Woman attacked in her bed

Burglar breaks down front door: A 26-year-old woman living at 830 St. Ann St. awoke to a loud noise of her door being kicked in early Wednesday morning (12.3.08) and then found a hulking black man looming over her.

Before she knew it, he had her facing the wall and told her he would kill her if she moved or made a noise. He told her he was armed and pressed a cold object to the back of her neck. He repeatedly asked where she kept her money in the house, and she repeatedly told him there was no money in the house. He settled for her TV set and laptop computer and fled.

Within 2 hours after the 1:45 a.m. incident, police apprehended Frank Moody, 48, on N. Rampart Street and booked him with aggravated burglary. He is in OPP on $100,000 bond.

Moody should have never been on the street in the first place. When a hung jury in Orleans Parish Criminal District Court this spring failed to convict him on a charge of burglary of an inhabited dwelling late last year, Judge Ben Willard allowed Moody to plead guilty to the lesser charge of simple burglary.

Willard gave him a suspended 4-year sentence and sentenced him to probation designed to treat alcoholism and drug addiction. After Moody violated that probation, Willard made the terms of his probation even stricter this October: wear an ankle monitor, obey a 6 p.m.-to-6 a.m. curfew, and perform 500 hours of community service. He's now being held without bond for violating probation.

Burglaries the thing: A burglar who may have visited the same business twice found that 2 is too much (well, actually one is).

The proprietor of Dragon's Den, 435 Esplanade Ave., called police when he heard someone on the second floor of the business on 11.26.08 just before 1 p.m.

The police showed up and arrested John D. Petrie III, a 37-year-old white guy, and charged him with burglary. Then after investigating another burglary in the same block on 11.18.08, they charged him in that case too.

A charge of aggravated burglary against Petrie from last year, was thrown out of court this spring because the DA's office dilly-dallied too long in pressing the case.

It is not believed these burglaries are related to the 4 that occurred next door at Tomatillo's, a Mexican restaurant at 437 Esplanade (corner of Decatur Street), in the latter part of September and early October.

Video surveillance cameras showed a black man carting off several bottles of liquor and beer in a each of the burglaries, plus a couple of bicycles. There's been no word from the police whether or not they were able to identify and arrest the thief based on those video shots.

A dollar won't do: When a woman walking in the 1000 block of Iberville Street (between Burgundy and N. Rampart streets) at about 1 a.m. on 11.28.08 tried to fend off a black guy asking for money by giving him a dollar, he grabbed her purse instead. Police quickly caught up with Andrew Norris, 22, and arrested him for pursesnatching and carrying a concealed weapon.

So where's the crime?: We kept waiting for the reports to roll in after this past weekend's big Bayou Classic bash, but it was relatively quiet. Like last year, there were only a couple of relatively minor incidents--but lots of auto thefts. The flashy rides driven by college kids and alumni from elsewhere in the South were apparently too much for local thug element to resist. Bring the bling, and they will find you.

You can stop looking: Police finally arrested the woman with the exotic name but not the figure to match--Chiquita Blaise--about 10 days after putting a warrant on her after identifying her as one of 2 women wanted for attempting to rob a white woman 11.13.08 in the 200 block of N. Rampart Street.

Blaise, 23, 5'6" tall and weighing 195 pounds, and her accomplice, another black woman, allegedly both struck the victim while trying to get her purse. The victim fought back and the would-be robbers fled empty-handed. The victim, however, did positively identify Blaise in a photo line-up as one of her attackers.

Blaise was arrested 11.22.08 and 4 days later, Criminal District Court Judge Julian Parker released her on her own recognizance rather than require her to post $20,000 bond.

More on NOcrimeline: New Orleans Magazine's take on NOcrimeline is featured in an article by Chuck Hustmyre in its December issue.

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

Thom Kahler