A couple of bad asses go down

Bad driver?: I dunno, maybe it was his driving that tipped off the cops. But Wednesday evening (6.11.08) at 10:44 p.m. at Decatur and Frenchmen streets (just off Esplanade Avenue) Kyle J. Anderson, a 22-year-old, 6'2" tall, 160-pound black dude, drew the attention of the 8th District Task Force's busy drug-busting duo, Ofc. James Lipscomb and Ofc. Kelly Morel. When all was said and done, Anderson had 12 charges against him.

From the brief redacted police report it's hard to tell whether whether Anderson was driving erratically, which led to the discovery of the drugs, or whether the cops noticed the drugs, which set off a wild police pursuit.

When they caught up with him, they charged him with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute after allegedly finding 9 packets of his merchandise on him, possession of a firearm while possessing drugs, possession of a stolen firearm, 2 counts of flight from a police officer, and assault on a police officer.

As for his driving, he was charged with reckless operation of a vehicle, 2 counts of failure to use a seat belt, failure to heed stop and yield signs, going the wrong way on a one-way street, and failure to use a turn signal (See, it is against the law!).

Anderson is being held in OPP with his bond set at only $17,000 on the criminal charges, plus another $3,500 for the traffic violations.

Let's hope that's enough to hold him. Earlier this year he was being held on a $1 million bond for second-degree murder before the DA decided to drop the charges in January.

NOPD homicide detectives charged Anderson last July with the shooting death of a 21-year-old man on 2.20.07 at 9:05 p.m. under the I-10 overpass in the 900 block of N. Claiborne Avenue (between Dumaine and St. Philip streets). The victim, who was armed with 2 handguns, was found with multiple gunshot wounds to the his head. He later died at the hospital.

Kind of makes you shudder to think who's running around our neighborhood, doesn't it?

Moving on up: A 21-year-old black dude--who should have been in prison after pleading guilty to possession of a stolen auto last year--has now been arrested for armed robbery.

Allen M. Jones, who was arrested Tuesday on a minor charge of obstructing a public place (sleeping in a doorway, or something like that?), triggered 8th District detectives to show his picture in a photo line-up to the victim in a robbery in the CBD on Sunday (6.8.08). In that case, a white man standing at the corner of Tchoupitoulas and Gravier streets at 1:55 a.m. was accosted by 3 black thugs, one of whom pulled a knife while the other 2 stole cash from the victim's pockets.

The victim positively identified Jones from the picture shown to him and Jones was charged with armed robbery. He is being held in OPP on $150,000 bond.

Jones was sentenced in March, 2007 to 3 years in prison after pleading guilty to possession of a stolen auto from a case dating to January, 2006. Even with credit for time served, its hard to tell why he was out already. But you know how those things go.

Then, oops, he did it again. But the DA didn't think so--she refused to prosecute him 4.29.08 after he was charged earlier in the month for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and possession of a stolen auto. And this woman--Keva Landrum-Johnson--wants to be a judge? Spare us.

And more: Here's what we've gleaned recently from the Times-Picayune that hasn't appeared in the 8th District Updates:

Assault and Battery

6.4.08, 8:43 p.m., Decatur and Iberville streets
6.4.08, 2:56 a.m., 200 block of Bourbon Street

Rape

6.10.08, 1:59 p.m., first block of Canal Street

Burglary

6.4.08, 3:15 a.m., 600 block of Decatur Street

Theft

6.4.08, 3:48 p.m., 300 block of Julia Street
6.4.08, 6:36 a.m., 400 block of St. Charles Avenue
6.4.08, 1:53 a.m., 300 block of Bourbon Street

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

Thom Kahler