Night time's no good time

Robbers hit in early a.m.: A series of robberies over the weekend--which don't seem to be related--illustrate the need for extra caution in the wee hours:

• Friday (6.5.09), 1:30 a.m.: A white man walking near St. Louis and Burgundy streets was robbed by 2 black dudes. One grabbed him while the other cleaned out his pockets. Either they didn't get much or the victim just didn't give a damn about his friends and neighbors who might wind up victims of this duo--he didn't report it to police until 12 hours later.

Not much chance the cops were going to catch up with these guys, only of one of whom the victim could give a description of. He was said to be 20 to 26 years old, 6'1" tall, weighing 170 pounds, medium build, with a dark complexion and shoulder-length dreadlocks, wearing a white shirt.

• Sunday (6.7.09), 3:15 a.m.: 2 white guys walking near Bourbon and Orleans streets were offered a ride by 2 black dudes. After they got in the car, the black fellas demanded their money and began to beat on them. After they surrendered their worldly goods, they were let out of the car, which sped away.

The 2 victims (let's call them Dumb and Dumber, for obvious reasons) described their assailants as both 20 to 25 years old with short hair, one 6' tall, the other 5'9" tall. They gave no description of the vehicle. Duh?

• Monday (6.8.09), 12:35 a.m.: A white woman walking near St. Philip and Dauphine streets, was robbed by 2 black chicks who came up and struck the victim while grabbing her purse from her hands.

The victim described the girls as in their early 20's, about 5' tall, one with a medium complexion, long dreadlocks and wearing a maroon shirt, the other wearing a yellow dress.

One in the hand, one on the run: 8th District detectives did manage to identify suspects in a couple of crimes from April and May:

• Thursday (6.4.09): Detectives issued an arrest warrant for Deshawn Freeman, 27, for aggravated battery after he allegedly attacked a black woman with a lamp in her hotel room in the 300 block of O'Keefe Avenue. The victim told police she was acquainted with her attacker, but didn't know his full name.

She later picked him out of a photographic line-up and positively identified him. Freeman, who is 6' tall and weighs 175 pounds, has been on the run from the law for the past year after he failed to show up for a court case in which he was charged with possession of cocaine.

• Friday (6.5.09): Detectives arrested Amora Collins, 18, and charged her with robbing a white guy of his wallet on 5.15.09 who was at the Chase Bank ATM at Bienville and Royal streets around 10 p.m.

She was described as 5'2" tall and weighing 110 pounds. The victim positively identified her from a photographic line-up. She's sitting in OPP in lieu of $35,000 bond.

Hey, what happened?: Romalice Tate, 20, who's spent the last year and a half of his life in OPP after being charged with armed robbery, is going to spend some more time in prison.

He was sentenced Monday (6.8.09) by Judge Laurie White to 5 years on each of 2 counts of attempted armed robbery, but those sentences will run concurrently and he'll get credit for the time already served.

Tate might have felt kind of snookered in the deal. He pled guilty to the 2 charges last January after they were reduced to "attempted" from the real thing. But last month, his alleged accomplice, Renard Prevost, 21, took his chances with a jury on 2 charges of armed robbery with a firearm. The jury found him not guilty.

The charges against Tate and Prevost stem from the robbery 1.8.08 of an Ohio couple walking in the 800 block of Commerce Street (near Julia Street) around midnight when 2 black thugs came upon them. One of the assailants struck the man in the head several times with a black semi-automatic pistol while demanding his money. The other robber stuck a small silver and black colored pistol in the woman's side and demanded her property. The thieves made off with the man's wallet and cellphone and the woman's purse.

Still in a heap of trouble: John L. Clowney, 50, who was acquitted by a jury of attempted 1st-degree robbery but was found guilty of aggravated battery, was sentenced 5.29.09 by Judge Frank Marullo Jr. to 10 years in prison on that charge.

That must have seemed rather harsh to some, because defense attorney Keith Hurtt immediately filed for a reconsideration of the sentence. Judge Marullo allowed the Louisiana Appellate Project to represent Clowney on his appeal. Clowney's going to need all the help he can get; he faces a multiple-bill hearing in July which could send him away for a lot longer if he's found to be a career criminal.

Clowney was arrested 11.14.08 after an attack 2 days earlier on a 55-year-old man who was going into his house at 727 Burgundy St. According to the police, the attacker was armed with a boxcutter and tried to rob the man. A man in the house came to the victim's aid and was stabbed in the neck, but wrested the knife away from the attacker and slashed the attacker several times in the face, severely enough to hospitalize the perpetrator.

Lucks out, more or less: Donovan R. Taplette--or Rashawn Taplett, as he sometimes called himself--was first charged with armed robbery, but the district attorney's office decided not to prosecute that. Then the charge was reduced to 1st-degree robbery, apparently a question of whether or not he was armed. But when things finally wrapped up in court 6.1.09, Taplette was allowed to plead guilty to theft over $500.

8th District detectives arrested Taplette, 18, on 1.5.09 after he allegedly carjacked a Hispanic guy who was sitting in his car on St. Louis Street near Bourbon Street around 6 a.m. on 12.21.08.

Judge Karen Herman sentenced Taplette to 5 years in prison--and was emphatic that all his meds go with him and be given to him.

Oops: We erred in reporting last Friday (6.5.09) that a levy funding the French Quarter-Marigny Historic Area Management District (you know, those guys who say they're going to make the Quarter safer) would be crammed down residents' throats without a vote of the people.

The bill (SB256 which state Sen. Edwin Murray quietly slipped past his colleagues last week) has to clear the state House before there's a public vote to try to cram it down residents' throats.

The bill is touted as a measure to promote "public safety, security, and crime prevention." No one disputes the need to make the Quarter safer, but the bill's proposal to add a force of rent-a-cops is an invitation for the NOPD to slough off its mandated duty to protect our neighborhoods.

And the $185 fee (what's magic about that number and where'd it come from?) to be levied for that purpose is greater than a property assessed at $200,000 already pays in taxes for police and fire protection.

Does that mean if this new levy passes we'll have twice as many cops on the streets of the Quarter? Highly unlikely.

The group behind all this is studded with businessmen--rather than residents--and that alone portends a warning as to who's going to get stuck with the bigger big.

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

Thom Kahler

Whoa, Warren!

