Escaped killer caught...finally

On the loose for almost 2 months: Cops finally caught up with Shateek Howard, the teenage murder suspect who's been outfoxing them at every turn.

According to the police report, officers on "routine" patrol came across Howard and his partner-in-crime, Antoine Henry, yesterday (4.1.09) around 5:30 p.m. in the Iberville Housing Project, in the shadow of the French Quarter.

"Routine" patrol? You mean a suspected escaped murdered doesn't merit a full-scale dragnet?"

Howard, 16, is suspected in the shooting death of a 19-year-old black girl Uptown on 9.21.08 and the wounding of her boyfriend. Henry, 19, is suspected in a shooting the day before (9.20.08) in Mid-city.

Sounds like real buddies: "Hey, you got to shoot somebody yesterday--today it's my turn!"

Howard was booked into the juvenile detention center last night on one charge of murder and one of attempted murder, plus a separate charge of armed robbery.

He's back in the care of the same folks whose carelessness on Feb. 11 resulted in Howard escaping while they escorted him from Juvenile Court on Loyola Avenue. He bolted right for the Iberville Projects--happy hunting ground for bad guys--and eluded the NOPD time and again.

He's just lucky his victim was not a white or he'd be in big-people's prison like the kids who supposedly killed the white woman bartender in the Quarter.

Henry was booked into Central Lockup just before midnight last night on 2 counts of aggravated battery (apparently from the shooting he's accused of) and 3 counts of armed robbery (from another incident), plus a charge of possessing crack cocaine and another of resisting arrest for a fight after he was apprehended.

Police reportedly took a stolen semi-automatic pistol off of him when he was arrested and said they will also charge him as being a felon in possession of a firearm. He pled guilty in 2007 when he was 17 to carrying a concealed weapon.

Why in the world was this scumbag running loose? He certainly wasn't a good influence on Shateek Howard.

Another CBD robbery: A black couple walking in the 400 block of Gravier Street, near Harrah's Casino, were held up early this morning (4.2.09) around 3 a.m.

A black guy got out of the passenger's side of a parked car and flashed a silver-colored object in his waistband that looked like a gun, demanding their money. They complied and the man fled in the car, which went down Gravier and turned on to Tchoupitoulas Street toward Poydras Street.

The car was described as a brown or beige 2-door late 80's model Buick. The robber was described as 5'9" tall, weighing 130 pounds, with a dark complexion, moustache and shoulder-length braids, wearing a long white T-shirt and blue jeans.

Pursesnatchers nabbed: Two episodes of pursesnatchings at the exact same time (8:40 p.m.) in different parts of the 8th District last night (4.1.09) resulted in arrests:

• 700 block of Royal Street (behind St. Louis Cathedral): A white woman was walking along when she was approached by a black dude who panhandled her for money. When she refused, he tried to grab her purse from her shoulder, but she fought back, giving a security guard (from where? Rouse's Market at St. Peter Street?) time to intervene. Officers arrived on the scene and arrested Jarred Simmons, 17, charging him with attempted simple robbery.

• 100 block of S. Peters Street (near Harrah's Casino): A white woman walking along the street was accosted by a black man who grabbed her purse from her shoulder. He was grabbed by a witness as he tried to flee and was held until officers arrived. They arrested Purnell Madison, 61, and charged him with pursesnatching.
  

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

Thom Kahler

A very bad man, indeed

Maybe they can put him away for good: If the District Attorney does his job right this time, Corey J. Jordan may finally go away for good. 8th District detectives arrested him last Thursday (3.26.09) for what to him must seem like a petty crime.

The police say Jordan is the black dude who put a stop to a cat fight among 3 girls believed to be hookers on a Sunday morning (3.22.09) around 5 a.m. at Bourbon and Conti streets. In that fracas, 2 white women got into it with a black chick they had exchanged words with earlier in the evening, and the black woman began to fight with one of the white chicks.

A black guy--thought to be Jordan--came up and conked the white chick in the head with his pistol, then pointed it at the other whitey. The fighting stopped and Jordan allegedly picked up the white woman's purse from the ground and fled with the black chick in a tan SUV.

The 2 white female victims waited several hours before notifying the police about the incident, but apparently they knew who had done them wrong: Jordan.

Detective Sean McElrath charged Jordan with armed robbery with a firearm and aggravated battery. He is in OPP on $185,000 bond. What? No charge for felon in possession of a firearm? Turn him over to the feds on that one and he'll get 10 solid years, for sure.

Jordan, 35, has been in trouble with the law since he was 18 (and betcha a dollar to a doughnut, he had a juvy record before that). In 1995, he pled guilty to 2 counts of armed robbery and he was sentenced to 5 years in prison "without benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence."

