Smile, you're not on camera

Camera? What camera?: All this hubbub about whether a camera caught a Marigny Triangle robber on tape and whether the camera was the city's or a private citizen's just adds to the disillusionment about the NOPD's ability to fight crime and reinforces Big Chief Riley's incompetence in running the department.

Okay, the NOPD admits, the picture of the presumed robber we gave the media wasn't from a city crime camera. But we have a picture of the suspect, the NOPD claims, from the nearest crime camera--more than 5 blocks from the robbery scene at La Peniche restaurant at Dauphine and Touro streets 8.14.09. Huh? You'll have to tell us, NOPD, how you link this guy to the robbery.

The picture the NOPD did release came from the camera of a private citizen living near Burgundy and Touro streets, a block away from the crime scene. He said he called the 8th District NOPD to alert them that he had a photo of the suspected robber from his own surveillance camera. The detective investigating the robbery rushed right over--arriving 4 days later.

That's unusual for Det. Sean McElrath, one of the 8th District's better detectives. And it's unusual that he hadn't already found the private surveillance camera, since Maj. Eddie Hosli, commander of the 8th, has had a standing order for officers to immediately canvass the neighborhood around any crime scene for any crime cameras that may have caught an image of what went down.

Even so, the private picture the NOPD released still begs the question: How did you link this guy, who's walking down the street, to the crime? Reports had the robber fleeing on a silver-colored bicycle--would he have ditched it only a block away and the police never found it?

By the way, the NOPD hasn't been able to identify the robber--who's also suspected in the robbery of Marigny Perks coffee shop a week later--and he's still on the loose. Maybe you'll see him the next time you sit down in a quiet little hideaway restaurant somewhere in the Marigny.

Consider this: You've probably heard by now that Lt. Gen. Russel Honore--whom Mayor Ray Nagin hailed as a "John Wayne dude" when he came to save New Orleans after Katrina--is moving back to Louisiana from Atlanta where he retired after leaving the Army.

There was talk maybe Honore had political aspirations here in his home state. Honore downplayed that, but Nagin boosted it by saying, "Oh, man, I'll support that guy any way he goes!"

Back in 2005, Nagin noted, "He came off the doggone chopper, and he started cussing and people started moving...he's a guy who can get some stuff done."

Well, Ray, isn't that the kind of guy we need to straighten out the NOPD? Even if it's for 8 months? Remember, this is the guy who told his troops, "You're looking at your calendars--I'm looking at my watch." Imagine what he could do to kick some ass in the NOPD and get it on the right track before the next mayor gets to install his own guy. Or keep Honore.

Ray, what would be wrong with a little chat with Riley that would go something like this: "Hey, Warren, old buddy, maybe now would be a good time to go and do some fishing or golfing, and get away from all the slings and arrows hurled your way by the Times-Picayune and NOcrimeline. You've done your time and you've got your full pension of $172,000 a year--you can probably get by on that. We've got ole Russel who could step in for a little while and take the heat."

Nagin, who loves Honore to death, would finally have an accolade to leave office with if he made Honore police chief. Think about it, Ray.

Drug bust delights neighbors: As drug busts go, it was no big deal for the 8th District NOPD. But for neighbors near 1008 Dauphine St., across from Matassa's Market, at St. Philip Street, it was a solution to a long-time problem.

One neighbor said "there were multiple undercover and uniformed cops involved, and many arrests." But the 8th District reported only 2 arrests there 8.13.09 by Ofc. Brandon Ludwig and Ofc. Blake Terrell.

Rickie Dufrene, 55, was charged with possession with intent to distribute marijuana and for possessing prohibited drug paraphernalia. A 43-year-old white guy, whose identity can't be confirmed in court records, was arrested for prostitution.

Dufrene was out on $7,000 bond before we got the report and got his picture from OPP.

Nevertheless, one neighbor who said the site "has been a regular harbor for criminal activity. Previous tenants have included Russian prostitutes and a meth lab," was overjoyed. "It was nice to see the 8th District took our complains seriously enough to take action."

Oops: When we reported a guy who was found unconscious 8.21.09 on Burgundy Street and had been robbed, we made the assumption it was another drunk tourist who didn't know any better than to be in that neighborhood (between St. Louis and Toulouse streets), even though it was only 10:30 p.m.