Busy week for Big Chief: Where to begin? Where to begin? Let's see:

• Last Friday (5.29.09), Big Chief Warren Riley (left) throws a hissy fit after District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro (right) asks him for more investigators so he can more vigorous prosecute old homicide cases. Riley pulls his top cop, Capt. Jeff Winn, out of the DA's office and tells Leon to go find his own investigators. "Pffft! I'm taking my ball 'n going home," seems to be the message Riley was delivering in his usual passive/aggressive response.

Never mind that in the 5 months Winn was under the DA's roof he managed to put together a team and protocol for more successful prosecutions of the murders ravaging the city. And never mind that Riley's sitting on untold millions of dollars budgeted--but not spent--for more officers because he's doing a lousy job of recruiting. What were you thinking, Warren? Anything?

• A few days later (6.1.09), the FBI announces that New Orleans has reasserted its rank as the most murderous city in the U.S. Instead of announcing a plan for reducing homicides, Riley decides to play statistician instead of police chief and tries to manipulate the figures so they don't look so bad.

A NOPD spokesman points out that the city has 2 fewer murders this year than last year at this time--only 80. But at that rate (16 per month), New Orleans will end the year with 192 homicides--13 more than the 179 in 2008. Not good Warren, not good at all.

• Then amid all this, it's revealed the Big Chief wants to be the Head Honcho, and run for mayor like a predecessor did. We already have a blundering buffoon as mayor and can't afford to suffer another such catastrophe.

Riley's obviously more delusional than we thought if he thinks all it takes to be mayor is to be black. What has he been smoking? The evidence in the evidence room? We knew Richard Pennington, and we can tell you, Warren, you're no Richard Pennington.

If you want to tell Riley "fugetaboutit", email him at: wriley@cityofno.com

The camel's nose: It may have seemed alike a good idea last year when State Sen. Edwin Murray pushed through a law to create a district to protect the French Quarter and Marigny Triangle. But now it seems like the proverbial camel's nose under the tent that threatens to make these neighborhoods look like the Dallas Cowboys practice facility.

A new bill by Murray this year, which quietly slipped through the Senate this week, gives the district the power to tax every building in the district for the purpose of "public safety, security, and crime prevention"--and, of course, creates the bureaucracy with which to do it.

While reducing crime is foremost in citizens' minds, the creation of a private security force seduces the citizenry with the delusion of greater safety. The natural inclination of those who should be protecting us--the NOPD--is to slough off the responsibility, deferring to the district's rent-a-cops.

Do you think the Garden District's safer with its security force? Do you think the Lower Quarter Crime Watch's 4-hour patrol has any impact? Think again.

Murray's madness will be financed with a minimum tax of $185 per parcel. And all of this without the say of the voters, as was initially promised. And initially, if memory serves, it was supposed to be financed with a portion of the sales tax collected in the Quarter. But now it's a property tax.

If the bill gets though the House, it will only take Gov. Jindal's signature to slap a tax on this deluded populace. We can only hope Jindal's aversion to new taxes is more sincere than Bush 41's.

Renters who live in the Quarter and Marigny and felt horribly threatened by the proposed increase in the homestead exemption because they believed it would force raising of their rents, should be very afraid of this bill. It works out to over $15 a month a landlord would be justified in adding to your rent for your "public safety."

And as for Murray, he's another one who would be mayor. He's already showing the kind of official he would be--tax the citizens all you want without giving them a say.

Crime? What crime?: As always, when so little crime is reported by the 8th District, the optimist hopes it's because all the NOPD's strategies are working against crime, and not just that it's being unreported.

• One of the only crimes reported in the last week was the theft of a cellphone from a white guy taking pictures in the 600 block of Bourbon Street (between Toulouse and St. Peter streets) a little after 11 p.m. last Friday (5.29.09). A black guy grabbed the phone and took off on St. Peter toward N. Rampart Street.

He was described as 20 to 25 years old, 5'9" tall, weighing 140 pounds with a thin build, dark complexion, shoulder-length dreadlocks, and wearing a powder blue T-shirt and black shorts.

• 8th District detectives managed to make a lot of a little when they put together a photo line-up based on the scant description given by 4 women when they were robbed at gunpoint of their purses on 5.4.09 in the 1000 block of Chartres Street.

The detectives arrested Jerry Corner, 18, on Monday (6.1.09) and charged him with 4 counts of armed robbery. He's being held on $600,000 bond in OPP.

• Who carries a hammer with them for their morning eye-opener? Police say James Gibeault, 58, became irate in the Cafe Rose Nicaud, 632 Frenchmen St., around 8:30 a.m. Thursday (6.4.09) and pulled out a hammer and swung it at one guy there and then threw it at another guy.

They charged him with 2 counts of aggravated assault and he's sitting in OPP for want of a $50,000 bond.

But will he show?: One of New Orleans true bad boys is due in court for arraignment on a charge of 2nd-degree murder next Friday (6.12.09). But Nathaniel Payton, 27, may not be exiting the courthouse as quickly as before.

When the grand jury indicted him last week (5.28.09) on a charge of 2nd-degree murder, Judge Camille Buras slapped a hefty $1.5 million bond on the notorious drug dealer who's been skipping around town on wimpy bonds set by magistrate judges.

Last August, after he allegedly pumped 7 or 8 bullets into his victim at Bienville and Decatur streets, Payton was charged with aggravated battery and Magistrate Rudy Gorrell levied only a $75,000 bond, which Payton posted in no time.

Even when Payton's alleged victim died 6 months later and he was charged with murder, Magistrate Gerard Hansen reset his bond at only a measly $220,000, which Payton again had no trouble posting to get out of OPP.

Now we'll see just how deep Payton's pockets are, how good business has been on the streets of the city.

Your voice heard: Sheriff Marlin Gusman apparently heard your pleas for resuming linking suspects to their court cases and has rejiggered his computer to do the job. Now we'll be able to once again link the suspects on the NOcrimeline.com website.

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

Thom Kahler

Crimes reported in May

We've compiled the latest list of crimes reported during May 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. Click here for the list. The comparison of crimes this year versus last year has also been updated on the list to the right.

Crimes reported May 2009

This is a list of the crimes reported during May 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.