Considering those terms, it's hard to figure out how he was out in less than 3 years in 1998 when he was charged with 3 counts of attempted murder. Never mind though, former DA Harry Connick couldn't get it together in time to prosecute him on the charges and Jordan walked on a "701" release--for attempted murder, no less!

Then when Jordan got busted in 2007 for possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, he was allowed to plead guilty to a lesser charge of possession of cocaine. The judge gave him a 3-year suspended sentence and tried to "rehabilitate" him by sending him to drug court. Now he's got a charge of parole violation against him too for this latest episode he was allegedly involved in.

Let's hope the new DA, Leon Cannizzaro, goes after him as a multiple offender--and puts him away for life. It's scary to think that kind of guy has been running around the French Quarter all these years. Suppose that's the allure to all the tourists who flock here?

Robbings and beatings, oh my: Thanks to the flashing blue lights in the Lower French Quarter, residents there have been spared the turmoil riling the tourist playground in the Upper Quarter:

• Armed robbery, 3.26.09: A black man walking on Common Street near Carondelet Street around 10:30 p.m. when 2 black dudes and a black chick accosted him, with one of the black guys pulling a gun and demanding his money. He complied, and they fled in a teal-colored, 4-door, Jeep-style vehicle toward Baronne Street.

The victim described the robbers as one man being 5'9" tall, weighing 150 pounds, with short hair, a dark complexion and clean shaven, wearing a red hat, a black shirt and black shorts; the other man was 6' tall, weighing 180 pounds, with short dreadlocks, a medium complexion, and wearing a royal blue hoodie and a light blue shirt; the woman was described as 5'9" tall, weighing 150 pounds, with short black hair and a dark complexion, wearing a pink shirt with white lettering and pink capri pants.

• Armed robbery, 3.28.09: A 20-year-old white man walking in the 400 block of Bourbon Street (between Conti and St. Louis streets) around 3:30 a.m. was held up by a big black guy wielding a knife. The victim handed over his loot and the robber fled on foot toward Canal Street. For whatever reason (under-age drinking, maybe?), the victim waited several hours before reporting the robbery to the police.

He described the robber as 6'1" tall, weighing 190 pounds, wearing a dark T-shirt and blue jeans.

• Aggravated battery, 3.31.09: A couple of white guys got into it in Jackson Square last night around 7:20 p.m. near St. Peter and Chartres streets. The argument got heated and one man allegedly beat the other on the head with his walking cane, knocking him to the ground and sending him to the hospital.

8th District officers arrested Kermit Ramagos, 45, and charged him with aggravated battery.

Beware, the men of steel: Well, okay, iron, and maybe women too. To accommodate the ironman triathlon this Sunday (4.5.09), Esplanade Avenue to Decatur Street and Decatur to Jackson Square will be temporarily closed to vehicular traffic during the foot race portion of the event.

The closing will run from approximately 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Vehicles will be allowed to cross the race route when safe to do so, but will not be allowed to turn onto the route.

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

Thom Kahler

Crimes reported: March 2009

This is a list of the crimes reported during March, 2009 in the 8th District (French Quarter, Marigny Triangle, CBD) as listed on the NOPD's crime map, which gives the dates, locations, and the time the crimes occurred.

Armed robbery
3.03.09, 1:24 a.m., 1000 Kerlerec St., knife
3.10.09, 10:40 p.m., 900 Bourbon St., gun
3.13.09, 11:10 p.m., 1000 Dumaine St., gun
3.21.09, 12:15 a.m., 1000 N. Peters St., gun
3.22.09, 4:45 a.m., Dumaine St. & Dauphine St., carjacking
3.22.09, 5:30 a.m., Conti St. & Bourbon St., gun
3.28.09, 3:30 a.m., 400 Bourbon St., knife

Simple robbery
3.02.09, 11:50 a.m., 700 Union St., pursesnatching
3.08.09, 11:20 p.m., 2100 St. Claude Ave.
3.14.09, 11:28 p.m., 1000 Toulouse St., attempted pursesnatching

Assault & battery
3.15.09, 1:10 a.m., 300 Bourbon St., aggravated battery
3.17.09, 9:24 p.m., 600 Iberville St., aggravated assault
3.23.09, 8:55 p.m., 200 Decatur St., aggravated battery

Burglary
3.01.09, 12:30 p.m., 1600 Canal St.
3.05.09, 10:00 p.m., 1100 Bourbon St., business
3.06.09, 3:56 p.m., 800 Orleans Ave., residence
3.06.09, 3:00 p.m., 900 Toulouse St., residence
3.12.09, 10:54 a.m., 500 St. Philip St., residence
3.16.09, 3:15 a.m., 1400 Tulane Ave., business
3.17.09, 3:00 a.m., 600 Chartres St., business
3.21.09, 11:55 p.m., 600 Poydras St., business
3.30.09, 7:20 a.m., 1000 Magazine St.