Not so, says the victim. "That was me. I was not drunk out of my mind. I was not intoxicated at all...I have been here a number of years and am not a big drinker, nor am I out late."

He said he was on his way home to his house on St. Ann Street after he had been out to eat, where he had only bottled water to drink. As he passed St. Louis Street he was "caught by surprise" when someone hit him in the back of the head though he is "very cautious."

He had to have 8 stitches to his head and $2,700 worth of dental work as a result of the attack. As we've said before, be careful out there.

You never know who's lurking or at what hour or at what place.

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

Thom Kahler

There he goes again

Familiar folderol: Have you noticed that whenever Big Chief Warren Riley is cornered by criticism, as he was this past week by the DA among others, he gets out the big guns and phony statistics to try to make everyone believe he's doing a good job. Then he asks for more millions of dollars for more men.

So there he was yesterday, behind a table of guns he says were confiscated and brown bags of what he says were drugs that were seized. Supposedly these were the fruits of putting his men on grueling 12-hour shifts. But he wouldn't say when or where the weapons were seized; and you were only left to guess what was really in the brown bags.

Riley would like you to believe he's got more cops out there patrolling. Last Saturday evening, just after the Saints' kickoff, I saw the vaunted blue flashing lights of a cop car as it came down Bourbon Street and slowed at the Esplanade Avenue intersection. "I'll bet we don't see another one all night," I said. I won my bet as I turned off the TV just after 11 p.m.

Sunday night I saw no blue lights at all. That was the night 3 people were held up at gunpoint just before 9 p.m. at the same corner, just a block from Port Of Call. Tell them about your extra patrols, Warren.

Or tell the guy who had a gun stuck in his back at the Discount Zone gas station at Esplanade and Claiborne Avenue just after 8 a.m. Monday while being robbed. Where were those extra patrols then?

Of what about the gangsters who are running around the NOPD's 5th District (Marigny and Bywater) in a white 4-door Ford Crown Victoria with dark tinted windows shooting up the neighborhood? On Sunday night around 10:38 p.m., the guy riding shotgun rolled down his window and opened fire on a gang in the 3100 block of Elysian Fields Avenue. Then on Monday night around 6:04 p.m. the same thugs opened fire on a guy in the 2300 block of Feliciana Street. Might need to increase the patrols, you think Riley?

Then Riley began spouting statistics meant to show his "strategy" was working. Considering his well-known fuzzy figures from the past, it's impossible to believe anything he says. And you notice he didn't publish any real figures.

NOcrimeline showed you last week how botched up the NOPD's homicide figures are (see "More fudged figures"). If he can't count and if he can't compile a list, how in hell can he reduce crime? ("How'd you know he was lying?" "His lips were moving.")

Another fib?: After the recent robberies of La Peniche restaurant and Marigny Perks coffee shop, the NOPD was all a twitter that one of the city's much-maligned crime cameras appeared to work.

The NOPD's public information office sent out a news release that boasted "Suspect wanted for armed robbery caught on city's crime camera." (Did you get the news release? Me neither.)

The problem is, according to residents who live near the coffee shop in the 2400 block of Burgundy Street, there is no city crime camera anywhere near. They say the picture attached to the news release came from a private citizen's home security camera.

Call on the city council: The only way we're going to take a bite out of crime before Riley departs 8 months from now, is to get the City Council moving. You can email them at their addresses linked in the NOcrimeline article on 8.23.09.

And while you're at it: Tell Council President Arnie Fielkow to "Run, Arnie, Run!" The current array of candidates for mayor have less luster than a pair of white bucks. If they are all we have to choose from for mayor, we will be in worse shape than ever when it comes to naming a new police chief.

Fielkow has proven himself a thoughtful, intelligent and decisive leader in his term on the council. At this point, I personally see no one else who can match him in bringing the kind of leadership to right the ship of state that is New Orleans.

Run, Arnie, Run! We need you!

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

Thom Kahler

Bad guys back in action

Too close to home: The 8th District reported only ONE crime last week--up until the weekend when the robbers started striking again.

And this one too close to home: A black thug robbed 3 people at gunpoint at 8:55 p.m. Sunday night (8.23.09) at the corner of Bourbon Street and Esplanade Avenue. The trio--a 38-year-old white guy, and a Hispanic couple, he 30, she 26--lost their wallets, passports, and a cellphone to the robber.