Murder
5.02.09, 4:51 a.m., 811 Conti St., shooting

Robbery
5.01.09, 12:01 a.m., 700 Ursulines Ave., simple robbery
5.04.09, 4:44 p.m., 1100 Burgundy St., armed robbery
5.04.09, 5:25 p.m., Toulouse St. & Dauphine St., simple robbery
5.04.09, 6:30 p.m., 600 Gravier St., simple robbery
5.04.09, 10:32 p.m., 1000 Chartres St., armed robbery, gun
5.06.09, 1:45 a.m., 500 St. Charles Ave., armed robbery, gun
5.08.09, 1:40 a.m., 400 Bourbon St., simple robbery
5.10.09, 9:11 p.m., Bourbon St. & Orleans Ave., simple robbery
5.12.09, 3:05 a.m., Canal St. & Bourbon St., pursesnatching
5.12.09, 4:30 a.m., 1600 Canal St., armed robbery, gun
5.13.09, 3:50 a.m., 800 Fulton St., armed robbery, gun
5.15.09, 5:00 p.m., O'Keefe Ave. & Union St., armed robbery, gun
5.15.09, 5:20 p.m., 800 Decatur St., simple robbery
5.15.09, 10:00 p.m., Bienville St. & Royal St., simple robbery
5.24.09, 1:45 a.m., 500 Bourbon St., simple robbery
5.24.09, 10:30 p.m., 900 N. Rampart St., simple robbery
5.26.09, 8:00 p.m., Canal St. & Royal St., simple robbery
5.26.09, 11:15 p.m., Dauphine St. &St. Peter St., pursesnatching
5.29.09, 11:10 a.m., 600 Bourbon St., simple robbery

Assault & battery
5.02.09, 12:01 a.m., 1000 Tchoupitoulas St., aggravated assault
5.10.09, 9:00 a.m., 300 Camp St., aggravated battery
5.13.09, 9:55 p.m., Iberville St. & N. Peters St., aggravated assault
5.17.09, 4:42 a.m., Canal St. & S. Robertson St., aggravated battery, shooting
5.19.09, 11:00 p.m., 300 N. Peters St., aggravated battery
5.24.09, 2:36 a.m., 600 S. Rampart St., aggravated battery
5.25.09, 1:58 a.m., 800 Conti St., aggravated battery, shooting
5.26.09, 4:00 a.m., St. Ann St. & Bourbon St., aggravated assault

Burglary
5.10.09, 4:00 p.m., 400 N. Peters St., business
5.20.09, 1:40 a.m., 700 St. Philip St., business
5.21.09, 12:19 a.m., 700 Baronne St., business
5.21.09, 1:55 p.m., 700 Orleans Ave., residence
5.23.09, 5:02 a.m., 500 St. Philip St., business
5.27.09, 12:50 a.m., 400 Poydras St., business

Theft
5.01.09, 11:50 p.m., St. Louis St. & Bourbon St., pickpocketing
5.02.09, 1:45 a.m., 800 St. Louis St., pickpocketing
5.02.09, 1:30 a.m., 500 Bourbon St., pickpocketing
5.02.09, 12:01 a.m., 500 Bourbon St., pickpocketing
5.02.09, 3:30 p.m., 500 Canal St.
5.01.09, 11:30 p.m., 300 Bourbon St., pickpocketing
5.02.09, 10:30 a.m., Poydras St.
5.01.09, 10:00 a.m., 500 Decatur St.
5.04.09, 9:17 p.m., 600 Decatur St.
5.05.09, 2:18 a.m., Bourbon St. &St. Ann St., pickpocketing
5.04.09, 9:00 p.m., 1900 N. Rampart St.
5.05.09, 6:00 p.m., 500 Canal St.
5.06.09, 1:00 a.m., 500 Bourbon St., pickpocketing
5.06.09, 7:50 a.m., 400 Dauphine St.
5.06.09, 3:45 p.m., 800 Decatur St.
5.03.09, 12:01 a.m., 700 Canal St.
5.06.09, 5:54 p.m., 300 Royal St., shoplifting
5.08.09, 3:30 p.m., 500 Canal St.
5.08.09, 9:00 p.m., 700 Dauphine St.
5.09.09, 3:30 a.m., 700 Dauphine St., pickpocketing
5.09.09, 5:45 a.m., 300 Bourbon St.
5.09.09, 11:45 p.m., 400 Bourbon St., pickpocketing
5.10.09, 1:20 a.m., 400 Bourbon St., pickpocketing
5.10.09, 3:40 a.m., 400 Bourbon St., pickpocketing
5.10.09, 11:30 a.m., 800 Decatur St.
5.11.09, 4:10 a.m., 1100 Bourbon St., shoplifting
5.11.09, 6:00 a.m., 200 S. Rampart St.
5.11.09, 9:45 p.m., 100 Bourbon St.
5.05.09, 5:00 p.m., 400 Frenchmen St.
5.12.09, 11:20 a.m., Canal St.
5.12.09, 7:00 p.m., 900 Decatur St., shoplifting
5.13.09, 11:20 a.m., 900 Gov. Nicholls St., bicycle
5.14.09, 12:10 a.m., 100 Bourbon St.
5.14.09, 2:30 a.m., 200 Bourbon St.
5.14.09, 11:30 a.m., 300 N. Peters St.
5.14.09, 3:15 p.m., 200 St. Charles Ave., shoplifting
5.14.09, 6:50 p.m., 400 N. Peters St., shoplifting
5.16.09, 12:30 a.m., 500 Bourbon St., pickpocketing
5.16.09, 12:30 a.m., 500 Bourbon St., pickpocketing
5.16.09, 12:09 a.m., 100 Iberville St.
5.16.09, 6:15 p.m., 400 N. Peters St., shoplifting
5.16.09, 10:30 p.m., 100 Bourbon St.
5.17.09, 10:00 p.m., Bourbon St. & Conti St., pickpocketing
5.18.09, 11:50 p.m., 600 Bourbon St., attempted pickpocketing
5.18.09, 4:24 p.m., 1100 Decatur St., shoplifting
5.20.09, 9:20 a.m., 100 Royal St., shoplifting
5.20.09, 7:30 a.m., 300 Canal St.
5.20.09, 2:09 p.m., 900 Canal St., shoplifting
5.20.09, 11:00 a.m., 900 Camp St.
5.20.09, 3:10 p.m., 500 Royal St., shoplifting
5.21.09, 12:30 p.m., 900 Canal St., shoplifting
5.21.09, 2:37 p.m., 300 Canal St., shoplifting
5.02.09, 6:30 p.m., 300 Canal St.
5.21.09, 8:03 p.m., 500 Gravier St.
5.22.09, 12:10 a.m., 400 Bourbon St.
5.22.09, 10:30 p.m., 500 Decatur St.
5.24.09, 12:20 a.m., Bourbon St. & Conti St., pickpocketing
5.24.09, 3:15 a.m., 500 Canal St.
5.23.09, 3:30 p.m., 700 Royal St., shoplifting
5.24.09, 12:00 p.m., 500 Bourbon St.
5.26.09, 2:45 a.m., 300 Bourbon St.
5.27.09, 3:30 p.m., 100 Royal St., shoplifting
5.28.09, 1:00 p.m., 600 Esplanade Ave.
5.28.09, 3:30 p.m., 600 Poydras St., bicycle
5.30.09, 6:00 a.m., 300 Canal St.
5.30.09, 12:25 p.m., 200 Loyola Ave.
5.30.09, 8:10 p.m., 700 Canal St.
5.25.09, 11:45 a.m., 700 Union St.

