Street in the car.

About 5 a.m., 7th District (New Orleans East) patrol cars attempted to pull the car over for a traffic violation. The bandits fled in the car into Gentilly where it flipped over in the 5100 block of Feliciana Dr. in a residential neighborhood off Chef Menteur Highway south of Ponchartrain Park and east of the New Orleans Baptist Seminary. Both robbers escaped the vehicle and managed to elude the police and K-9 units.

The robbers are described as 18 to 22 years old, both about 5'10" tall, one weighing 140 pounds, the other 130 pounds. The heavier of the 2 was wearing blue jeans and a light jacket, and had straight permed chin-length hair. The other was wearing a brown and yellow jacket with animal designs and had short black hair.

Other robberies: A 34-year-old homeless drug addict living under the Claiborne Avenue overpass was arrested Sunday around 10:50 a.m. after trying to rob a Texas couple who had just gotten a cup of coffee at the McDonald's on Canal Street near University Place.

Joshua Blaise, a black man with a decade-long history of criminal activity including armed robbery, allegedly was begging for money from the Hispanic couple when he tried to grab the man's camera case containing his wallet. The victim threw his hot coffee on the perpetrator and a 51-year-old black citizen wrestled the assailant to the ground and held him there until police showed up.

Blaise, who admitted having a $200-a-day heroin habit, is being held on $60,000 in OPP on a charge of attempted simply robbery plus drug charges.

In another situation turned ugly, a 28-year-old white woman was surrounded by a gang of 4 or 5 black boys at Burgundy and Kerlerec streets on Monday about 1:45 p.m.

They were flirting with her, asking for her phone number and where she lived, when one of the hoodlums grabbed her from behind, pinning her arms to her sides, demanding, "Give me the money! Give me the money!"

The punks fled when an approaching truck scared them away.

For the want of a copier: Remember when we were wondering what was taking so long to get a recent crime report? Turns out that the delay was due to both copiers at the 8th District NOPD station being out of commission. Each NOPD district is responsible for its own supplies (right down to toilet paper) and services (like when the 8th's air-conditioning went out last summer).

Maybe there's someone out there with an extra copier to help the 8th District out? Or maybe someone who could take up a collection on their block or in their social circle to buy a new one for our local cops.

And for those people who are always talking about fighting crime, like Chief Riley and Councilman James Carter, they could start putting their money where their mouths are.

The real stars: NOcrimeline has gotten some good publicity this week on a couple of TV news programs for its new webpage, NOcrimeline.com .

But the real heroes of this effort are Capt. Hosli for embracing this experimental program, Lt. Eddie Selby for supplying information on a timely basis, and Ofc. Brian Shubert for doing the hard-lifting of sending NOcrimeline the crime map daily and all the reports I bug him for. Without their continued cooperation, you wouldn't have all the information about crime you're getting.

That's one of the reason's why other districts don't have a program like this; another reason is the lack of effort on the part of NOPD headquarters.

***

As always, your comments and suggestions are welcome.

Thom Kahler

Crime update 12.29.07

Crime doesn't take a holiday...

Crime of loveless passion: You've probably heard by now that a suspect has been arrested in the murder yesterday of a prostitute under the Toulouse Street Wharf where police said they had gone to have sex amid the refuse after meeting in a bar.

NOPD homicide detectives arrested David Q. Davis, 30, for allegedly bludgeoning Elizabeth Chapman, 25, to death about 3:30 a.m. yesterday morning. She was found by a homeless man about 4 a.m. Davis, who has no known address, was apprehended in the 1200 block of Kerlerec Street, a block the other side of N. Rampart Street. Both the victim and the alleged murderer are white, for those of you who wanted to know.

Davis is being held in OPP without bond on a charge of first-degree murder. By rights, he could have been sitting in prison at the time of the crime after pleading guilty just over 2 weeks earlier on Dec. 11 to a charge of burglary. Judge Lynda Van Davis sentenced him to 3 years in prison, then suspended the sentence and put him on probation. It didn't take him long to violate his probation.