The crook, who fled on his bicycle, was described as in his mid-20's, 5'10" tall, thin build, dark complexion, with shoulder-length dreadlocks, and wearing a black T-shirt and black pants.

The description of the perp--and his escape on a bicycle--is reminiscent of the robber who knocked over La Peniche in the Marigny Triangle 8.14.09 and then Marigny Perks Coffee Shop in the 2400 block of Burgundy Street a week later on Friday (8.21.09) at about the same exact time, just after 3 p.m.

You hate to do it, but if they don't look like they belong in your neighborhood, they probably don't. Call 911 and report a suspicious person. The operator will ask you if he's armed; tell her it's not your job to find out and to please dispatch a cop car. Let them sort it out.

Simple robberies: Hate that term, because too often victims are hurt more often than in armed robberies:

• Sunday (8.23.09): A Hispanic man walking in the 500 block of St. Louis Street (between Decatur and Chartres streets) around 11:50 p.m. was robbed by 3 black thugs, one of whom slugged him, knocking the cell phone from his hand. The thieves got only the cell phone before fleeing on foot up Decatur toward Canal Street.

All the robbers were described as 18 to 25 years old. One was 5'7" tall, weighing 165 pounds, with a stocky build, dark complexion and shoulder-length dreadlocks, wearing a white muscle shirt and black jeans; the second one was 5'8" tall, weighing 145 pounds, with a light complexion, clean shaven and short hair, wearing a dark shirt and blue jeans; the third one was 5'7" tall, weighing 145 pounds, with a thin build, dark complexion and clean shaven, wearing a dark shirt and blue jeans.

• Friday (8.21.09): A white woman walking in the 300 block of Burgundy Street (between Bienville and Conti streets) around 11:02 p.m. was accosted by 2 black dudes and a black chick, one of whom grabbed her purse from hershoulder before all fled on foot up Conti toward N. Rampart Street.

Detectives identified 2 of the perps and on Sunday (8.24.09) arrested Wardell Dennis, 20, and his sister, Dominique Dennis, 17. Both were charged with pursesnatching and are being held in OPP on $30,000 bond a piece.

• Friday (8.21.09): A white guy, apparently drunk out of his mind, was found unconscious, lying in the 500 block of Burgundy Street (between St. Louis and Toulouse streets) around 10:30 p.m. When he was awakened, he was unaware of what had happened to him. When he got home he realized his wallet was missing. Police are investigating, but lots of luck.

• Wednesday (8.19.09): A white woman walking in the 400 block of Burgundy Street (between Conti and St. Louis streets) around 12:10 a.m. was accosted by a black guy who grabbed her purse from her shoulder and fled on foot up Conti toward N. Rampart Street (hmm...where'd we read this MO before?)

The thief was described as in his mid-20s, 5'11" tall, weighing 180 pounds, with a dark complexion and shoulder-length dreadlocks, and wearing a red jump suit (can't say you didn't see him coming).

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

Thom Kahler

Council ready to rid us of Big Chief Warren Riley?

Could it be?: We're hearing rumblings from the City Council that they, too, may have had enough of Big Chief Warren Riley's antics.

The City Council is well within its rights according to the city charter to investigate and "bring charges against any person appointed to the unclassified service for lack of qualifications, incompetence, neglect of duty, failure to comply with a lawful directive of the Civil Service Commission or gross misconduct in reference to that person's duties."

The charter is pretty forthright in describing the police superintendent's duties. Among other things, he's expected to "enforce the ordinances of the city and all state and municipal laws, and prevent the violation thereof." And generally "maintain peace; protect life, property, and all other rights and liberties of the people..."

You know Mayor Nagin is too shiftless to bother doing anything about this stain on the city. He didn't bother to search for the best chief possible after Chief Compass' meltdown, so it's not likely he'll do anything now to cut crime in this city. And Riley's insouciance makes him like a snot nose kid defiantly claiming "You can't make me" resign.

But the City Council can get rid of him. It will have to be up to the 7 members to assert themselves and get control of crime by getting rid of Riley. Any of them who have further political aspirations should jump into this fray.

With 4 votes, the council could rid us of Riley and put the city on the road to recovery from the soaring crime rate it's suffered under his tenure.

What it will take is the outcry of the citizenry to let the council members know that enough is enough. Their email addresses are below--inundate them with your comments if you want action now.