Theft
3.02.09, 5:00 p.m., 200 St. Charles Ave.
3.03.09, 9:15 a.m., 1000 Loyola Ave.
3.03.09, 9:30 p.m., 800 Canal St.
3.05.09, 12:05 p.m., 300 Canal St., shoplifting
3.05.09, 3:10 p.m., 1600 Canal St., bicycle
3.06.09, 6:30 p.m., 300 Julia St., bicycle
3.06.09, 8:00 p.m., 800 Bourbon St.
3.07.09, 1:10 a.m., 100 Conti St.
3.07.09, 3:53 a.m., 700 Burgundy St., pickpocketing
3.09.09, 10:45 a.m., 400 Royal St., shoplifting
3.10.09, 5:00 a.m., 300 Poydras St.
3.10.09, 5:00 p.m., 300 St. Joseph St.
3.11.09, 5:30 a.m., Dauphine St. & Conti St., pickpocketing
3.11.09, 11:10 a.m., 400 Royal St., shoplifting
3.11.09, 1:21 a.m., 500 Frenchmen St.
3.11.09, 1:10 a.m., 600 Frenchmen St.
3.11.09, 10:00 p.m., 900 Canal St., bicycle
3.13.09, 8:55 a.m., Dauphine St. & St. Peter St.
3.13.09, 12:30 p.m., 300 Julia St.
3.15.09, 3:10 a.m., 400 Bourbon St., pickpocketing
3.15.09, 3:41 a.m., 200 Bourbon St., pickpocketing
3.15.09, 2:20 p.m., 700 Gov. Nicholls St.
3.16.09, 6:33 p.m., 900 N. Peters St.
3.17.09, 2:15 a.m., 400 Bourbon St., pickpocketing
3.17.09, 2:00 p.m., Royal St. & Frenchmen St.
3.17.09, 7:15 p.m., 900 Decatur St., shoplifting
3.18.09, 4:45 p.m., 300 Canal St., shoplifting
3.18.09, 5:35 p.m., 900 Decatur St., shoplifting
3.19.09, 3:45 a.m., 800 Iberville St., pickpocketing
3.19.09, 9:45 p.m., 500 Tchoupitoulas St.
3.21.09, 10:10 a.m., 1100 Decatur St.
3.21.09, 6:15 p.m., 300 Canal St., shoplifting
3.21.09, 2:00 p.m., O'Keefe Ave. & Union St.
3.21.09, 10:45 a.m., 1000 Canal St.
3.22.09, 4:10 a.m., 100 Carondelet St.
3.23.09, 10:40 a.m., 1900 Dauphine St.
3.23.09, 12:30 p.m., 900 Decatur St.
3.23.09, 3:30 p.m., 300 Royal St.
3.23.09, 8:33 p.m., 700 Orleans St.
3.24.09, 12:40 a.m., 900 Poydras St., shoplifting
3.24.09, 7:20 a.m., 100 N. Rampart St.
3.24.09, 9:39 a.m., 100 Royal St., shoplifting
3.24.09, 1:40 p.m., 500 Chartres St., shoplifting
3.24.09, 9:07 p.m., 400 Bourbon St.
3.26.09, 12:10 p.m., 900 Canal St., shoplifting
3.26.09, 3:00 p.m., 200 Loyola Ave.
3.27.09, 3:15 p.m., 100 University Pl.
3.27.09, 9:42 p.m., Toulouse St. & Chartres St.
3.28.09, 3:25 a.m., Canal St.

Auto theft
3.01.09, 5:30 p.m., St. Ann St. & Bourbon St.
3.01.09, 10:00 p.m., 200 Burgundy St.
3.03.09, 5:30 p.m., 800 Constance St.
3.05.09, 12:30 a.m., St. Joseph St. & Constance St.
3.05.09, 11:00 p.m., Iberville St. & Dorsiere St.
3.06.09, 9:00 p.m., Poydras St. & Tchoupitoulas St.
3.06.09, 7:30 p.m., 700 S. Rampart St.
3.09.09, 12:50 p.m., 200 Loyola Ave.
3.10.09, 8:30 p.m., 400 Gravier St.
3.10.09, 10:00 p.m., Chartres St. & Bienville St.
3.12.09, 3:00 a.m., St. Charles Ave. & Gravier St.
3.12.09, 8:00 p.m., S. Rampart St. & Poydras St.
3.13.09, 10:30 p.m., Dauphine St. & Iberville St.
3.14.09, 8:00 p.m., Poydras St. & S. Rampart St.
3.14.09, 11:15 p.m., 100 N. Rampart St.
3.15.09, 11:00 p.m., 300 Lafayette St.
3.15.09, 10:00 a.m., 500 Iberville St.
3.20.09, 1:00 p.m., Magazine St. & St. Joseph St.
3.20.09, 12:45 p.m., St. Joseph St. & Magazine St.
3.21.09, 4:00 a.m., Dumaine St. & Bourbon St.
3.22.09, 4:45 a.m., 1000 Bienville St.
3.22.09, 8:30 p.m., Chartres St. & Wilkinson St.
3.22.09, 8:30 p.m., Chartres St. & Wilkinson St.
3.22.09, 10:00 p.m., Burgundy St. & Toulouse St.
3.25.09, 9:45 a.m., Chartres St. & Iberville St.
3.28.09, 2:30 a.m., Burgundy St. & Iberville St.
3.30.09, 1:00 p.m., Loyola Ave. & Julia St.