Auto theft
5.01.09, 5:30 a.m., St. Joseph St. & Magazine St.
5.01.09, 10:50 p.m., 1600 Canal St., attempted
5.02.09, 4:10 a.m., S. Rampart St. & Girod St.
5.01.09, 5:30 p.m., Common St. & S. Rampart St.
5.03.09, 8:30 a.m., 1000 Toulouse St.
5.03.09, 8:30 a.m., 1000 Toulouse St.
5.01.09, 1:00 a.m., 300 N. Rampart St.
5.04.09, 1:31 p.m., Decatur St. & Esplanade Ave.
5.05.09, 2:00 a.m., 800 Bienville St., attempted
5.05.09, 7:30 p.m., 600 S. Peters St.
5.06.09, 11:00 p.m., Bourbon St. & Bienville St.
5.09.09, 3:00 a.m., Chartres St. & Toulouse St.
5.09.09, 8:30 p.m., Baronne St. & Union St., attempted
5.10.09, 3:30 p.m., 800 Conti St.
5.11.09, 11:30 p.m., Poeyfarre St. & Tchoupitoulas St.
5.12.09, 9:50 a.m., 400 LaSalle St., attempted
5.14.09, 6:30 a.m., 100 Dorsiere St.
5.17.09, 3:30 a.m., N. Peters St. & Iberville St.
5.17.09, 2:40 p.m., 1200 Tulane Ave.
5.15.09, 11:15 a.m., Poydras St. & Tchoupitoulas St.
5.18.09, 2:45 p.m., 900 Tchoupitoulas St.
5.16.09, 6:30 a.m., Conti St. & Burgundy St.
5.18.09, 2:00 p.m., 1200 Dauphine St.
5.21.09, 4:00 a.m., 400 Burgundy St.
5.24.09, 2:00 a.m., N. Peters St. & Ursulines Ave.
5.24.09, 9:45 p.m., 100 Exchange Alley
5.24.09, 2:00 p.m., Toulouse St. & Burgundy St.
5.23.09, 5:00 p.m., Decatur St. & Frenchmen St.
5.23.09, 8:30 a.m., 200 Loyola Ave.
5.28.09, 11:30 p.m., Conti St. & Decatur St.

Car break-in
5.02.09, 5:00 a.m., 1600 Canal St.
5.03.09, 11:30 p.m., Andrew Higgins St. & Poe Dr.
5.05.09, 1:30 a.m., 400 Gaiennie St.
5.05.09, 12:10 p.m., Camp St. & Natchez St., exterior
5.05.09, 5:30 p.m., 1600 Canal St.
5.05.09, 11:05 p.m., 100 Iberville St.
5.06.09, 9:00 a.m., 300 Loyola Ave.
5.07.09, 6:00 p.m., 700 Dauphine St.
5.08.09, 2:15 a.m., 100 Royal St.
5.09.09, 12:30 a.m., 1500 Pauger St.
5.09.09, 1:00 a.m., 400 Carondelet St.
5.10.09, 1:00 p.m., Basin St. & Canal St.
5.13.09, 8:30 a.m., 1500 Pauger St.
5.13.09, 1:30 a.m., 900 Touro St.
5.14.09, 12:30 p.m., 1000 N. Peters St.
5.15.09, 1:30 a.m., Decatur St. & Frenchmen St.
5.16.09, 7:30 p.m., Union St. & Carondelet St., exterior
5.17.09, 1:30 a.m., Dorsiere St. & Iberville St.
5.17.09, 5:00 a.m., Dumaine St. & Dauphine St.
5.17.09, 12:01 a.m., 600 St. Louis St., exterior
5.17.09, 12:02 p.m., 1000 Tchoupitoulas St.
5.17.09, 12:02 p.m., 1000 Tchoupitoulas St.
5.20.09, 9:50 a.m., 800 St. Peter St.
5.21.09, 12:30 p.m., 800 Iberville St.
5.22.09, 1:00 a.m., 300 N. Rampart St.
5.22.09, 3:30 p.m., 800 Barracks St.
5.24.09, 12:15 p.m., 1000 N. Peters St.
5.24.09, 4:30 a.m., 1600 Canal St.
5.25.09, 8:20 p.m., Tchoupitoulas St. & Natchez St.
5.25.09, 8:00 p.m., Andrew Higgins St. & Tchoupitoulas St.
5.28.09, 6:30 p.m., Magazine St. & Julia St.
5.29.09, 2:00 a.m., 1000 Ursulines Ave.
5.30.09, 1:45 a.m., 1000 Constance St.
5.30.09, 8:30 p.m., 500 Decatur St.

CRIME STATS LIE...but you knew that

My apologies: For some time I have been defending the veracity of the NOPD's crime stats. That was based on cross-checking reports I received from the 8th District with the NOPD's online crime map; they meshed enough to lead me to believe we were getting an accurate report of all crimes in the city. In fact, I was rather brusque this week in refuting one reader's claim that Big Chief Warren Riley's crime stats had holes in them.

I was wrong. I apologize.

My revelation came when looking for something this week about the murder in the Erin Rose bar on 5.2.09. I realized the incident didn't appear on the NOPD's crime map covering that period. Not as an aggravated battery (as it was initially reported). Not as a homicide after the woman died in the hospital. Not at all.

Which leads us to this: If one major case we all know about goes unrecorded like this, why should we trust any of the other statistics the Big Chief rolls out?

