They're not all getting away with it

Deal or no deal: As a white man was opening the door of his car in the 800 block of Dumaine Street at about 9:56 p.m. Sunday evening (8.10.08), 2 black guys on bicycles rode up, one of them pulled a pistol and demanded the car keys.

The car owner turned them over and the punks got in and started the car. But apparently the duo failed drivers' ed along with most other things in life and were thwarted by the car's manual transmission. The victim then offered them money in exchange for the keys. The thieves took the deal and fled on their bicycles toward N. Rampart Street. The victim hopped in his car and followed the robbers.

The police captured Kendrick Burbank, 27, 5'6" tall, weighing 150 pounds, at Bourbon and Ursulines streets.He was charged with carjacking and possession of stolen property--the case the victim had given him: $62. He is being held on $160,000 bond in OPP. His cohort, who is still on the loose, was described as the same height and weight.

Not so fast, dude: A white man was held up Saturday morning (8.9.08) at 4:20 a.m. while walking near Dauphine and St. Louis streets by a black man who approached him from the rear and pushed what seemed like a gun in his back, demanding his money. The victim complied, but when the thief fled on foot, the victim took after him.

Police shortly thereafter apprehended Dameon J. Brown, 32, and charged him with armed robbery, possession of stolen property (almost $300), and flight from an officer. He is being held in OPP on $104,500 bond.

What's with being out at 4 a.m.: Last week it seemed victims were getting knocked off around 2 a.m.; this week it's 4 a.m. There's something about that hour that also seems to dull the ability of victims to describe their attackers:

• A white man was walking near the corner of Gov. Nicholls and Bourbon streets around 4 a.m. Friday (8.8.08) when he was accosted by 2 or 3 black dudes who pushed him to the ground and took his wallet. The robbers fled on Bourbon toward Esplanade Avenue. The victim couldn't give a description of the thieves.

That corner, you might remember, is where an alleged murderer pulled out a shotgun and robbed a white couple just 3 weeks before, albeit earlier in the evening.

• A couple of white guys were walking in the 600 block of Toulouse Street around 4 a.m. Sunday (8.10.08) when they were jumped from behind by 5 or 6 black thugs. The gangsters punched the victims in the back of the head and demanded money. The victims gave up their loot but couldn't give a description of the robbers.

Taking a stab at it: A gutter punk attacked a white guy about 8:29 p.m. Sunday evening (8.10.08) in the 1000 block of Decatur Street while the victim was walking with a group of friends. The punk, also white, and his girlfriend began hustling the group for money. When they refused to give them any, the punk pulled a knife and stabbed the victim in the leg. The victim's friends grabbed the assailant and held him until police arrived. Arrested was Steven Law, 25, 5'8" tall, weighing 170 pounds, and charged him with aggravated battery.

With friends like that: A white guy returning to his apartment in the 1300 block of Royal Street at about 10:35 p.m. Friday (8.8.08) was confronted by his roommate. The 2 began arguing and the roommate pulled a knife and allegedly stabbed the victim. The police issued an arrest warrant for Obie Goodman, 30, and caught up with him just after noon yesterday (8.11.08) and booked him for aggravated battery.

When cars are outlawed, only outlaws will have cars: A 33-year-old black man from Slidell was walking near the intersection of Pauger and N. Rampart streets in the Marigny Triangle shortly after 4:30 a.m. Sunday morning (8.10.08) when a car purposely ran him over--and over a couple more times, for good measure. The man, Devin Legaux, was dead on the scene.

Detectives learned the victim was walking with another man when the driver of a vehicle that couldn't muster much of a description from witnesses at the scene. The driver fled on northbound N. Rampart toward Elysian Fields Avenue.

Homicide Detective Brian Pollard is in charge of the investigation. He can be reached at 658-5300. Detectives are in the process of gathering information on the identity of the suspect(s) and vehicle involved in this incident.

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 responsible person(s). You do not have to give your name nor testify to receive the reward.

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

Thom Kahler

We should be afraid, very afraid

Crime big time: Sometimes it's easy to think of the armed robbers attacking the French Quarter as rather harmless little punks. But this case should show just how dangerous they are:

A week ago Wednesday (7.30.08), the NOPD arrested Alonzo Gonzales, 18, after a gun battle in Gert Town in which Gonzales was wounded. When all the charges were tallied up, Gonzales was accused of the murder of a Slidell contractor in Broadmoor, attempted murder of 5 police officers, and 2 armed robberies--which happened less than 2 weeks before in the French Quarter.

In that robbery on 7.18.08, a white couple walking on Bourbon Street at 10:15 p.m. was accosted by a shotgun-toting thug as they crossed Gov. Nicholls Street. They surrendered their money and the robber hopped into a black Ford Mustang that was waiting on Bourbon. The getaway car fled down Barracks Street toward N. Rampart Street.

The robber was described as in his 20's, 6'1" tall, weighing 170 pounds, with medium twists in his hair, wearing a black tank top and dark shorts. When 8th District detectives showed the victims a photographic line-up, they positively identified Gonzalez as the man who robbed them. He was booked Wednesday (8.6.08) with 2 counts of armed robbery.

Gonzales is being held without bond in the 1st degree murder of the contractor and on bonds totaling over $3 million for the other charges.

Gonzales' buddy, Brent M. Braneon Sr., 19, is charged with similar crimes.

The French Quarter victims were fortunate this kid didn't turn killer 2 weeks earlier. He could have fired that shotgun...

Same night as "Night Out Against Crime": Just 5 hours after allegedly holding up The Nail Place at 2024 St. Claude Ave. on Tuesday (8.5.08), Steven Atlow, 38, was arrested by 8th District detectives and charged him with 2 counts of armed robbery.

According to the police report, the proprietors of the shop, a black man and woman, were closing the business about 6:30 p.m. when 2 black dudes knocked on the door. The victims let them in and the perpetrators pulled handguns. One of the perps took the money from the open cash register drawer and the robbers fled on foot.

The detectives showed a photographic line-up later in the evening to the victims and they positively identified Atlow, 5'4" tall, weighing 135 pounds, as the robber. By 11:45 p.m., the detectives had picked up Atlow and booked him into OPP, where he's being held on $200,000 bond.

Now that's what I call a "Night Out Against Crime"!

Took longer, but they got him: It took almost 3 1/2 months, but 8th District detectives finally hauled in the guy they think robbed a man 4.19.08 in broad daylight at 2 p.m. at Dauphine and St. Ann streets.