See? Smoking's bad for you: A 26-year-old black woman was standing on the corner of Bienville and Clinton streets smoking a cigarette at 1:10 a.m. Friday when a white guy walked over from a group of 2 other white guys and asked her for a light. When she attempted to give him a light, he grabbed her purse from her shoulder and fled with his buddies. The purse contained $540.

She flagged down a NOPD officer who later apprehended the trio, all of whom she was able to identify. Arrested were:

• Michael Daigrepont, 29, of Lacombe.
  
• Aaron Naquin, 24, of Lacombe.
  
• Richard Rospiershi, 27, of Indiana.
  

All were charged with simple robbery. The 2 Lacombe men are being held in OPP on a $20,000 bond each and the out-of-stater is being held on $30,000.

Hurray for pepper spray: Two local white women, one 20 years old and the other 21, who live in the 2500 block of N. Rampart Street, where walking in the 1000 block of Conti Street on the way to their car parked on N. Rampart (Come on! You live here, you should know that's no place to park!) at 3:30 a.m. Friday morning when they were attacked by 4 to 6 black girls in their late teens or early 20s who attempted to steal their purses from their shoulders.

One of the victims pulled away when her attacker pulled a knife and took out her pepper spray to spray the attacker. The other girl pulled away when she saw her assailant take out a handgun. Both victims took off running with the black girls in pursuit. The victims got to their car and drove to the 1st District NOPD station on N. Rampart and reported the attack.

No match: The suspect arrested for robbing John Paul's bar last Sunday night is apparently not connected to the robberies of Cosimo's bar the same night or The John bar 2 nights later. The bartender at The John said Terrell L. Anderson is definitely not the guy who robbed her. The detective viewing the surveillance tape at Cosimo's reportedly said that it was not Anderson in that video. Anderson is suspected of other robberies Uptown.

What his means, of course, is that a robber with a fondness for alcoholic dispensaries is on the loose for the holiday season. Just another think to beware of while imbibing.

Beware of skinheads: A NOcrimeline subscriber warns of 2 young white males in their 20s, which he described as "skinheads", cruising the Lower Quarter in a large older model black pickup truck. He encountered them in the early morning hours around 5:30 a.m. near the Dog Park (okay, Cabrini Playground for you purists).

"They peered at me as they passed--if you have ever been pinpointed as a potential victim you will know what this glare looks like." he reported. "They pulled up about 1/2 block in front of me and waited for me to approach. I crossed the street and pulled out my cellphone and let them know by my actions that I was dialing 911."

Police scoured the area but failed to find the suspicious duo.

Happy New Year, none the less: Gang of girls gone wild, barroom robbers, skinheads...beware of them all as you welcome in the new year.

***

As always, your comments and suggestions are welcome.

Thom Kahler

A homicide after all

First one: Unless I lost count, the 8th District almost escaped 2007 without recording a murder within the borders of the French Quarter, Marigny Triangle and CBD. But early this morning, that changed.

A woman was found bludgeoned to death around 4 a.m. about 100 feet under the Toulouse Street Wharf near St. Louis Street at the riverfront in the French Quarter. Her body was found by a homeless man. She was described as white, in her 20s, about 5'4" tall, weighing 120 pounds, with black shoulder-length hair, and a red-and-blue "flying fairy" tattoo on her back. She may have also been homeless.

The homicide squad has taken over the case and an autopsy was due to be performed today.

Bar robber bagged: An 8th District detective has linked an Uptown robber with the armed robbery of John Paul's bar on Sunday night and say he's a possible suspect in 2 other bar robberies, Cosimo's on Sunday night and The John on Christmas night.

Charged yesterday with armed robbery with a firearm was Terrell Anderson, 18, whose last known address was 2323 Magnolia St. He had been arrested the day after Christmas for other robberies Uptown by 2nd District officers. 8th District detective Jason Giroir noted the similarity in the description posted by the 2nd District with the description the bartender gave in the John Paul's robbery. He showed a photo line-up to the bartender who positively identified Anderson.