Car break-in
3.01.09, 7:00 a.m., 1000 Loyola Ave.
3.01.09, 7:00 a.m., 1000 Loyola Ave.
3.02.09, 1:00 a.m., Iberville St. & Burgundy St.
3.03.09, 3:00 a.m., 700 Barracks St.
3.04.09, 2:00 a.m., 900 Gov. Nicholls St.
3.07.09, 3:45 a.m., 300 St. Joseph St.
3.09.09, 2:45 a.m., Burgundy St. & Iberville St.
3.11.09, 3:45 a.m., Decatur St. & Ursulines Ave.
3.13.09, 1:15 a.m., 200 Burgundy St., exterior
3.17.09, 1:00 p.m., St. Louis St. & Decatur St.
3.19.09, 1:10 a.m., 600 Conti St., attempted
3.26.09, 11:45 p.m., 1600 Canal St.
3.27.09, 1:30 a.m., Iberville St. & Burgundy St.
3.27.09, 9:00 a.m., 1300 Canal St.
3.29.09, 12:30 a.m., 1600 Canal St., exterior
3.30.09, 11:45 a.m., 1000 Bienville St.

Teen killer outfoxes cops

Hiding in Iberville: We've all been spending a lot of energy worrying about whether the 3 teens involved in Wendy Byrne's death are going to be tried as adults. But they're safely in jail.

What we should be worrying about is the young punk who's wanted for murder who's been scurrying around the Iberville Housing Project, eluding the NOPD at every turn for over a month.

Since the French Quarter is only a hop, skip and jump from that crime hellhole, you can bet he's been using our neighborhood as his playground--just as Wendy Byrne's killers did.

Asst. Chief Marlon Defillo admitted last week that Shateek Howard--the 16-year-old black boy wanted for shooting a teenage girl to death and for pumping her boyfriend full of lead Uptown last fall--has been spotted numerous times in the Iberville project since he escaped from custody 2.11.09 while being escorted from Juvenile Court on Loyola Avenue.

Defillo said officers have pursued Howard on foot several times, but the maze that is Iberville has confounded them each time.

C'mon guys! This is a suspected murderer you say should be considered "dangerous and possibly armed"--he's not just some truant!

What's wrong with cordoning off that sleazy sanctuary and going door to door until you find this little punk?

Certainly the NOPD doesn't plan to wait until he comes to the Quarter some night and takes out another citizen. Do they?

Weekends only?: Crime seems to have become a weekend sport. With one exception on St. Patrick's Day (and one last night at the House of Blues), the only crimes reported by the 8th District the past couple of weeks have all seemed to occur on the weekends:

• Saturday (3.21.09): A black woman working as a cashier at the parking lot at N. Peters and St. Philip streets was robbed around 12:15 .m. by a black man wielding a pistol. Or rather, she fled and the robber helping himself to the loot in the till.

A security guard working on the lot attempted to apprehend the robber as he fled on foot and a struggle ensued. The managed to break free from the guard and escaped in a gray car.

8th District officers later apprehended Samuel L. Duncan Jr., 20, and charged him with armed robbery with a firearm and simple battery. He's in OPP on $110,000 bond.

• Sunday (3.22.09): A black man parking his car at the corner of Dauphine and Dumaine streets around 4:45 a.m. was approached by a black dude who pulled a gun and demanded his car keys.
  

The thief fled up Dauphine Street in the car, a black 2005 Nissan Maxima, Louisiana license PRA 501.

The suspect was described as 6' tall, weighing 165 pounds, clean shaven with short hair, wearing a long white T-shirt, blue jeans, and a black jacket.

• Sunday (3.22.09): This sounds like one of those discussions among "professionals". Around 5 a.m., 2 white women walking near Bourbon and Conti streets were approached by a black chick they had exchanged words with earlier in the evening.

The black woman began to fight with one of the white chicks when a black dude came up and conked the white chick in the head with a pistol, then pointed it at the other white girl. The fighting thus stopped and the black guy picked up the white woman's purse from the ground and fled with the black chick in a tan SUV.