Detectives showed a photographic line-up of black men to the white victim and he positively identified Gilbert Rollins as the man who came up to him and demanded money, which the victim gave to him. They charged Rollins on 7.30.08.

Rollins, 33, 5'10" tall, weighing 170 pounds, was originally booked on a host of charges, including drug trafficking (which was dismissed) and felon in possession of a firearm (which is pending). He's being held on $70,000 bond.

Surprise, surprise: We never thought they'd get this one because the woman who was robbed waited 2 days to report the crime. Well, they don't actually have the culprit, but 8th District detectives have issued an arrest warrant for Melvin Bland who they believe held up the woman on 7.16.08.

Bland, a 38-year-old black man, 6' tall, weighing 170 pounds, has convictions on drug charges and for prostitution and crimes against nature.

According to the police report, the white victim was standing outside 1431 Royal St. (between Kerlerec Street and Esplanade Avenue) at 2 a.m. when a black man came up and asked for a cigarette. He then pulled out a pistol and demanded her money. She complied and he fled on foot.

The victim positively identified Bland, who was described as 30 to 40 years old, 6' tall, weighing 170 pounds, withe short flat-top hair, wearing a purple button-down shirt over a black T-shirt.

Wouldn't it be nice if the police would publish a picture of a suspect when he's out running loose in our neighborhood? In this case, look for a snappy dresser, dressed as either a man or a woman.

Fuzzy thinking at its finest: Big Chief Warren Riley made a big deal this week in releasing the crime statistics for the first half of the year by saying murders were down compared to last year. By 2. Only 94 in 2008 versus 96 in 2007.

One of the reasons I don't get excited about crime stats is that differences don't matter if you're one of the group of 94 or 96. Dead is dead. But "dead is dead" at least keeps the police from fudging the figures. It's almost impossible to classify a homicide as something less, like a burglary, to make your figures look better.

But that's exactly what Riley's been doing this year--if you can't control crime in the city, you can at least control how they're reported.

• First, he lays out the "crimes per 100,000 residents", then wiggles and jiggles the population numbers this year versus last year. This makes the situation look better this year--on the presumption there are more people in the city, the number of crimes isn't as great as last year.

• Then Riley combines the 1st quarter stats with the 2nd quarter stats, issuing only figures for the 1st half--so you can't see if the situation improved or got worse in the past 3 months. Why didn't the NOPD issue stats separately for the second quarter as it usually does? A NOPD spokesman told the Times-Picayune "they were not available."

Uh, wouldn't that have been as simple as subtracting the 1st quarter figures from the combines 1st half figures? These are the people you trust to keep your city safe. Now you see why it isn't.

• When a crime isn't as clear-cut as a homicide, then Riley often calls it something else. Such as when an armed robbery is committed inside a house--like a "home invasion"--it's called an "aggravated burglary." This means even though armed robberies have soared for the year, the numbers would have been even worse if all the robbers were properly classified. And it allows the NOPD to classify the robberies as a "nonviolent" crime rather than a "violent" crime.

Sounds a lot better, doesn't it? Not so scary. Don't bet on it--what if it was your family being robbed at gunpoint in your own house by a gang of thugs?

Or here's a classic: After the NOPD first classified the shooting of a man 5 times last weekend in the French Quarter as "aggravated battery", the neighborhood was outraged, wondering why the shooter wasn't charged with attempted murder. This prompted a TV reporter to ask Riley at the crime stats news conference, "Are officers under-reporting crime, such as classifying an attempted murder as aggravated battery?"

Riley's response was unbelievable. Mustering all the logic only a SUNO education could instill, Riley replied: "If a person is shot and they do not die, it is an aggravated battery."

Uh, Big Chief, Mr. Riley, sir...wouldn't that be murder if he died? He didn't mention "attempted murder" at all.

Try a different approach: In case you missed it, the Wall Street Journal this week had an article entitled "Going After Crimes--and Guns," telling how Richmond, Va., was cleaning up its city by severely punishing any firearms offense. It's an effort even the NRA supports. Well worth reading. Maybe something that would work here if everyone would work together. You noticed that word "if."

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

Thom Kahler

VIEW from the street: What's going on when nothing's going on

Recently we noted the 8th District reported only one crime had occurred during the whole week. But the manager of a shop in the 100 block of Bourbon Street saw plenty in a week of observing life in just her block of the underbelly of the French Quarter. Here's what's going on when "nothing" is going on, according to Eleanor Lahey, manager of Hustler Hollywood, 111 Bourbon St., in her own words:

I was just reading about the NOPD only reporting one crime, and thought I would share the ones we witnessed or had to deal with last week.

7.24.08, 6 p.m.: A black male “bucket drummer” wearing a long white T-shirt with no sleeves and brown shorts who was playing his buckets on the side of Foot Locker (corner of Canal and Bourbon) got into a fight with a white woman whom he seemed to know. It got physical, and his friend was attempting to separate them. I called the cops, and they came by and shooed the woman away.

7.24.08, around 11 p.m.: A mid-40’s black male, dirty white T-shirt, denim pants, unshaven, with mid-length hair, wearing a black Georgia Bulldogs baseball cap, was caught shoplifting. We attempted to detain him for the police, but he took off. Another employee called the cops while I followed him to Iberville, hoping that the cops that are usually standing around on the corner would be there. When the shoplifter got off Bourbon, he started running towards Rampart.

I was unable to locate any police officers. When they arrived 5-10 minutes later, they told me that they were standing on the corner of Iberville and Bourbon, that I must have just not seen them.

While they were in the store, I noticed that there were quite a few shoe shines out hustling people, and I pointed this out to the officers, who watched them for awhile from within the store and then went outside and spoke with them.

7.25.08, 11:45 a.m.: We went outside and saw a black male, mid-50’s, with missing teeth, short unruly hair, ungroomed facial hair with a goatee, wearing an "I (heart) NO" shirt, green trousers. He was shoving several stacks of T-shirts--2 styles, 10-12 of each style--into a green duffle bag and a black and silver backpack. He was attempting to sell them to passers by. We could see that one of the styles was a skull with crossed swords Jolly Roger- design. The other had blue writing, but I couldn’t tell what it said.

These were not from our store, probably from one of the tourist trap stores. They were obviously from a snatch-and-grab, so we called the police. The officer responding ran him off, and then we went to speak to him. He stated that he couldn’t search the man's bags, even though we saw him conceal the merchandise, and that since we didn’t see him steal the shirts, nothing could be done. We asked our closest T-shirt shop neighbors if the shirts came from their stores, and no one claimed them. The officer said that if the store reported it, then they could get the guy, but otherwise, nothing.