Unfortunately, we'll have to deal with this kind of ineptitude until we get a mayor next year who will provide us with a competent police chief who respects the public enough not to lie to them.

When candidates start announcing for mayor, our first question to them ought to be: What are you going to do about crime? Who will be your police chief? If they can't give you a straight and immediate answer, cross them off your list of candidates.

Beware of fat men: Don't let up your vigilance of skinny punk kids running around the French Quarter robbing and shooting people, but beware of a whole host of fat men causing mayhem in the neighborhood:

• Tuesday (5.26.09) 8:06 p.m.: A white man walking near Canal and Royal streets was approached by a black panhandler begging for money. When the would-be Good Samaritan took his wallet out to give the guy something, the street urchin grabbed the wallet and fled into the French Quarter.

The robber was described as 6' tall, weighing 200 pounds, wearing a gold tank top jersey and black basketball shorts.

• Tuesday (5.26.09) 11:15 p.m.: A white woman walking near Dauphine and St. Peter streets was approached by a white guy who grabbed her purse and fled on St. Peter toward N. Rampart Street.

He was described as 6'2" tall, weighing 300 pounds, with short brown hair, and wearing blue jeans.

A couple of weeks earlier, 2 shoeshine "boys" (actually described as men in their 30's) grabbed the money and ran after demanding tips for their unsolicited services. Both were black, one 5'11" tall, weighing 200 pounds; the other 5'8" tall, weighing 225 pounds.

The skinny just as bad: A black woman parking her car Thursday (5.28.09) night at 11:30 p.m. near Conti and Decatur streets was carjacked by a young black dude, 5'9" tall, weighing 145 pounds, with shoulder-length dreadlocks, and wearing all black clothing.

He also grabbed her purse from her shoulder before fleeing in the 1999 Volvo S80 sedan, dark gray in color, with Louisiana license plate SWT 959.

Take that, you, you, you...: Last Monday (5.25.09) a white guy got into a car around 10 p.m. with a black man he knew at St. Louis and Dauphine streets and asked for a ride to N. Rampart Street and Esplanade Avenue.

Enroute, the driver stopped to pick up another black man he knew. He no more than got in the car when he pulled a knife and demanded the white guys money. The white overpowered the 2 black dudes, stabbing both of them with their own knife. He got out of the car and flagged down a passing police cruiser.

Cops arrested Rene Metoyer (right), 31, and Darrell Bell (left), 30. Each was charged with attempted armed robbery. Metoyer is being held in OPP on $50,000 bond; Bell is being held on $300,000 bond.

Can't we all just get along?: On Tuesday (5.26.09) around 4 a.m., 2 white guys bumped into each other at St. Ann and Bourbon streets and proceeded to get into an argument.

Joseph K. Allen, 32, allegedly pulled out a knife and pointed it at the other guy in a threatening manner before running off. The other guy chased him down until police caught up with Allen and arrested him.

They charged him with aggravated assault and criminal damage to state property. He posted $7,500 bond and got of OPP the next day.

Stick this: A carjacker who didn't know how to drive a stick-shift isn't likely to get driver's ed in prison, though he'll be there for 10 years.

Kendrick L. Burbank (pictured), 28, pled guilty to armed robbery 5.20.09 when the DA agreed not to charge him on a multiple bill for all his other crimes over the years. Judge Keva Landrum-Johnson sentenced him to 10 years, giving him credit for time served but denying him early release for good behavior.

His alleged accomplice, Keith Perkins, 18, is due to stand trial 7.29.09.

Burbank and Perkins were arrested 8.10.08 after they rode up on their bicycles as a white man getting out of his car in the 800 block of Dumaine Street (between Bourbon and Dauphine streets) around 10 p.m. One of the thugs pulled a pistol and demanded the driver's car keys.

The 2 suspects got into the man's car and started it up, but were stymied by its manual transmission. The car owner offered them money in exchange for the car keys. They accepted and rode away on their bicycles--with the victim in pursuit in his car on Dumaine toward N. Rampart Street.

Lucky to be alive: In some neighborhoods, you sell a phony drug in place of the real thing, your lifespan significantly decreases.

So Tommy Spires, 34, was lucky to get off with a 5-year suspended sentence from Judge Camille Buras 5.18.09 and the order to get a job and go through drug rehab while on probation.

He spent nearly 4 months in OPP after his arrest on 1.25.09 at St. Louis and Bourbon streets, though his bond was only $5,000. I guess you've got to sell a lot of oregano at those prices to make bond.

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

Thom Kahler

Shoot out in the Quarter

Kids and guns...again: Just a few feet from where a man gunned down his wife in a bar earlier this month, 2 black boys finished a fight with gunfire early Monday (5.25.09) morning in the 800 block of Conti Street near Bourbon Street.

According to police, 2 brothers got into an argument with 3 black dudes shortly before 2 a.m. and left, only to return armed with pistols. They allegedly opened fire on their adversaries, wounding one, who turned 25 on Monday, in the lower torso.

An off-duty security guard in the vicinity, armed with his permitted weapon, opened fire on the attackers, wounding Bernard Harper (top), 19, in the arm. He and his brother fled on foot on Conti toward N. Rampart Street but were apprehended a short time later by 8th District cops who recovered both of their weapons.

Bernard was booked into OPP late Thursday (5.28.09) afternoon after being released from University Hospital on a charge of attempted 1st-degree murder. His bond was set at $100,000 by Magistrate Gerard Hansen.

Sullivan Harper (bottom), 17, was charged with attempted 1st-degree murder and is in OPP on $750,000 bond set by Magistrate Harry Cantrell on Monday.

Crime down, but fear remains: Big Chief Warren Riley was miffed the other day when he didn't get credit for crime being down this year. All of us who are leery of Riley's so-called strategies are reluctant to give him credit, but considering we blame him when crime is up, it seems fair to give him credit when it declines. Crime is down this year, at least in the 8th District, for whatever reason.

In the French Quarter, Marigny Triangle, and CBD (the 8th District) through 4.30.09, crime dropped 22% from 783 crimes last year compared to 609 this year. The current average of 150+ crimes a month is not insignificant, even if it's less than the almost-200 crimes a month last year. The residents of these neighborhoods are still fearful that when they step out of their door they might become one of those 150+, one of 5 who become a victim daily.