Apparently considering their options, the 2 white female victims waited several hours before notifying the police about the incident. When they did, they identified the man as being in his 20's, 5'10" tall, weighing 190 pounds.

And in other violent news: A couple of fights outside the weekends pattern resulted in arrests:

• St. Patrick's Day (3.17.09): A couple of white guys got into it in a strip club in the 600 block of Iberville Street around 9:24 p.m. (We initially reported the incident occurred in the Artists Cafe at 608 Iberville, based on info from the NOPD. But the owner of another club across the street tells us Artists has been shut for a year and a half, and that the club in question here was next door to Artists called Dixie Divas.) When one left to go into the restroom, he was followed by the other, who pulled a knife and attempted to stab him. The would-be victim punched his assailant, who dropped the knife. The victim picked it up and went outside where he flagged down a passing cop.

The officer arrested Enrique Vogt, 32, and charged him with aggravated assault and damage of state property. He posted $3,000 bond and got out of OPP.

• Monday (3.23.09): A melee at the House of Blues, 225 Decatur St., last night around 8:55 p.m. resulted in 2 guys, including the club's manager, being slashed with a boxcutter and another patron being arrested. During an argument, a 20-year-old white guy allegedly took out the knife and began swinging it around, cutting an 18-year-old patron on his left side. When the 36-year-old club manager attempted to break up the fight, he was cut on his right thigh.

Though wounded, the manager managed to subdue the perp until police arrived. Police charged Daniel Edwards with 2 counts of aggravated battery.

Dealers beware: 8th District cops have been making a fair share of drug busts in the French Quarter, mostly by keeping an eye out for suspicious activity. Most of the arrests go down as first-time marijuana use, but every once in awhile they nab a would-be dealer.

Last Thursday night (3.19.09), Ofc. Anthony Bakewell and Ofc. Brandon Ludwig arrested Aubrey Young, 22, at Iberville and Decatur streets and charged him with distribution of marijuana, plus 2 parole violations and 2 warrants for possession of controlled dangerous substances.

Last year he beat a charge of possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine by pleading to a reduced charge of simple possession of crack. He got a 2-year suspended sentence from Judge Terry Alarcon.

Last year he beat a charge of possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine by pleading to a reduced charge of simple possession of crack. He got a 2-year suspended sentence from Judge Terry Alarcon.

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

Thom Kahler

Beware of N. Rampart Street

Hot corner: All of a sudden, N. Rampart Street has become the place NOT to be:

• Armed robbery: Early Sunday (3.15.09) morning around 4 a.m. 2 white men walking near Canal and N. Rampart streets were approached from behind by 2 black guys who stuck what felt like a gun in their backs and lifted the victims' wallets. The thieves fled down Canal on foot and turned on Bourbon Street into the French Quarter.

Police later apprehended one of the suspected robbers, Craig Ferdinand, 24, and charged him with 2 counts of 1st-degree robbery and 2 counts of simple battery. He is in OPP on $170,000 bond.

• Armed robbery: A white man walking in the 1000 block of Dumaine Street (between Burgundy and N. Rampart streets) on Friday (3.13.09) around 11:10 p.m. was robbed by a black man with a gun. The robber fled on foot toward N. Rampart and turned toward Canal Street.

He was described as in his 20's, 5'10" tall, weighing 150 pounds, clean shaven with a dark complexion, wearing a black button-up shirt with only the top button buttoned, a white undershirt, blue jeans, and a blue bandanna with a black cap.

• Pursesnatching: A white woman and a friend were waiting for a cab at the corner of Canal and N. Rampart streets on Saturday (3.14.09) at 5 a.m. when a white Ford pick-up truck pulled up next to them. A black man inside rolled down the window and asked if the women needed a ride. One of the women approached the truck, then noticed the cab they'd called was there, but as she turned to go the guy in the truck reached through the window and grabbed the woman's purse. He took off in the truck on Iberville Street, then down Burgundy Street.

The vehicle was described as a white Ford double cab pick-up with tinted windows. The robber was described as 20 to 30 years old, a light complexion, with thin facial hair around his jaw, wearing a white T-shirt and a blue fitted cap.

• Pursesnatching: On Saturday or Sunday (the police report listed it as "Sunday, March 14"--Saturday was the 14th, Sunday was the 15th) a white couple were standing in the 1000 block of Toulouse Street (between Burgundy and N. Rampart streets) around 11:31 p.m. when a black chick came up and grabbed the woman's purse off her shoulder and fled on Toulouse toward N. Rampart. The husband pursued the thief, who dropped the purse before reaching N. Rampart.

The robber was described as 18 to 25 years old, 5'4" tall, weighing 100 pounds, and wearing all black clothing.