7.25.08, around 6:30 p.m.: At least a dozen cops and many cop cars were in front of our building arresting a belligerent drunk. They maced him repeatedly, and put him in a car. He attempted to kick out the windows, so they pulled him back out and eventually got him in a car with bars over the windows.

We overheard a police supervisor yelling at the officers--we were able to gather that they’d done something wrong, but not what was done wrong. We heard the supervisor tell the officers that “all of their names were going on this."

7.26.08, around 1:30 a.m.: A drunk, clean-cut looking, white guy wearing a white T-shirt with black writing on it and jeans who was in our upstairs decided to try to break his way out onto the balcony. He hit the doors hard, and they partially opened, but he didn’t do any damage. I promptly him escorted out, as he muttered incoherent things. Then he wanted me to go outside with him to “prove a point”. I said no way, I’ll call the cops, scram.

He went outside, and I told several other employees to watch and make sure he didn’t re-enter the store, and went back upstairs to the customers I’d been talking with. Shortly after, this same guy started screaming Bible quotations through the door, and assaulted a customer who was coming into the store. Our staff immediately called the cops. They took 20 minutes to arrive, and the guy was gone.

7.27.08, early afternoon: One of the local juvenile delinquents (black, short--5’5”-ish, obese, walks with a limp) came in the store, hassled an employee, and then attempted to leave through the emergency exit door, setting off the alarm. After that, he was told not to return.

At around 9:30 p.m., he attempted to enter the store again and an employee told him he had to leave because he had been kicked out a previous night. The boy left the store, but he would not get off the sidewalk where he proceeded to continuously clap his hands loudly.

The police were called and they came, gave him a talking to, and shooed him away. We wanted to have this individual charged with trespassing, but the cops did not give us the opportunity to do so.

None of these events are earth-shattering, but their existence does prove that things are not being reported, so I decided they were worth sharing. Eleanor Lahey

Battery not charged

Getting it right, eventually: The neighborhood was in an uproar when police originally charged a culprit with aggravated battery after he allegedly pumped 7 or 8 shots into someone he apparently didn't care much for on Bienville Street near Decatur Street.

A witness heard the gunfire about 3:40 a.m.on Saturday morning (8.2.08) and saw a black dude shooting the victim, a 34-year-old black man, with a handgun.

The perpetrator fled on Clinton Street to Iberville Street toward N. Peters Street, with the witness in pursuit. As the perp crossed N. Peters, the witness flagged down a passing NOPD K-9 unit which apprehended the suspect at Bienville and Front streets and recovered the weapon used in the crime.

Arrested was Nathaniel Payton, 26, who has drug arrest after drug arrest, going back to nearly the turn of the century.

For some reason, the NOPD is cloaking this case in a lot of mystery. Initially, the NOPD's flak refused to release the suspect's name, noting that he was being "very uncooperative." (What? You act up and the police won't give you your 15 minutes of fame?)

But the flak did say they guy would be charged with aggravated battery, rather than attempted murder, which is what set the neighbors off, who were all over TV yesterday ranting at the NOPD.

When the suspect's name did become known, it was found he was booked with attempted 2nd-degree murder and resisting an officer, but that a charge of aggravated battery was dismissed for lack of evidence.

For some reason, Payton isn't shown as a guest in OPP. There are 2 guesses on this:

1) If he's as big a drug dealer as he appears to be from arrest records, he might have easily made the measly $80,000 bond put on him by Magistrate Rudy Gorrell; or,

2) the resisting an officer charge may have had to do with trying to get away from the K-9 dog, which might have taken a bite out of his butt, sending him to the hospital.

The police don't seem to know where he is. He might, of course, be back roaming the streets of the French Quarter again, seeking to settle other scores.

Hang on to your purses: A white woman walking in the 700 block of Fulton Street (between Julia and Notre Dame streets) on Sunday (8.3.08) at 4:30 a.m. was robbed of her purse when an older model white Lincoln Towncar pulled alongside of her and a black dude got out and grabbed her purse. The car fled down Fulton toward Canal Street.

The robber was described as 5'9" to 5"11" tall, with hair in dreadlocks, wearing a long white T-shirt and blue jeans.

Buck bagged?: A NOcrimeline subscriber reports that the police arrested a suspect Saturday morning (8.2.08) about 1 a.m. near her home at Pauger and Dauphine Streets who looked an awfully lot like one of the 2 black bucks who pulled off 2 armed robberies earlier in the week just a block or 2 from her home.

She said 3 cop cars converged on the intersection to take him down and seemed very happy to have collared the guy. Police won't say whether or not they think he's one of the culprits from the robberies at Royal and Frenchmen streets on Tuesday or at Royal and Touro streets on Wednesday.

No wonder we have car thieves: The DA has set loose 2 more car thieves by refusing to prosecute Patrick Porter and David Cobarruviaz, both 21.

It's another slap in the face to the efforts of 8th District officers Brandon Ludwig and Billy Tregle who arrested the duo at 4:48 a.m. 6.2.08 for breaking into cars at Decatur and Conti streets.

No wonder the Quarter is plagued with car windows broken out and the interiors pillaged. The DA--who's now going to be a judge--just doesn't take the crime seriously.

Is that all?: The arrest of the shooting suspect and the one pursesnatching listed above were the lone crimes reported by the 8th District since the middle of last week. If, indeed, those are the only crimes in the last 7 days, the 8th District ought to be crowing about their success in corralling crime.

I suspect there's much more we're not hearing about in the 8th District. In the 2nd District (Uptown) sends out an email on the crimes that happen there. It's hard to know if it's for each crime that occurs there, but I had no less than 27 of them on my computer this morning. Of course, the officer who sends them out usually forgets to put the date and time on them, so it's hard to know just what they cover. But judging by 27 reports, you wouldn't want to live Uptown.

Let NOcrimeline know what's happening near you in the Quarter, the Marigny Triangle and CBD. If we can't get prompt and complete reports from the 8th District, perhaps we can rely on residents to alert their neighbors to what's happening and help prevent them from becoming victims of crime.