Riley's abject failure as a police chief becomes more and more evident, even as he thrashes like a lame duck in the morass of New Orleans' crime. Among his sins, transgressions and connivances that the City Council should investigate:

• Failure to prevent crime, allowing it to mushroom on his watch;
  
• Delinquency in submitting reports to the DA in a timely fashion to facilitate successful prosecutions;
  
• Criminal disregard for public records laws and direct violation of a civil district court order to make public crime reports with 3 days;
• Misleading the public on crimes that have occurred by not reporting them;
• False reporting of crime statistics and misclassifying crimes (e.g. pursesnatching as mere theft rather than simple robbery as defined by state law);
• Downgrading crimes to municipal offenses to avoid reporting to FBI and adding them to crime stats;
  
• Refusal to supply district attorney with homicide investigators to facilitate homicide prosecutions;
  
• Improper utilization of manpower, particularly failing to capitalize on professional expertise of rank officers (where, oh where, have such former NOPD stars as Timmy Bayard, Harry Mendoza, Michael Glasser, Jeff Winn, et al. gone?);
  
• Overly harsh punishment of officers (beyond Civil Service Commission guidelines) and disproportionate dismissal of white officers;
• Failure to thoroughly investigate shootings by officers at Danziger Bridge and on New Years 2009;
• Failure to complete an investigation of the disappearance of what could be millions of dollars from the NOPD property room.

Some might say, "Isn't it good enough that he's promised to leave in 8 months when a new mayor takes over? Do you really want to contemplate the crime toll in those 8 months?

Consider this: in the past 8 months, an estimated 128 people have been gunned down on the streets of New Orleans at a rate of over 16 a month; about 647 have been robbed. Are you really ready to condone 128 more homicides and 647 more robberies before Riley finally departs?

Sure, a new police chief isn't going to eradicate crime, but any one but Riley is likely to develop a strategy for reducing crime quickly. Look at how dramatically crime dropped when Richard Pennington was hired.

Email the City Council members below (click on the names)--let them know you want a new police chief NOW.

• Council president Arnie Fielkow intimated in January following the public outrage over the murder of Wendy Byrne in the French Quarter that he wasn't afraid to use the council's power to prod Riley to action or get rid of him.
• Now Stacy Head and Shelley Midura might be counted on to join the fight.
• Jackie Clarkson, who in the past as District C councilwoman representing the Quarter had a close relationship with the 8th District NOPD, might be counted on to stand up and be counted.
• Current District C Councilman James Carter, though head of the council's Criminal Justice Committee, seems to have little inclination toward solving crime, but he's sensible enough that he might be convinced this is a step in the right direction.
  
• The other 2 council members, Cynthia Hedge-Morrell and Cynthia Willard-Lewis tend to vote along racial lines, though they're capable of independent thought; Willard-Lewis might be persuaded to give it hard thought particularly if she has designs on the at-large seat again.

What is apt to have the most effect though is for well-meaning citizens to weigh in, letting these council members know their wishes. Let's get the war on crime started today--not 8 months from now!

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

Thom Kahler

See, it's not just us

DA slams NOPD: Some may have thought NOcrimeline was unduly harsh yesterday (8.19.09) when we suggested Big Chief Warren Riley leave the NOPD now rather than wait until the mayoral regime change next May.

But last night, as you've probably seen by now, District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro emphatically voiced his problems with the police department Riley supposedly runs.

In a law enforcement forum sponsored by Congressman Steve Scalise in Metairie, the DA told the crowd: "I wish I could tell you that in Orleans Parish I had a police department I could point to with a lot of pride...I wish I could say they were as effective and efficient as the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office...but in all honesty I can't tell you that."

He went on to say that over half of the cases presented to his office by the NOPD weren't fit to be tried in court because they lacked sufficient evidence to prosecute them.

That, he said, results in over 200 murders a year, over 1,000 armed robberies, and as many as 500 attempted murders "where the assailants' aim is just not so good."

Riley, as you might imagine, had his feelings hurt and responded in his usual petulant manner.

If you're of a mind that Riley ought to leave NOW so the city can get on with the business of resurrecting a police department that will curb the curse of crime, let him know:

• Riley's email: wriley@cityofno.com
  

• Riley's cellphone: 915-0773
  

More fudged figures: We've been among those who have long complained that crime stats from Riley's office just don't compute. The latest discovery, as we attempted to compare YTD figures from the end of July with last year, was in the number of murders.