Bruhaha on Bourbon: After an argument early Sunday (3.15.09) morning around 1 a.m. with the doormen at Temptations Gentlemen's Club, 327 Bourbon St. (between Bienville and Conti streets), 2 white guys were arrested.

Charged with 2 counts each of aggravated battery were Dennis Losauro (left), 35, and Harold Vogel (right), 40.

During the argument, a steel baton came into play. But the police report says one of "the doormen produced an expandable baton and struck the victims with the baton." There is a court hearing Tuesday (3.17.09) to determine who pulled the baton and who the victims are.

Don't forget: The "Buffa's Bunch" (more formally known as Lower Quarter Citizens Against Crime) will meet Saturday (3.21.09) at noon at Buffa's Lounge at Esplanade Avenue and Burgundy Street.

Chief Warren Riley and other ranking NOPD officers are expected to attend.

On tap is a continuing discussion of citizens' action to reduce or prevent crime in the Lower French Quarter, a review of the patrol strategy changes implemented by the 8th District, and feedback from the community on efforts so far. Also on the agenda is continued organizational activities aimed at creating an effective Lower Quarter Neighborhood Watch.

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

Thom Kahler

The good, bad, and ugly

UGLY: Shades of "Pretty Baby": A 14-year-old girl wandering in the French Quarter on Monday (3.9.09) evening was picked up by a 40-year-old black guy around 9:47 p.m. His name was "Joe", he told her, and took her to a bar in the Quarter. Then he took her to his house in the 2100 block of Perdido Street where he had intercourse with her.

The police are calling it "rape", perhaps due to the age of the girl involved, and as such are giving no information to the public.

Yes, the questions are: What was a teenage girl doing sporting in the Quarter, eluding the curfew? And what was she doing in bar where obviously they don't check IDs?

BAD: A number of bad guys have managed to escape charges against them, thanks to the District Attorney refusing to prosecute their cases:

• We just found out the DA refused all charges against Joseph Lawrence, 21, who wound up with 16 charges against him after a man was robbed outside the Renaissance Pere Marquette Hotel in the CBD last September.

Lawrence was charged with simple robbery, possession with intent to distribute Ecstasy, possession of a firearm while in possession of controlled dangerous substances, flight from an officer and resisting arrest, plus a host of traffic violations too numerous for anyone but a police officer to tabulate. He's now roaming our streets again.

• Utopia for them, maybe: At the time, it seemed reminiscent of the scene out of the movie "Animal House" where some unsavory dudes come up to the frat boys and say, "We wanna dance wit yore dates." Except at Utopia Night Club last October it got out of hand.

A white man was dancing with his girlfriend when a Hispanic guy came up and wanted to dance with the woman. The boyfriend told him his advances weren't wanted, at which point the interloper's 2 buddies stuck the boyfriend with a bottle and a chair, knocking him to the ground and the other man punched him.

Police arrested Rafael Lopez (left), 38, and Luis Tablas (right), 25, and charged them with aggravated battery. But last Tuesday (3.10.09) the DA dropped all charges against them.

GOOD: Arrests and warrants solve some cases:

• Tuesday (3.10.09) night, 2 black dudes loitering on a stoop in the 900 block of Bourbon Street (between St. Philip and Dumaine streets) thought they smelled easy money when a 39-year-old white man walked by about 10:40 p.m.

One of the black boys pulled a gun and demanded the man's money. He told them he didn't have any, but offered them some cigarettes instead. The 2 dummies settled for the smokes and fled on foot to Ursulines Avenue and turned the corner toward Royal Street.

A short time later, officers apprehended Devon Mathieu (right),19, and Evan Hartzog (left), 18, and charged them with armed robbery.

Mathieu's momma bailed him out with a property bond of $75,000; Hartzog is still sitting in OPP in lieu of a $45,000 bond.

• Tuesday (3.10.09): Detectives issued an arrest warrant for Jamal Jackson, 24, for an armed robbery that took place 2.15.09 at Iberville Street near Dorsiere Street (between Decatur and Chartres streets) around 5:30 a.m. when a black dude came up behind a 21-year-old black woman with a gun and robbed her of her purse. The robber was described as about 30 years old, 5'8" tall, weighing 150 pounds.

• Monday (3.9.09): Police arrested Clarence Andrews, 19, and charged him with simple robbery. Andrews was allegedly in a trio of black thugs who accosted an Uptown white woman in the 1100 block of Dauphine Street (between Ursulines Avenue and Gov. Nicholls Street) on 12.27.08. One bumped into the victim and another one grabbed her purse.

• A week ago (3.5.09): Ofc. Anthony Bakewell and Ofc. Joe Waguespack arrested an oft-arrested and sometimes convicted coke dealer in the 400 block of Dauphine Street (between Conti and St. Louis streets) late in the evening.

Cory C. Mackey, 32, was charged with distribution of cocaine, possession of crack, possession of cocaine, and extortion. He is being held in OPP on $155,000 bond.