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

Thom Kahler

Crimes reported in July 2008

These are the crimes reported during July, 2008 in the 8th District (French Quarter, Marigny Triangle, CBD) as listed on the NOPD's crime map, which gives the dates and locations, but not the time the crimes occurred:

Armed robbery
7.07.08, gun, 1100 Royal St.
7.14.08, attempted, gun, Gravier St. & S. Rampart St.
7.16.08, gun, 1400 Royal St.
7.18.08, gun, Bourbon St. & Gov. Nicholls St.
7.18.08, gun, Dauphine St. & Ursulines Ave.
7.20.08, gun, 100 University Pl.
7.21.08, 100 Royal St.
7.23.08, attempted, gun, 900 Orleans Ave.
7.27.08, gun, 700 Esplanade Ave.
7.29.08, gun, Frenchmen St. & Royal St.
7.29.08, gun, Frenchmen St. & Royal St.
7.30.08, gun, Royal St. & Touro St.

Simple robbery
7.03.08, 900 St. Charles Ave.
7.05.08, 700 Canal St.
7.07.08, pursesnatching, Chartres St. & St. Ann St.
7.08.08, 1100 Dauphine St.
7.14.08, pursesnatching, 900 Bourbon St.
7.19.08, pursesnatching, Bourbon St. & St. Philip St.
7.20.08, pursesnatching, 900 N. Rampart St.
7.20.08, 100 St. Charles Ave.
7.20.08, pickpocketing, 800 Burgundy St.
7.30.08, Conti St. & Burgundy St.

Assault & battery
7.01.08, aggravated battery, shooting, Royal St. & Toulouse St.
7.02.08, aggravated battery, 500 Bourbon St.
7.03.08, aggravated assault, Dauphine St. & St. Louis St.
7.05.08, aggravated assault, Girod St. & LaSalle St.
7.05.08, aggravated assault, Orleans Ave. & Bourbon St.
7.06.08, aggravated battery, shooting, 1100 Canal St.
7.10.08, aggravated battery, 200 Chartres St.
7.12.08, aggravated assault, St. Peter St. & Bourbon St.
7.14.08, aggravated assault, LaSalle St. & Tulane Ave.
7.17.08, aggravated battery, 100 S. Claiborne Ave.

Burglary
7.09.08, residential, 500 Conti St.
7.12.08, residential, 1900 Dauphine St.
7.13.08, business, 700 Canal St.
7.14.08, 500 Dauphine St.
7.14.08, business, 600 Gov. Nicholls St.
7.18.08, business, 1000 Annunciation St.
7.18.08, business, 700 Camp St.
7.20.08, residential, 300 Julia St.
7.26.08, business, 100 S. Rampart St.
7.26.08, residential, 800 Bienville St.

Theft
7.01.08, shoplifting, 400 N. Peters St.
7.01.08, 700 Iberville St.
7.01.08, 400 Bourbon St.
7.01.08, 300 Chartres St.
7.01.08, 1000 St. Peter St.
7.01.08, exterior of auto, Decatur St. & St. Ann St.
7.04.08, 500 Canal St.
7.05.08, bicycle , 800 Decatur St.
7.05.08, 800 Decatur St.
7.06.08, 1000 Elysian Fields Ave.
7.06.08, 500 St. Charles Ave.
7.06.08, 800 Poydras St.
7.07.08, 300 Magazine St.
7.07.08, 100 Chartres St.
7.07.08, 500 Gravier St.
7.08.08, bicycle, attempted, Barracks St. & Dauphine St.
7.08.08, shoplifting, 900 Canal St.
7.08.08, 1400 Pauger St.
7.09.08, 400 Chartres St.
7.09.08, Poydras St.
7.10.08, 200 N. Peters St.
7.10.08, 900 Magazine St.
7.12.08, bicycle , 600 Esplanade Ave.
7.12.08, 100 Carondelet St.
7.12.08, 700 Conti St.
7.12.08, exterior of auto, Poydras St.
7.13.08, bicycle , 500 Common St.
7.13.08, shoplifting, 100 Elk Pl.
7.13.08, 800 N. Rampart St.
7.13.08, 600 Canal St.
7.14.08, 200 St. Charles Ave.
7.15.08, bicycle , Canal St.
7.15.08, bicycle , 200 Decatur St.
7.15.08, 500 Tchoupitoulas St.
7.15.08, Bourbon St. & Canal St.
7.16.08, shoplifting, 600 Bourbon St.
7.16.08, 1000 Annunciation St.
7.16.08, 800 Camp St.
7.16.08, 400 Poydras St.
7.19.08, bicycle , 600 Iberville St.
7.19.08, 1400 Tulane Ave.
7.20.08, bicycle , 900 Poeyfarre St.
7.20.08, 900 Bourbon St.
7.20.08, exterior of auto, 600 Dumaine St.
7.21.08, bicycle , 200 Decatur St.
7.21.08, 1300 Perdido St.
7.21.08, 500 Canal St.
7.22.08, 800 Iberville St.
7.24.08, bicycle , 700 Canal St.
7.25.08, 1800 N. Rampart St.
7.25.08, 400 Bourbon St.
7.26.08, bicycle, attempted, 800 Conti St.
7.26.08, shoplifting, 300 Canal St.
7.26.08, Canal St.
7.26.08, 700 Orleans Ave.
7.27.08, Canal St.
7.28.08, shoplifting, 100 Elk Pl.
7.28.08, 800 Union St.
7.28.08, 200 Royal St.
7.29.08, 700 Canal St.
7.29.08, Poydras St.
7.30.08, shoplifting, 500 Bourbon St.
7.30.08, 300 Camp St.

