Crime returns to Lower Quarter

But to be fair...: There probably have been a few other incidents, but this is the first crime in the Lower French Quarter we can think of since the NOPD began aggressively patrolling there in the wake of the murder of Wendy Byrne in mid-January.

On Sunday (4.19.09) at 2:13 a.m., a white woman standing on the corner of Esplanade Avenue and Decatur Street was robbed by a black punk on a black cruiser-style bicycle who grabbed the victim’s purse from her shoulder. He fled on Esplanade, turning on Royal toward Elysian Fields.

The robber is described as 20 to 25 years old, 5’08” tall, weighing 140 pounds, and wearing a long sleeve black shirt and dark blue jeans.

The Lower Quarter (defined as Dumaine Street to Esplanade) has been virtually crime-free for the past 3 months following Byrne's murder at Dauphine and Gov. Nicholls streets in the early evening of 1.17.09.

The 8th District NOPD almost immediately began patrolling the neighborhood every night with cop cars flashing bright blue lights.

Pleased residents had only one question: What took them so long? They had been asking for the police to employ this strategy for years. Obviously it's an effective tactic.

However, elsewhere: Now the worse crimes seem to be occurring across Canal Street in the CBD or around the tourist honky-tonks of upper Bourbon Street. In one case, 8th District detectives managed to arrest 2 suspects:

• 3:43 a.m. Friday (4.17.09): 2 white men walking in the 1400 block of Canal when 3 black thugs accosted them. One struck one of the victims, knocking him to the ground. Another put his hand inside his shirt, implying he had a gun, and told the victims to empty their pockets. The victims complied and the 3 perps fled on foot toward Claiborne Avenue.

Within 24 hours, detectives booked Brandon Roussell (right), 18, and Tyrell Eli (left), 20, into Central Lockup on 2 counts of armed robbery each and bond was set at $100,000 a piece. The third suspect is still at large.

• 9:10 p.m. Friday (4.17.09): 2 white women, both 25, walking in the 300 block of Notre Dame Street (between Commerce and Tchoupitoulas streets) when they were accosted by a black dude with a pistol wrapped in a blue handkerchief. He demanded their purses. They complied and he fled on foot to Commerce, turning left toward Canal Street.

The robber was described as 25 to 29 years old, 5'10" tall, weighing 150 to 160 pounds, with long dreadlocks, and wearing a dark T-shirt and light-colored blue jeans.

With friends like these: Several victims, who seemed to know their assailants, were taken to the hospital after altercations with their "acquaintances":

• 1:30 a.m. Friday (4.17.09): A white man, whose age wasn't reported, got into an argument with another patron at the Roundup bar, 819 St. Louis St. The other guy grabbed the victim's cane and struck him and fled from the bar on foot.

The suspect was only described as a white male clad in a denim skirt (yes, skirt) and a tank top. Boys will be boys, and sometimes girls too.

• 8:45 p.m. Friday (4.17.09): Change its name all you want, but the old Utopia Night Club (now known as Bourbon Rocks), 227 Bourbon St., was again the scene of a scuffle like the old Utopia was notorious for.

On Friday (4.17.09) at 8:45 p.m. a 52-year-old man got into a dispute with a 51-year-old patron's girlfriend. The woman's boyfriend ended the argument by allegedly cutting the older man on the neck with a broken beer bottle. The victim was taken to University Hospital with non-life-threatening wounds and was in stable condition.

Bouncers in the club subdued the alleged assailant and police arrested Randy Allard (pictured) and charged him with aggravated battery.

Judge Frank Marullo Jr. set Allard free so fast on his own recognizance with a phone call to the jail, the court couldn't even say how much his bond was. It's nice to have friends in high places.

Not the place to be: The old Days Inn at 1630 Canal St. (on the corner of S. Claiborne Avenue), now the Canal Street Hotel, saw its share (or more than its share) of excitement on Sunday (4.19.09).

• 1:03 a.m.: A 20-year-old black guy was standing outside the hotel with a buddy when a dark-colored Ford Expedition pulled up and 2 black dudes opened fire with handguns, shooting the victim in the right hand, abdomen and thigh.

One perp was described as 20 to 22 years old, 5'10" tall, weighing 140 pounds, with a light complexion and chin-length dreadlocks. wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans.

The other perp was 23 to 25 years old, 6'1" tall, with an athletic build and chin-length dreadlocks, wearing an orange T-shirt and blue jeans.

• 5 p.m.: An 18-year-old black chick was sitting in Room 340 of the hotel when a 14-year-old Baton Rouge girl she knew came in. They got into an argument and the juvenile girl pulled out a knife (some reports say a box cutter, others a Swiss Army knife) and allegedly stabbed the older teenager in the top of her head on on her right forearm.

The young assailant fled on foot but police eventually caught up with her. They arrested Brittany Smith, 14, for aggravated battery and turned her over to juvenile authorities.

Here come the judge: You might have noticed that we've linked all the judges and magistrate court commissioners (who set bonds) to their email addresses on NOcrimeline.com. If you have comments for any of them about these or other cases, let them know what you think. They work for you!

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

Thom Kahler