What's a good number? Who knows. But it takes a long time to feel safe again after it's been so bad. Only continued vigilance by the police will keep taking the bad guys off the streets--hopefully before they commit the crimes that terrorize us.

Riley's BS persists: During his brushup with District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro in front of the City Council a week or 2 ago, Riley once again poor-mouthed the NOPD's budget, saying he couldn't possibly spare the 30 or so officers the DA said he needed to more vigorous pursue investigations of violent crimes. Didn't Riley just a couple of weeks ago, when the last class graduated from the police academy, say his force was now up to pre-Katrina levels (even though the population is at about 75%)?

You always hear what he can't do, but Riley never seems to have a strategy for doing things better. Once again, good managers are those who put their manpower to work where it will do the most good.

As a f 'instance, get those 6 or so gun-toting officers who work in the Public Information Office out in the field to do what they were trained to do. (Besides, they haven't posted anything to the NOPD's webpage the public can use for months!) There's absolutely no reason officers the city has paid to train to shoot guns and solve crimes should be sitting on their fannies behind a desk filing papers. Citizens could do that for 1/2 the pay.

As for Cannizzaro, I say if he wants an A-bomb, start warming up the engines on the Enola Gay.

Arresting our way out of crime: You often hear "social scientists" and police chiefs who try to be one say "You can't arrest your way out of crime." I think I heard someone (maybe Riley, who's said it before) say it again last week. I suppose they mean you're always going to have criminals, like the poor, to deal with. But you've certainly got to believe that taking a bad guy off the street is going to prevent at least some future crimes.

Consider this case:

8th District detectives arrested Bryan Gray, 25, on 5.13.09 as the dude they believed robbed a black guy 4.10.09 in the 300 block of Tchoupitoulas Street near Harrah's Casino. A couple of days later, they linked Gray to the robbery of a black couple in the 400 block of Gravier Street on 4.2.09. When they were done by 5.18.09, they had charged Gray with 2 more armed robberies.

He sits now in OPP on $750,000 bond, unlikely to be a problem on the streets until the courts get done with him.

And there are others: You just don't rob people who know you! A 25-year-old guy got into a car near the Superdome on 5.15.09 with 2 guys he knew that he was going to buy Saints' tickets from. When he pulled out his wad of cash to pay for them, the other passenger in the car pulled out a gun and demanded all his money, then made him get out of the car as it took off.

A couple of days later the cops caught up with Donovan Krieger, 18, and booked him with armed robbery with a firearm.

Other stupid crimes: A 16-year-old black boy has a few lessons to learn about carrying a weapon--and telling the truth.

Cops rushed to the scene of a shooting at Canal and S. Robertson streets by the Canal Street Hotel on 5.17.09 around 4:4 a.m. after the boy reported he'd been shot in the leg by 4 blacks who fired at him.

Turns out, he admitted under questioning to accidentally shooting himself. Police charged him with carrying a concealed handgun, illegal discharge of a firearm, and criminal mischief for filing the false police report.

Now the question is, how does a young punk like this get to roam the streets undetected? Luckily, he shot only himself. See the first item above for other possible consequences.

Other robberies: A number of robberies popped up recently, but only one arrest was registered. 8th District cops apprehended Joseph A. Davis, 18, and charged him with simple robbery on Sunday (5.24.09) after he allegedly grabbed money from a white woman when she pulled it out to make a purchase in a business in the 500 block of Bourbon Street.

• 5.25.09, 10:30 p.m.: 2 white men were walking in the 900 block of N. Rampart Street (between St. Philip and Dumaine streets) around 10:30 p.m. when they were attacked by a trio of black dudes. They knocked the men to the ground and took their property.

The victims didn't bother to report the incident to the police until today and couldn't give a good description of the robbers.

• 5.15.09, 10 p.m.: A white man standing at the CapitalOne Bank ATM at Bienville and Royal streets had his wallet snatched from his hand by a black chick, who ran off toward Canal Street. She was described as 5'2" tall, weighing 110 pounds.

• 5.15.09, 5:20 p.m.: 2 white women walking in the 800 block of Decatur Street (between Dumaine and St. Ann streets) when they were approached by 2 shoeshine boys who began shining their shoes. When they demanded a tip, one of the women gave them some money, but then the men snatched money from the other woman's purse.

A similar thing happened to a white couple 3 days earlier (5.12.09) around 5:30 a.m. along the river near Conti Street. When they demanded a tip, the man took money from his pocket and the shoeshine boys grabbed it all and ran.

The perps in both incidents were described as black, in their 30's. One was 5'11" tall, weighing 200 pounds, with a tattoo of a cross on his right cheek, wearing a white shirt, light blue shorts and white tennis shoes; the other was 5'8" tall, weighing 225 pounds, wearing a light blue shirt and blue jeans.

• 5.13.09, 3:50 a.m.: A 53-year-old black man walking to work in the 800 block of Fulton Street (between Julia and St. Joseph streets, near the convention center) was approached by 2 black thugs who asked for money. He ignored them and kept walking, but they came up behind him with guns drawn and held one to his back and the other to his head while taking cash from his front pocket.

One perp was described as having a light complexion, medium build and wearing a dark-colored hat, white T-shirt and jeans; the other had a dark complexion, dreadlocks, wearing a white T-shirt and jeans.

• 5.11.09, 3:05 a.m.: An Asian woman standing near Bourbon and Canal streets was robbed by 2 black chicks who grabbed her purse and fled on foot down Canal to Dauphine Street. The description was scant, only identifying one of the girls as 5'9" tall and wearing a yellow shirt.

• 5.6.09, 1:45 a.m.: A 45-year-old white man walking in the 500 block of St. Charles Avenue (by Lafayette Square) was robbed by a gun-toting black guy who fled toward the river with the loot.

The robber was described as in his 20's, 5'9" tall, weighing 170 pounds, with a dark complexion and shoulder-length dreadlocks, wearing a dark T-shirt and shorts.

You always hurt the one you love: Well, maybe not love, but what's all this attacking acquaintances like you can away with it?

• 5.24.09, 2:36 a.m.: A black guy walking in the 600 block of N. Rampart Street (between St. Peter and Toulouse streets) was approached by a "friend" who pulled out a baseball bat and attempted to hit the guy with it. The victim took away his friend's bat, but the friend pulled out a knife and stabbed the victim.

The victim was taken to the hospital and police rounded up the alleged perpetrator, Shonede Korbacher, 37, and charged him with aggravated battery.