Auto theft
7.01.08, Magazine St. & St. Joseph St.
7.01.08, Girod St. & Loyola Ave.
7.01.08, 300 Loyola Ave.
7.01.08, 400 Burgundy St.
7.01.08, 500 Canal St.
7.03.08, Dauphine St. & St. Louis St.
7.04.08, Girod St. & Magazine St.
7.04.08, Common St. & Tchoupitoulas St.
7.05.08, Royal St. & Iberville St.
7.05.08, 700 S. Rampart St.
7.05.08, N. Diamond St. & S. Peters St.
7.05.08, Camp St. & Gravier St.
7.05.08, attempted, 700 S. Rampart St.
7.06.08, Poydras St. & Clara St.
7.06.08, Cleveland Ave. & S. Villere St.
7.06.08, Dauphine St. & Kerlerec St.
7.06.08, Bourbon St. & St. Ann St.
7.06.08, Gravier St. & O'Keefe Ave.
7.06.08, Camp St. & Gravier St.
7.06.08, 800 St. Louis St.
7.06.08, attempted, St. Joseph St. & Magazine St.
7.07.08, Girod St. & Loyola Ave.
7.07.08, Julia St. & Loyola Ave.
7.09.08, Burgundy St. & Kerlerec St.
7.09.08, 900 Magazine St.
7.09.08, attempted, Girod St. & S. Rampart St.
7.12.08, 800 Tchoupitoulas St.
7.12.08, 800 Bourbon St.
7.15.08, Barracks St. & Royal St.
7.18.08, Carondelet St. & Union St.
7.18.08, Lafayette St. & Tchoupitoulas St.
7.18.08, Lafayette St. & Tchoupitoulas St.
7.19.08, 500 Esplanade Ave.
7.19.08, St. Louis St. & Decatur St.
7.21.08, Ursulines Ave. & N. Peters St.
7.21.08, Poydras St.
7.21.08, Andrew Higgins St. & Tchoupitoulas St.
7.21.08, Canal St. & Magazine St.
7.22.08, 800 Bienville St.
7.23.08, 300 Loyola Ave.
7.23.08, Canal St. & S. Villere St.
7.24.08, 400 Canal St.
7.26.08, Conti St. & Decatur St.
7.26.08, Royal St. & Ursulines Ave.
7.27.08, 300 Burgundy St.
7.27.08, Girod St. & Loyola Ave.
7.29.08, 100 S. Claiborne Ave.
7.29.08, 200 N. Rampart St.
7.30.08, 1400 Royal St.

Car break-in
7.03.08, Canal St. & University Pl.
7.05.08, Burgundy St. & Iberville St.
7.05.08, 1100 Gravier St.
7.06.08, 1000 St. Anthony St.
7.06.08, Julia St. & O'Keefe Ave.
7.06.08, Girod St. & Loyola Ave.
7.06.08, Girod St. & S. Rampart St.
7.06.08, Howard Ave. & Loyola Ave.
7.06.08, St. Peter St. & Chartres St.
7.06.08, S. Liberty St. & Poydras St.
7.06.08, Poydras St. & S. Rampart St.
7.06.08, Girod St. & Loyola Ave.
7.06.08, Cleveland Ave. & S. Villere St.
7.06.08, Girod St. & O'Keefe Ave.
7.06.08, Julia St. & O'Keefe Ave.
7.06.08, O'Keefe Ave. & Lafayette St.
7.06.08, O'Keefe Ave. & Julia St.
7.07.08, Julia St. & Magazine St.
7.07.08, 700 O'Keefe Ave.
7.14.08, 800 Baronne St.
7.16.08, Bourbon St. & Dumaine St.
7.22.08, 600 Royal St.
7.22.08, 1000 Dumaine St.
7.22.08, 1000 Dumaine St.
7.22.08, 500 St. Louis St.
7.26.08, 800 Magazine St.
7.26.08, 400 Notre Dame St.
7.27.08, 700 Conti St.
7.27.08, 300 Burgundy St.
7.28.08, 100 University Pl.
7.28.08, 100 University Pl.
7.30.08, 1300 Canal St.
7.30.08, 1300 Canal St.

The night time is no good time

What is it about 2 a.m.?: A rash of armed robberies in the past few days have all happened shortly after 2 a.m. In the 2 most recent, both in the Marigny Triangle, 2 black bucks are described as the culprits.

• Wednesday (7.30.08), 2:05 a.m.: A white couple were walking near Royal and Touro streets when a black Ford Expedition pulled along side of them them and 2 black dudes got out, each armed with a pistol. They demanded the victims' wallet and purse and the victims complied. The robbers got back in their vehicle and fled down Royal to Esplanade Avenue.

The robbers were described as both in their 20's, one 6' tall, weighing 160 pounds, the other 6'2" tall, weighing 170 pounds, both wearing all black clothing.

• Tuesday (7.29.08), 2:30 a.m.: A white couple walking near Royal and Frenchmen streets were accosted by 2 black dudes, one of whom pulled a pistol and demanded money. The victims complied and the robbers fled on foot up Frenchmen, turning on Burgundy Street, heading toward Elysian Fields Avenue.

The robbers were described as 26 to 28 years old; one 6' tall, weighing 170 pounds, with short twists in his hair, no facial hair; the other 6'2" tall, weighing 160 pounds, wearing a dark hat; both were wearing dark clothing.

• Saturday (7.26.08), 2:38 a.m.: A white woman, walking in the 700 block of Esplanade Avenue, near Royal Street, was approached from the front by a Hispanic man armed with a pistol. He took the woman's purse from her shoulder and fled to a late-model, dark-colored SUV which sped down Esplanade toward the river.

The robber was described as 27 to 34 years old, 5'5" tall, weighing 170 pounds.

Broad daylight: An Asian woman, maybe a tourist, was walking with another woman along Burgundy Street near Conti Street at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday (7.30.08), when a black man driving a dark green GMC Suburban leaned out of the window and grabbed the woman's purse. He fled down Burgundy. No further description of the thief was available.

"I've been robbed, I think": A white guy told police on Friday (7.25.08) that he had been robbed almost 4 weeks earlier on 6.30.08. He was attempting to use his credit card in the ATM machine near Bourbon and Canal streets at 2 a.m. He said someone grabbed the card from his hand and fled. The "victim" said he was too intoxicated to give a description of the alleged perpetrator. But now he has the paperwork from the police he needs for his insurance company.

Malta's murderer?: NOPD detectives yesterday (7.30.08) booked Mark Anthony Ott, 31, with 1st-degree murder in the June, 2007 death of Robin Malta, the owner of Salon D'Malta in the 1200 block of Decatur Street.

Malta, 43, was beaten to death inside his home in the 600 block of Port Street in the Faubourg Marigny. Police said Ott was linked to Malta's murder by DNA evidence.

Last November, police said they had arrested Laura Michelle Lapaz in Malta's murder, saying she had hired someone to kill Malta for a drug debt owed to Lapaz. Lapaz, who is in federal custody awaiting trial in August on federal drug and gun charges, has not been charged by the NOPD in Malta's murder.

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

Thom Kahler

Back on the street again

Thanks, your honor: Apparently Judge Frank A. Marullo Jr. is confident that a suspected drug dealer is no threat to the public as long as he pees in a cup twice a week.

He let Howard Fleming, 27, who was being held on $57,500 bond, out of OPP last Thursday (7.24.08) on his own recognizance as long as he takes a drug test twice a week and is monitored by "intensive probation." Isn't that just swell of the judge, who faces no opposition in this fall's election?