An accomplice police reported arresting with him, Darrell Carr, does not show up in court records.

VERY GOOD: And sometimes the bad guys go to jail:

• It seemed like a simple little robbery, no big deal. But Judge Keva Landrum-Johnson wasn't treating it like one when she sentenced Douglas Roach, 21, to 10 years in prison last Thursday (3.12.09) after he pled guilty to 2 armed robberies. Then, noting it was a crime of violence, she tacked on another 10 years, though it will run concurrent with the other sentence.

Roach was arrested last September after he robbed 2 white guys in the middle of the afternoon who were walking in the 200 block of S. Robertson Street.

• A pursesnatcher is going to be doing 3 years in prison, thanks to Judge Frank Marullo Jr. On Tuesday (3.10.09), Marullo sentenced Leroy Gordon, 17, after he pled guilty to the charge.

Less than 2 weeks after he turned 17 last November, Gordon was arrested after he grabbed the purse of a woman who was about to into Krystal Hamburgers in the 100 block of Bourbon Street. He knocked her down and made off with her purse but was nabbed by officers before he got to Iberville Street.

Not so GOOD: A black woman who'd just gotten into her car parked in the 2100 block of St. Claude Avenue (between Frenchmen Street and Elysian Fields Avenue) on Sunday (3.8.09) night around 11:20 p.m. was stopped from closing the door by a black man who ordered her out of the car. He appeared unarmed, but she complied without resistance.

The thief sped off in the 1999 white Mercedes ML320 (Louisiana tag SHR674. The crook was described as 6' tall, medium to dark complexion, with a deep voice.

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

Thom Kahler

Justice, more or less

Murder charge revived: Cleveland Moore has been in stealth mode since New Orleans' first homicide after Katrina in November 2005. He was the subject of a manhunt until he was captured as a fugitive in Florida in October 2007. A 1st-degree murder charge against him was dropped in May 2008 and only a charge of aggravated battery against him remained from the vicious beating of a beloved bookseller in the French Quarter and the brutal murder of his neighbor.

Then, without fanfare, new charges of 2nd-degree murder and attempted 2nd-degree murder were filed a couple of weeks before Mardi Gras on 2.12.09 against Moore. Last Tuesday (3.3.09), Moore pled not guilty to the charges before Judge Keva Landrum-Johnson. He continues to sit in OPP on $1 million bond awaiting various hearings.

Moore, now 42, is accused in the savage beating of beloved French Quarter icon, Jon Newlin, 56, and in the stabbing death of Newlin's neighbor, Joyce Rader, at Newlin's home in the 700 block of Marigny Street.

Moore, best described delicately as a "friend" of Newlin's who occasionally stayed with the literary light at his home in the Faubourg Marigny, disappeared after the crime. According to the story we get, Moore allegedly beat Newlin in the kitchen of his home with an unknown object until the poet passed out. Then when Rader, a neighbor of Newlin's, came to investigate the commotion, she was stabbed or slashed by Newlin's assailant. Initially, an arrest warrant for Moore charged him only with aggravated battery in the assault on Newlin. Because Newlin had been rendered unconscious, he told police he had not witnessed the attack on Rader and so no murder charges were filed.

Eventually, NOPD Homicide Det. Erbin Bush developed enough evidence to issue a warrant for Moore on murder charges in October 2007, and a week later Moore was located in Tallahassee, Florida and arrested there by sheriff's deputies. He was extradited to Louisiana and booked into OPP in January and was being held without bond on charges of 1st-degree murder and aggravated 2nd-degree battery.

But then-DA Keva Landrum-Johnson--now the judge in the case--dropped the murder charge. It was for Johnson's successor as DA, Leon Cannizzaro, to resurrect the case with charges of 2nd-degree murder. It's not known if new information was developed or the charges resulted as a review of existing evidence.

Newlin, who clerked at a bookstore on Chartres Street in the French Quarter, has a legion of fans. Said one, "Everyone in the Quarter loved to shop at Librarie Bookstore just to listen to him talk about books--I think he has read everything ever written and remembers it all even now!"

He tried to shoot the deputy: Kyle Brown got off about as easy as you can for leveling a firearm at a police officer. Maybe the judge figured the bullet he took from the officer's shooting iron was, in some way, punishment enough.

Originally charged with attempted murder of a police officer, Brown, 22, was found guilty by Judge Laurie A. White of aggravated assault with a firearm against a police officer. She sentenced last Monday (3.2.09) him to a 3-year suspended sentence on inactive probation, plus a $5,000 fine. As a condition of his sentence, he must speak 3 times a year to youth groups "on the effect of alcohol and carrying weapons," and must supply the court with proof he has. If he fails to pay the fine within 3 years, he can be jailed.