• 5.19.09, 11 p.m.: A black man sitting in a bar in the 300 block of N. Peters Street (between Conti and Bienville streets) when a girlfriend came up and started an argument with him. The man left the bar, but was followed by the woman who allegedly stabbed him.

He was taken to the hospital and an arrest warrant was issued for Denira Labat, 22. She was arrested the next day on a charge of aggravated battery and managed to get out of jail on a $20,000 bond after a protective order was signed.

• 5.13.09, 10:02 p.m.: An Asian man was near Iberville and N. Peters streets when he got into an argument with a friend. The friend pulled out a gun and pointed it at the victim before fleeing.

Police arrested Raymond Taylor, 41, the next day and charged him with aggravated assault. He got out of jail a day later on $10,000 bond.

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

Thom Kahler

Catching up with the court

Compiling this took a lot longer than it should have, thanks to Sheriff Marlin Gusman tinkering with his computer system. Now, instead of one click on a link to get updated court or inmate info, you have to go through 4 or more steps and wait for the sheriff's ponderous computer system to catch up.

There's no apparent reason for the change other than to force you to go through Gusman's webpage and be reminded that he's to thank for his largess in supplying the information.

In truth, it's a discouraging task. Worse yet, Gusman's computer change in obtaining inmate information prevents you from seeing the circumstances under which a suspect is released from OPP. Now, you don't know whether the inmate bonded out or might have been released on his own recognizance by a judge who thought he was cute.

If you're tired of the sheriff's shenanigans, you'll have the opportunity to replace the last henchman remaining from the Morial era.

Some good news: Despite sniping back and forth last week between District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro and Big Chief Warren Riley, the DA is getting more convictions than not, most by plea deals when the charges have been reduced.

While this is not a scientific sampling and is restricted only to cases covered by NOcrimeline in the 8th District, there are far fewer cases "nolle prosequi" (where the DA is unwilling to purse the charges) or where the charges are refused by the DA (often because there's not enough evidence to win a conviction).

A "701 release"--a staple in the Eddie Jordan era when the DA wasn't able to get his you-know-what together within the time limit allowed by law--hasn't been seen in recent history.

Not so good news: Because a couple of cops failed to show up in court, 2 suspects in 2 different robberies went free.

• Dale Kyles, 42, who has a rap sheet a mile long, beat the rap for an attempted robbery when Judge Keva Landrum-Johnson (a former DA) set him free because the arresting officer didn't show up in court.

She denied the DA's request for a continuance, noting this was the 4th time a court date had been set and the officer had not shown up.

Kyles was arrested after he allegedly jumped into a 60-year-old woman's car as she was parking it in the 1000 block of Chartres Street on 9.16.08 around 7 a.m. and began rummaging through her purse.

• Clarence Andrews, 20, may or may not be standing trial. The detective who arrested him, Ofc. Brian Mulvey, was himself charged with contempt of court when he failed to show up for Andrews' preliminary hearing and was sentenced to 10 days in OPP by Magistrate Gerard Hansen, though the sentence was suspended.

Then 3 days later when he did show up, the court found probably cause in the arrest of Andrews, based on Mulvey's testimony.

But 3 days after that, based on the testimony of another witness, no probable cause was found against Andrews and he was released. But now, a show-cause hearing has been scheduled 8.5.09. Stay tuned.

Andrews was arrested in March for a pursesnatching that happened 12.27.08 around midnight in the 1100 block of Dauphine Street when an Uptown white woman was accosted by 3 black men, one of whom bumped into her while the other grabbed her purse.

GUILTY OF ROBBERY:

• Jesse Akmin, 19, pled guilty to attempted armed robbery after the charge was reduced from armed robbery with a firearm. He was sentenced to 5 years in prison by Judge Keva Landrum-Johnson.

Akmin was arrested for the robbery 4.29.08 around 10:40 p.m. of a white man walking in the 1400 block of Chartres Street, just across Esplanade Avenue in the Marigny Triangle. His 2 accomplices remain at large.

• James Brown Jr., 54, was convicted by a jury of attempted 1st-degree robbery and was sentenced by Judge Keva Landrum-Johnson to 10 years in prison.

Brown was arrested 6.10.08 for holding up a white man with a knife at Carondolet and Gravier streets at 12:40 a.m. The victim refused to turn over his wallet and the 2 struggled until Brown ran away.

• Duane E. Lawless, 35, pled guilty to 2 charges of armed robbery after the original charges of armed robbery with a firearm were reduced and the DA agreed not to file a "multiple bill" which would have attached extra years to his sentence. Judge Camille Buras sentenced him to 10 years plus 1 day in prison without benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence.

Lawless was charged for a robbery 12.17.07 around 7 p.m. in the 900 block of Frenchmen Street when 2 white men, one 52, the other 47, were walking to their home in the 2000 block of N. Rampart Street.

Lawless has numerous previous arrests for robbery and drug offenses. His accomplice in this robbery is still at large.

• Keith Perkins (right), 18, and Willie Sorden (left), 19, each pled guilty to one count of attempted armed robbery and were sentenced to 3 years and 6 months in prison by Judge Keva Landrum-Johnson.

The duo was arrested for attempting to rob a man returning home to his residence in the 1000 block of Barracks Street around 12:40 a.m. on 8.17.08. He noticed one of the boys standing between 2 parked cars urinating. When he chastised the boy, the other pulled a pistol and demanded the man's money. The man refused and the boys fled on their bicycles.

• Tony Pollard (right), 17, and Vontraz Pollard (left), 20, each pled guilty after charges were reduced from attempted armed robbery: Vontraz to 5 counts of aggravated assault with a firearm; Tony to 5 counts of aggravated assault. Judge Julian Parker sentenced Vontraz to 1 year in jail on each count, to run concurrently; Tony to 137 days on each count, suspended. He was released from jail.

The 2 brothers' arrest may have been a practical joke that went too far. A little after 7 p.m. on 12.21.08 they were flirting with 5 black girls who were walking near Canal Street and Elk Place. When the chicks spurned their advances, Vontraz pulled out a semi-automatic handgun and demanded their money. The girls took off running toward Tulane Avenue where they flagged down a cop and pointed out the 2 boys who were trying to flee on a RTA bus.