When 8th District Task Force officers hauled Fleming in last May, they had a fight on their hands. Ofc. James Lipscomb and Ofc. Kelly Morel managed to subdue Fleming at Chartres Street and Elysian Fields Avenue 5.16.08 and charge him on 7 counts: possession with intent to distribute Ecstasy, possession with intent to distribute marijuana, attempted escape, resisting arrest, flight from an officer, assault on a police officer, criminal damage.

By the time the DA (who's now going to be a judge too) was done, all that remained were the 2 drug dealing charges, and one count of resisting an officer, and 2 counts of simple assault. Nothing so bad that Judge Marullo couldn't give him a "Get Out Of Jail Free" card.

Down and out: Last year about this time, when the 8th District was plagued by 22 armed robberies in a month--15 of them in the Lower Quarter and Marigny Triangle--Lt. Eddie Selby unleashed a 12-man taskforce on the territory to change the tide.

On just the second night of this assault on crime, Detectives Donald Haynes, Jason Giroir and Joey Catalanotto spotted a black dude checking out cars parked along Chartres Street around 2 a.m. and ordered him to halt. The suspect, Vincent Beverly, allegedly tried to outdraw them by pulling a .40-caliber Glock from his waistband when he was corned by the officers near Gov. Nicholls Street. One of the cops was quicker on the trigger and shot Beverly once in the left side. While the shot was not fatal, Beverly, now 19, is expected to be paralyzed for life.

Last Friday (7.25.08), Beverly pled guilty to 2 reduced charges of 1 count of simple robbery and 1 count of aggravated assault with a firearm on a police officer. Judge Camille Buras (another judge who will be back on the bench for another term without opposition) gave him a 7-year suspended sentence, with the first 6 months served under house arrest and then 5 years of active probation--and, oh yeah, he has to get his GED and be drug tested for 12 weeks.

Beverly was originally charged with 2 counts of armed robbery, 1 of simple battery, and 1 of assault on a police officer. When his picture was shown in a photo lineup to victims in several of the robberies that prompted the intense patrols, the victims in 2 robberies were able to positively identify Beverly as the man who robbed them. The victim in a third robbery said he couldn't be sure it was Beverly.

He was charged in the robbery of 2 white men 7.23.07 at 1417 Royal St. and the robbery of a man 7.28.07 in the 1200 block of Bourbon Street. A man who was robbed in the 900 block of Esplanade Avenue on 7.26.07 was not able to positively ID the suspect.

Only one crime?: If you believe the 8th District NOPD, there was only ONE crime committed in the French Quarter and environs last week.

According to the "8th District Update" emailed Friday, a white couple were walking in the 900 block of Orleans Avenue toward Burgundy Street at about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday (7.23.08) when a black boy came up behind them with a handgun and demanded the woman's purse. She refused and began screaming, which sent the hoodlum fleeing.

A juvenile was apprehended a short while later and positively identified by the victims. The punk was only 16, so we won't know his name until he turns 17 and turns pro.

But come on, really only one crime in the whole Quarter, Marigny Triangle and CBD in a week that was worth reporting? Maybe the cops aren't as afraid as we are, but I'll bet there was a lot more going on that that. If you want to help keep your neighborhoods safe, please report to NOcrimeline@gmail.com any incidents you know of, whether it involves you or a neighbor. By alerting others, you may help prevent a crime.

Who needs crooks when we've got cops?: There's a story flying all over Nola.com about a deputy NOPD chief fleeing a woman's house in the middle of the night last week wearing only a bed sheet after her husband came home early and started firing a gun at him.

The woman was reportedly a current or retired officer assigned to the 8th District; her husband is either a cop also or works offshore, depending on the version you've heard. The incident happened in a house in the NOPD's 3rd District near Dillard University.

Supposedly 3rd District officers charged the irate husband for shooting at the deputy chief, but another deputy chief, Bruce Adams, who's in charge of the NOPD's Public Integrity Bureau, arrived on the scene with instructions along the line of "by direct order of the superintendent, let him go."

All of that paints a pretty wide swath of who might have been involved, but that's the danger of the NOPD not reporting the facts. While hardly anyone gets hung any more for adultery outside of the Middle East and some parts of rural Louisiana, it does speak to moral issues among the top brass of the NOPD.

Superintendent Warren Riley made a big deal last week in dismissing 2 officers for their public misdeeds. The difference is, those misdeeds were highly publicized by the media. This incident is apparently being swept under Riley's rug.

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

Thom Kahler

Robberies all around

And a bank robbery to boot: Just as we were publishing yesterday's NOcrimeline posting, we figured it must have been a quite weekend in the ol' Quarter, since we hadn't received an 8th District Update for days. Boy, were we wrong! When we finally got an update around 4:30 p.m. it was full of robberies that happened all over the French Quarter over the weekend -- and that the "Update" may have been delayed due to the bank robbery that happened just before noon.

In that robbery, a white man entered the CapitalOne Bank at Royal and Iberville streets at 11:50 a.m. and walked up to the teller and demanded "all the hundreds" or he would shoot her, according to various reports (the NOPD reported the wrong address for the bank; the Times-Picayune reports the incident happened at 1 p.m., the NOPD at 11:50 a.m.). The teller gave him the banded bait money that contained a red dye pack in a bag.

The robber fled on foot, running across Royal Street and into the Holiday Inn parking garage where the dye pack exploded, covering the robber with red dye. A citizen who saw the robber fleeing gave chase on foot across Canal Street, where cops caught up with the robber in the 500 block of Common Street.

Arrested was Steven Fickes, 47, 6' tall, weighing 200 pounds.

Armed robberies abound: No less than 4 armed robberies marred the tranquility of the Quarter and its fringes in the past week:

• Wednesday (7.16.08), 2 a.m.: A white woman was standing outside 1431 Royal St. (between Kerlerec Street and Esplanade Avenue) when a black man came up and asked for a cigarette. He then pulled out a pistol and demanded her money. She complied and he fled on foot.

The robber was described as 30 to 40 years old, 6' tall, weighing 170 pounds, withe short flat-top hair, wearing a purple button-down shirt over a black T-shirt.

(This incident wasn't reported to the police until 2 days later, wiping out all chances cops could have scoured the area for the perp. C'mon, people! If you don't take a crime like this seriously, why do you expect the police to?)

• Friday (7.18.08), 10:15 p.m.: A white couple walking on Bourbon Street were crossing Gov. Nicholls Street when a black thug armed with a shotgun came up and demanded their money. The robber hopped into a black Ford Mustang waiting on Bourbon, which fled down Barracks Street toward N. Rampart Street.