Brown was shot by an Orleans Parish Criminal Sheriff's deputy in a parking lot at the foot of Conti Street near the riverfront. The deputy was one of 2 working a private security detail in the parking lot on 1.27.08 at 4:15 a.m. when they noticed Brown emerge from his car and walk toward them with a handgun. The deputies told him to drop his gun, but he refused and allegedly pointed it at them. One deputy fired his weapon, hitting Brown, who was taken to University Hospital in critical condition.

This shooter not so lucky: Christopher Nabonne, 18, might be known as the guy who couldn't shoot straight, but the judge was right on with the sentence she gave him Friday (3.6.09).

Judge Karen K. Herman gave Nabonne 20 years in prison for aggravated battery and aggravated assault with discharge of a firearm--then she tacked on another 5 years because he's a multiple offender.

Nabonne was convicted by a jury last month on the 2 charges. He was charged with shooting at at a black dude leaving Chris Owens' Club, 500 Bourbon St., last May, but instead he hit a woman standing outside the club in the leg.

Young robbers put away: 2 young robbers who terrorized the neighborhood last year are going to spend a few years upriver in Angola.

• Kevin McCoy, now 20, pled guilty Thursday (3.5.09) to 1st-degree robbery when the charge was dropped from armed robbery.

Judge Laurie A. White promptly sentenced him to 5 years in prison "without benefit of probation, parole or suspension."

He was apprehended 4.2.08 at Royal Street and Esplanade Avenue shortly after an armed robbery at 12:35 a.m. of a white guy walking toward N. Rampart Street in the 1000 block of Ursulines Avenue. McCoy allegedly pulled a pistol (later determined to be a BB gun) and demanded the victim's money. The victim dropped his cellphone and fled, then called in a description of the robber.

• Manuel McDonald, 20, got a lighter sentence from Judge Terry Alarcon, even though he pled guilty Friday (3.6.09) to 2 charges of 1st-degree robbery after they were reduced from armed robbery.

Judge Alarcon sentenced him to only 3 years total on both charges "without benefit of probation, parole or suspension."

McDonald was arrested after participating in 2 armed robberies within a half-hour of each other on 10.20.08 in the CBD. Just after midnight on that date, a black man was stopped by a grey Chevy Malibu that pulled along side of him at Common Street and O'Keefe Avenue in the CBD. The passenger hopped out of the car, brandishing 2 pistols and demanded the victim's money. The victim complied and fled on foot, flagging down a patrol car.

Then at 12:30 a.m., a 58-year-old black man was robbed in much the same manner at Tulane and Loyola avenues by a man in a grey Chevy Malibu.

Shortly after, Ofc. Terrance Wilson and Ofc. Joseph Jefferson stopped a car fitting the description at Canal and Burgundy streets and determined the men inside where the perpetrators of both robberies.

McDonald's alleged accomplice, William Gates, 19, is still contesting the charges.

Robbery suspects freed: 2 other alleged robbers were released from OPP by Judge Ben Willard after he found no probable cause to charge them when the District Attorney failed to present any evidence during their preliminary hearing recently.

James Dawson (left), 23, and Tony Graps (right), 21, were arrested 6.25.08 and charged with the robbery of a 58-year-old man at Toulouse and Chartres streets on 6.19.08 around 2:20 a.m. According to the police report, one perpetrator got behind the victim and began to strike him with his pistol, knocking him to the ground. The other perp took a wallet from the victim's pocket, which reportedly contained only $7.

There is no indication why the DA didn't present any evidence, but what we're hearing points to sloppy police work. Supposedly when detectives viewed the video surveillance tape from cameras outside the New Orleans Silversmith Shop on the corner where the robbery occurred, it clearly showed these 2 men were not the robbers, though the police issued warrants for them nonetheless.

Even though Dawson and Graps have been released from jail, they still face a hearing on motions 3.26.09, indicating that the charges have not been dropped.

Druggy goes free: Hard to say what would make Judge Terry Alarcon think is a serious offense. A defendant comes before him with almost 3 dozen arrests or convictions for about any kind of drug can think of (and a few you can't) over the last 5 years. The DA allows him to plead down to lesser charges. Judge Alarcon gives the defendant a 5-year sentence--suspended. Defendant goes on his merry way.

It makes the work of Ofc. Athena Monteleone of the 8th District's Taskforce seem futile. She single-handedly took down Cedric Franklin, 26, a little after 8 p.m. on 11.10.08 at Dumaine and Burgundy streets and charged his with possession with intent to distribute alprazolam (Xanax) and crack cocaine, and for the umteenth time, "1st offense" possession of marijuana.

The DA reduced those charges to mere "possession," eliminating the "with intent to distribute" that would have labelled Franklin as a drug dealer. Judge Alarcon set him free.

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

Thom Kahler