Anderson is being held in OPP on $270,000 bond. Thanks to the now-deposed Eddie Jordan, Anderson was running free after twice this year Jordan failed to haul him into court for possession of narcotics with intent to distribute. Anderson was arrested about this time last year--when he was only 17--with possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine and sat in OPP on $2 million bond until the court released him in May on an Article 701 when Jordan couldn't get his act together to prosecute him. Charges brought in March, when Anderson was still 17, for possession with intent to distribute heroin were also 701'd in May.

Let's hope the new DA puts this guy away before he really hurts someone.

The robbery at The John bar, 2040 Burgundy St. at the corner of Frenchmen Street, happened much as the other 2 recent bar robberies did; it was quiet and patrons in the bar didn't know the robbery happened until after the robber had fled. On Christmas night, about 11:30 p.m. as the bartender at The John was taking out the trash, the robber approached her with a black semi-automatic handgun and walked back inside with her. He demanded the money hidden inside the microwave and she complied. He made her hide in the restroom while he fled.

Roaming gangs?: We've received 2 disturbing reports from NOcrimeline subscribers about gangs of roving black teenagers stirring up trouble in the Quarter. We haven't been able to verify the information with NOPD reports, but here's what we hear:

The day after Christmas (presumably in the early morning hours), the manager of Cafe Lafitte In Exile, 901 Bourbon St. at Dumaine Street, "was leaving the bar when a group of 7 or 8 black men and 2 black women attacked him outside the bar. He tried to get back in the bar, but they dragged him back outside. At this point the 2 bartenders on duty ran out to help him.

"The 2 black women then ran into the bar and attacked one of the patrons. One of the thugs ran in the front door and grabbed a bar stool and ran out with it to attack someone. He then ran back into the bar with the stool over his head as if he was going to attack someone else. The thugs were yelling things like 'You whites will not take over this city' and 'Black Power!'

"The police arrived in minutes. Some of the thugs fled while others stayed. The manager of the bar was arrested as was one of the patrons who was trying to describe what happened. All but one of the thugs was arrested."

The subscriber who reported this later said only one person was arrested. He met with Capt. Edwin Hosli, commander of the 8th District, today to clarify the situation. We will keep trying to get the report after the investigation is completed.

In the other report, the subscriber said a group of 6 to 8 black teenagers were "molesting and threatening" a man yesterday in the early evening at Gov. Nicholls and Burgundy streets. Again, we have no police report on that, but will keep checking.

Finally, Le Richelieu: The long-awaited report on the armed robbery at Le Richelieu Hotel, 1234 Chartres St., more than a week ago on 12.20.07 begs the question of "what took so long?"

According to the report, a black man entered through the front door about 4:45 a.m. armed with a chrome handgun and demanded money from the desk clerk. The clerk unlocked the cash drawer and the robber walked behind the counter and removed the money. He fled out the front door.

There was no mention of how much was stolen, but an earlier report from a NOcrimeline subscriber said $900 was taken and that there were 2 black men who pulled off the heist.

The robber was described as 5'10" tall, weighing 160 pounds, wearing dark colored pants and shirt with a blue bandanna over his face.

Sound familiar?: In another report that was a long time coming, 4 local residents were robbed at 11:10 p.m. last Friday (12.21.07) at Burgundy and Barracks streets by 2 black men. One pulled a black semi-automatic handgun with a chrome slide and demanded "Gimme what you got!" The victims--2 men 22 years old, 1 man 29 years old, and an 18-year-old woman, all white--complied and the robbers fled with the men's wallets and the woman's purse.

Both perpetrators were described as 19-25 years old, one 5'4" tall, weighing 140 pounds, the other 5'10" tall with no weight estimated.

First District NOPD officers stopped a man matching the description of the gunman shortly after the robbery at N. Villere and St. Philip streets but released him after checking for warrants.

Two nights later, on Sunday, a suspect using a gun matching the description of the one used in this robbery, was arrested for 2 robberies in the same neighborhood, one in the 900 block of Barracks Street and the other in the 900 block of Gov. Nicholls, both just before 9 p.m. It is not known if 8th District detectives have linked that suspect, Alvin Berfect, 18, to this robbery.

***

As always, your comments and suggestions are welcome.

Thom Kahler