The robber was described as in his 20's, 6'1" tall, weighing 170 pounds, with medium twists in his hair, wearing a black tank top and dark shorts.

• Friday (7.18.08), 10:25 p.m.: A white couple crossing the street at Dauphine and Dumaine streets were robbed by a thief who first tried to grab the woman's purse, then pulled a pistol when she resisted. He got the purse and fled on foot.

The robber was described as in his 20's, 6'2" tall, weighing 170 pounds, medium dreadlocks or twists, cleanshaven, wearing a white T-shirt and plaid shorts.

• Sunday (7.20.08), 1:05 a.m.: Apparently police haven't broken up that gang that's been terrorizing the area after all. A white man walking in the 100 block of University Place, just across Canal Street, was approached from behind by 4 or 5 black hoodlums. One pulled a pistol and demanded the victim's money. When the victim attempted to flee, he was pushed to the ground by the other hoods and beaten while they took his wallet and cellphone.

The culprits were all described as 18 to 22 years old, one was 5'8" tall, weighing 160 pounds, with a short haircut, wearing a dark T-shirt and dark pants; 2 others were each 6'1" tall, weighing 170 pounds, with shoulder-length braids, wearing white T-shirts and dark pants.

Pursesnatchings too, of course: Just because they don't have a gun (or you don't see a gun), doesn't mean these robberies are any less terrifying:

• Saturday (7.19.08), 11: 30 p.m.: A white woman was walking on Bourbon Street hear St. Philip Street when a white guy came up behind her and grabbed her purse off her shoulder. He fled on St. Philip toward Royal Street.

The robber was described as 20 to 30 years old, 5'8" tall, weighing 170 pounds, wearing a white T-shirt, khaki pants, and a dark baseball cap.

• Sunday (7.20.08), 6:20 a.m.: A white woman walking with 2 girlfriends near the corner of Royal and Iberville streets was approached by a black dude who tried to chat her up. She ignored him and continued walking, but he followed them across Canal Street. When they reached the 100 block of St. Charles Avenue (just the other side of Canal), the thief ran up and grabbed her purse. He fled into a waiting silver-colored Pontiac Grand Am, which sped down Common Street toward S. Rampart Street.

The robber was described as 28 years old, with shoulder-length braids, and wearing a white T-shirt, denim shorts, and orange tennis shoes.

Here's a tip: Lady, the minute this scumbag took a step in the same direction you and your friends were going, you should have whipped out your cellphone and dialed 911. You're lucky all you lost was your purse.

Here come the judge: It looks like District Attorney Keva Landrum-Johnson will be Judge Johnson, whether we like it or not.

The guy who signed up at the last minute to run against her, Gary Bizal, wimped out yesterday, quitting the "race" by saying, "At this point, it wasn't the path I wanted to follow." What do you expect from a civil rights lawyer?

Maybe he was just a "stalking horse" designed to keep anyone else from challenging her.

We can only hope she's a better judge than she was DA. How could she not be?

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

Thom Kahler

What was the judge thinking?

Another softy: When Laurie A. White was elected judge earlier this year to replace Charles Elloie--who was practically the patron saint of criminals--we thought we were getting a tough, no-nonsense judge who would lock up the bad guys and keep them there. Apparently, we were sadly mistaken.

Judge White put an 18-year-old punk--who just 10 days earlier allegedly shot a young boy while out on bond--on 24-hour house arrest. Under terms of the deal, Jernell Madison will have to wear an ankle bracelet to make sure he doesn't leave home, unless he is working. (Work? What sort of work does he do? Oh, that's right, he's charged with armed robbery.) He'll also have to submit to a weekly drug test. Other than that, he can sit home and play Grand Theft Auto on his Gameboy or have his girlfriend in for a nice game of Parchessi. Ankle bracelets have been known to fail--keep an eye out for this guy in the French Quarter.

To their credit, the prosecutors representing the DA's office asked the judge to increase Madison's bond from the $75,000 he posted on 6.2.08 to get out of OPP where he'd been since being charged with an armed robbery with a firearm last October when he was only 17. A hearing on the bond increase request will be held 8.8.08.

Part of the reason for the leniency being shown Madison is the NOPD's wimping out in charging Madison after he allegedly shot a 16-year-old black boy in the lower back after a fight at Canal and N. Rampart streets at 2:55 a.m. on 7.6.08.

Instead of charging him with attempted murder, 8th District officers charged Madison with aggravated battery and a bond of only $75,000 was set. (A couple of months earlier in another shooting on Canal Street, police charged David Bonds with attempted 2nd-degree murder and he's being held on a $1-million bond.) Reducing the charge is apparently another attempt by Big Chief Riley to make the crime rate in New Orleans seem less than what it really is.

The story we get is that the victim was hanging on the corner with 2 black chicks and 2 black dudes, when the girls began fighting while the guys watched. Madison, for whatever reason, allegedly pulled out his pistol and shot the young boy. A buddy of Madison's, Jamal Thomas, 17, allegedly tried to hide the gun and he was charged with being an accessory to aggravated battery. He's out on $5,00 bond.

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

Thom Kahler

Cops and/or robbers

Bad joke: That used to be the joke they told when the cops were so crooked in Chicago that the kids were going out to play "cops and/or robbers," as if there was no difference. But if it hadn't been for all the NOPD cops who've made headlines in the past couple of weeks, there'd hardly be any crime news at all.

We had the 1st District cop who sped away from his Crescent City Connection counterparts because he was late for work, then allegedly smacked one of them.

Now there's the 7th District chick cop who pulled her gun around a playground full of kids because she was in an uproar about being stuck in traffic at a school.

Then there's the 1st District supervisor who answered the 911 call to see what the ruckus was about, and wound up telling her she should have shot the citizen who complained.

Oh, and don't forget the incident that got the most press--the cop who wore the "wrong" color of shirt on his last day on the force. Now there's a hanging crime.

Dribs and drabs: Meanwhile, there's only been a trickle of crime news from the 8th District. Here's ALL they say happened in the last week (believe it if you will; I don't):

• Aggravated assault, Saturday (7.12.08), 1:20 p.m.: A white guy was parking his car at St. Peter and Bourbon streets when he got into an argument with another driver, who got out of his car and pointed a handgun at the victim. He then got back in his car, a black Jaguar XJ8, and fled on St. Peter toward N. Rampart Street.