• Chiquita Blaise, 23, pled guilty to attempted simple robbery and got a 2-year sentence, which was suspended by Judge Terry Alarcon, who put her on probation instead.

She was arrested 11.22.08 as one who 2 black women who tried to rob a white woman in the 200 block of N. Rampart Street around 9:30 p.m. Both allegedly struck the victim while trying to wrest her purse from her. The victim fought back and the culprits fled empty-handed.

Though Judge Alarcon gave her credit for time served since last November, she's been out gallivanting around for almost 6 months since Judge Julian Parker released her on her own recognizance so she wouldn't have to post a $20,000 bond.

• Mikhail Singleton, 20, didn't fare as well. He pled guilty to pursesnatching and was sentenced by Judge Frank Marullo Jr. to 2 years in prison.

Singleton was arrested 10.20.08 for grabbing the purse off the shoulder of a woman walking in the 200 block of O'Keefe Avenue around midnight.

GUILTY ON OTHER CHARGES:

• John L. Clowney, 50, was found guilty by a jury of aggravated battery, but acquitted of a charge of attempted 1st-degree robbery. He is due to be sentenced 5.29.09 by Judge Frank Marullo Jr.

Clowney was arrested 11.14.08 after an attack 2 days earlier on a 55-year-old white man who was going into his house at 727 Burgundy St. According to the police, the attacker was armed with a boxcutter and tried to rob the man.

A man in the house came to the victim's aid and was stabbed in the neck, but wrested the knife away from the attacker and slashed the attacker several times in the face, severely enough to hospitalize the perpetrator.

• Calvin Brown Jr., 17, got off easy when he was allowed to plead guilty to unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and criminal damage instead of the carjacking he had originally been charged with. Judge Julian Parker gave him a 2-year suspended sentence and put him on probation.

Parker was arrested 2.6.09 after he stole a delivery vehicle left running in the 800 block of Decatur Street around 5 p.m. while the deliveryman went into a business. When the victim attempted to stop him, Brown struck the man and fled in the vehicle, striking several parked cars along the way.

It's hard to understand Parker's leniency. Brown was arrested just 4 months before on similar charges, but those were dropped by the DA on 12.29.08.

• Frank Moody, 49, may be going away for a very long time after a jury convicted him of aggravated burglary, which was a terrifying experience for a young French Quarter woman.

Based on his previous convictions, a hearing is set for 6.4.09 in Judge Julian Parker's courtroom to determine if Moody is a habitual criminal. If he is, he faces doubling of the 1-to-30-year sentence he already faces.

Moody was arrested 12.3.08 after he broke down the front door of a 26-year-old woman in the 800 block of St. Ann Street just before 2 a.m.

She awoke to find Moody looming over her in her bedroom. He made her face the wall and told her he would kill her if she moved or made a noise. He repeatedly asked her where she kept her money and she repeatedly told him there was no money in the house. He stole her TV set and a laptop computer before finally fleeing.

Moody should have never been on the street in the first place. When a hung jury in Criminal District Court this spring failed to convict him on a charge of burglary of an inhabited dwelling in 2007, Judge Ben Willard allowed Moody to plead guilty to the lesser charge of simple burglary.Willard gave him a suspended 4-year sentence and put him on probation designed to treat alcoholism and drug addiction.

After Moody violated probation, Willard required Moody to wear an ankle monitor, obey a 6 p.m.-to-6 a.m. curfew, and perform 500 hours of community service. A lot of good that did.

• John D. Petrie III, 38, didn't know when he had a good deal, but he did agree to plead guilty to a simple burglary charge when the DA agreed not to charge him for multiple burglaries--all of the same business. This time Judge Julian Parker gave him 5 years in prison.

He was arrested 2.2.09 for breaking into the Dragon's Den Social Aid and Pleasure Club, 435 Esplanade Ave.--just one week after he pled guilty to twice breaking into the same business the previous fall.

Judge Parker, apparently trying to give a break to a man with obvious problems, sentenced Petrie to a 3-year suspended sentence on each count, sending him instead to drug court for presumed rehabilitation.

But just a week later, the bartender at the Dragon's Den heard noises coming from the bar area around 9:40 a.m., before the bar was open. When 8th District cops showed up, they found Petrie behind the bar and arrested him for burglary of a business. They also charged him on a warrant for another burglary a few days earlier.

AND OTHERS WENT FREE:

• James H. Dawson (right), 23, and Tony Graps (left), 21, were freed when the DA nolle prossed charges against them of armed robbery with a firearm.

They had sat in OPP for nearly 9 months after being arrested a few days after the vicious beating and robbery of a 58-year-old man in the early morning hours of 6.19.08 outside the New Orleans Silversmith Shop at Toulouse and Chartres streets.

Reportedly, video recorded by security cameras outside the shop clearly showed Dawson and Graps were not the perpetrators.

• An armed robbery charge against Allen M. Jones, 22, was nolle prossed by the DA. He had been arrested last June after a victim of a robbery at Tchoupitoulas and Gravier street "positively" identified him from a photo line-up as one of 3 black men who held him up with a knife.

• Russell Bernard, 19, was freed after 5 months when the DA refused the case against him of attempted armed robbery. Bernard and a 16-year-old boy were arrested last October after an Asian man walking in the 1000 block of Conti Street fought off 2 would-be robbers and then identified Bernard as one of them.

• A charge of pursesnatching against Emery Thompson, 52, was nolle prossed by the DA. Thompson was arrested last October for allegedly grabbing a woman's purse as she was standing inside Razzoo Club & Patio, 511 Bourbon St.

• A charge of simple robbery against Joseph Blouin, 21, was refused by the DA. He was arrested last October after a Hispanic man had his wallet snatched from his pocket as he walked in the 700 block of Iberville Street.

• A charge of attempted simple robbery against Byron Millet, 28, was refused by the DA. He was arrested in February as the man who allegedly tried to grab money from a man's pocket at Toulouse and Royal streets.

• A charge of aggravated battery against Marcus Martinez, 33, was refused by the DA. Martinez was arrested last November after he allegedly slashed a male friend on the arm after they got into an argument at The Roundup Bar, 819 St. Louis St.

• A charge of aggravated battery against Savonna Stewart, 19, was refused by the DA. She and a friend allegedly got into a fight with a 17-year-old girl 10.31.08 at Bourbon and Conti streets around 6 a.m. and cut the victim above her eye with a folding knife.
  

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

Thom Kahler