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