The assailant was described as a white male, 35, 6' tall, weighing 170 pounds, with medium length brown hair, wearing a black and white striped polo shirt and tan shorts. (Way to go--giving rich people a bad name!)

• Aggravated assault/attempted armed robbery, Monday (7.14.08), 7:10 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.: These 2 incidents may well be related because they occurred within minutes of each other in the CBD and both involved a small white car.

In the first, a black woman was driving on Tulane Avenue toward S. Clairborne Avenue when she stopped at a red light at LaSalle Street, a white Toyota Corolla, containing 2 black men and 3 black females, pulled up next to her. One of the black men pointed a shotgun at the victim and then fled toward N. Carrolton Avenue. The victim pursued the car to try to get a license number, but was unsuccessful.

The gunman was described as 17 to 18 years old, with a slim build and a dark complexion.

In the other incident, a white man driving on S. Rampart Street stopped for a red light at Gravier Street when "a small, older model white car," driven by a black woman, pulled along side of him. 4 black men got out of the car and pulled a gun, demanding the victim's money. The victim fled the scene without yielding his money.

The gunman was described as 17 years old, 5'5" tall, with a thin build and medium complexion, wearing a green and white striped shirt.

• Pursesnatching, Monday (7.14.08), 3:45 a.m.: A white woman was in the Clover Grill, 900 Bourbon St., when she felt someone grab her purse and saw a black man run from the establishment. 2 citizens grabbed the alleged robber and held him until police arrived.

Arrested was Wayne Jones, 48, who was charged with pursesnatching, possession of stolen property--and running out on his $13.25 check at the Clover Grill (it's a wonder they didn't bitch-slap him all over the place for that).

• Aggravated battery, Thursday (7.17.08), 12 a.m.: In what's probably the last crime in the homeless encampment before it was finally dismantled yesterday.

A fellow known only as "Slim" and another black fellow got into an argument over money, of all things. Slim leveraged his side of the debate with a blow to the victim's head with an axe handle. The police would like to provide temporary housing for Slim in OPP if they find the 5'9" tall, 170 pound dude last seen wearing a white tank top, white shorts, and slippers.

Easier to get out?: The 19-year-old, who along with his 14-year-old cousin, is accused of terrorizing the French Quarter last Spring, has been given an easier chance of getting out of OPP.

Judge Frank Marullo Jr., who is running without opposition for another term on the Orleans Parish Criminal Court bench, last Friday (7.11.08) reduced the bond on Renaldo Nickles Jr. from $400,000 to $100,000 on 4 counts of armed robbery. True, it has to be in cash or a surety bond, but it's surprising how many of these thugs can raise the amount.

Nickles, who is charged with a total of 5 robberies, and his cousin were accused of armed robberies on Bienville Street near Burgundy Street 4.3.08 at 3:57 a.m.; in the 900 block of St. Phililp Street 4.8.08 at 2:05 a.m.; in the 900 block of Chartres Street 4.11.08 at 12:05 a.m. and in the 1100 block of Bourbon Street at 12:25 a.m.; in the 900 block of Ursulines Street 4.12.08 at 12:10 a.m.

Back in OPP again: Jerome J. Dominick, 24, who's been playing cat-and-mouse with the judicial system for some time, is back in the pokey again.

He was rearrested 10 days ago (7.8.08)--2 months after walking out of court on 5.8.08 when he decided he didn't like what he was hearing in court on a burglary charge against him and got up and left the courtroom. He had been out of jail, free on his own recognizance, thanks to Judge Julian Parker.

Police caught up with him after he was apparently involved in an altercation in which he allegedly cut someone. He was charged with aggravated battery, then police found reason to charge him with breaking into a car, and with theft--and, oh yeah, escape. Now he's got a $50,000 bond on his head--maybe too much for even a judge to cut him free out of the goodness of his heart.

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

Thom Kahler

Fugitive caught

Bowden bagged: The NOPD early this morning arrested another one of the gangsters wanted in a series of robberies by a gang of black boys in the French Quarter in the past 2 weeks.

After eluding the police for a week, officers took Marshan Bowden, 17, into custody and booked him into OPP just before 8 a.m. on a charge of simple robbery.

Bowden, who has successfully escaped justice in the past, is being held on a rather paltry $15,000 bond. (When they had him last fall, it was on $40,000 bond, but he managed to post that to walk free.)

Bowden was charged for robbing a young white guy last Tuesday (7.8.08) in which he was allegedly one of 5 black thugs who chased down the victim and took his wallet at 10:55 p.m. in the 1100 block of Dauphine Street near Ursulines Street.

The victim picked Bowden out of a photo line up and positively identified him as one of his assailants. Bowden is 6' tall and weighs 160 pounds. His last known address was on Frenchmen Street, across St. Claude Avenue. It's not known if he was armed when apprehended today, but police had arrested him 6.15.08 for carrying a concealed weapon. He was out on bond in that case when the latest alleged offense occurred.

Last Friday (7.11.08), 8th District cops arrested Nolan Graps, 24, on 2 charges from at least 2 of the gang robberies.

He is charged with attempted 2nd-degree murder in the shooting of a white guy who was trying to protect his woman from a gang of 3 black thugs in front of 540 Royal Street. The couple was accosted around 2:10 a.m. on 7.1.08 and when the man pushed his girlfriend to safety, one of the robbers opened fired and he was hit in the leg by a bullet.

He is also charged with armed robbery for the assault 7.7.08 in the 1100 block of Royal Street on a 40-year-old white woman walking home from work at 12:10 a.m. She was robbed of her backpack by 3 black hoodlums, one of whom shoved a gun in her face and threatened to kill her, while the other held her head down with his foot. Graps is being held in OPP on $300,000 bond on both charges.

Bowden is a familiar player in the street gang scene. He was arrested by 8th District detectives last fall as the ringleader of a gang of 5 or 6 young black boys, as young as 11 years old, who were terrorizing the Marigny Triangle. The DA refused to prosecute him on charges of 1st-degree robbery and simple robbery, setting him free to strike again.

Still at large are at least 3 other gang members who roamed the Quarter with Bowden and Graps. Each of the perps have been described as 17 to 19 years old, one was listed as 5'10" tall, weighing 185 pounds; the other 4 were all listed as 6' tall, weighing 170 pounds. Some or all of them are believed to be involved in at least 4 robberies occurring since 6.28.08 in the Quarter in which 3 to 5 hoodlums robbed at least 6 white people.

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

Thom Kahler