See for yourself: Go to the NOPD's crime map for the 8th District. Under the map on the left where it says "Change Search Results", change the beginning date to 1/1/09 and change the end date to 7/30/09. Below next to "Narrow search results by", select "Murder" from the pull-down list. Click "Submit" in the center of the page.

What you will see on the map is 5 icons (red circles with a white "M") noting the location of murders for the year in the 8th District. But over on the right under "Search Results", where it lists "Result Count", you'll see only "3" listed.

(To compound these faulty figures further, look down below where "Detailed Results" are listed: Item number F4023309--the murder at the Canal Street Hotel 6.30.09 is listed TWICE. Ironically, the murder of Wendy Byrne 1.17.09 that touched off such a storm in the French Quarter, is NOT listed at all.)

You see the kind of crap Cannizzaro has to tolerate from Riley? If Riley can't count the crimes or even list them accurately, how can he solve or prevent crime? You say, oh, that's so trivial. But criminal investigations thrive on chronicling minutiae. If he can't do that, he can't solve crimes. Imagine how befuddled he must be went he sees all those yellow numbered cones at the scene of a shooting.

And no information at all: Do you really believe so few crimes have been committed in the city this year? I don't.

Riley has stifled the honest efforts of his commanders to supply information to the public. A trickle here or there comes out, but there's no reassurance that those are the ONLY crimes that have occurred in a recent period.

And his Public Information Office wants nothing to do with the public. It has not published a press release on the NOPD website since 3.10.09--and only 6 of them all year long, in almost 9 months!

Riley's like a criminal who figures if he doesn't fess up to a crime, it didn't occur. But crime--serious crime--is occurring in New Orleans that affects all of us, but we are at the mercy of an unresponsive police chief who is incapable of doing the job--and who lacks the decency to leave so someone else can.

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

Thom Kahler

You call that good news?

Think again: Many who are disgusted with the lack of true police protection in New Orleans happily welcomed Big Chief Warren Riley's announcement last week that he would leave his post when Missing Mayor Ray Nagin does, on the first Monday in May--next year.

Well, yeah. Any new mayor worth being elected would have had Riley's departure at the very top of his agenda anyway. But that's more than 8 months away! Many more will be killed in New Orleans during that time because Riley is still chief. Why? Because he doesn't have a plan to stop them. Many more will be robbed at gunpoint in that time because Riley is still chief. Why? Because he doesn't have a plan to stop them. And New Orleans' reputation as the murder capital of the U.S. will be firmly cemented in the mind of the potential visitors for years to come.

Riley touted his 28 years on the NOPD when he made the announcement of leaving--28 years makes you a veteran; it doesn't make you a professional. He made headlines this weekend when he told residents of the Lower 9 that its neighborhood and the East needed additional police districts. Gee, Warren, it took you how long to figure this out? Riley was commander of the NOPD's 5th District before becoming a deputy chief in 2002. Now 7 years later he's figured out a solution to the problem there? And all he needs, he says, is 300 more cops!

(His solution to everything seems to be more cops. But adding more officers without leadership is like a parking lot full of cars without drivers. New Orleans already has, by far, more cops per capita that New York City. And yet, though he says he wants more cops, he blithely dismisses cops whose infractions reflect the poor training he's given them, rather than their criminal intent. All the while, his racism surges to the fore when you tally the number of white officers dismissed compared to black ones. How long is it going to take before the Civil Service Commission or the Inspector General notices and investigates this injustice?)

His words in the Lower 9 was just another opportunity to tell a gathering of citizens what they wanted to hear. Just like he did at Buffa's earlier this year. But nothing's changed despite his promises to residents of the French Quarter and Marigny Triangle: no additional patrols, no patrolmen on foot. In short, no plan.

Here's an idea, Warren. Leave tomorrow, if your schedule is too full to keep you from leaving today. There will be no weeping and wailing at your departure; just loud hosannas that we citizens of the city are free, free at last from bumbling police work. You'll sacrifice no retirement pay, so go. You have an able--intelligent and thoughtful--replacement in Assistant Chief Marlon Defillo. Allowed to put his professionalism to work, it'll give him a chance to campaign for the job that will come available under a new mayor next year.

If you want to be thought the least bit well of, do us all a favor, Warren: Leave now.

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

Thom Kahler

Too good to last (updated)

See? What did I tell you?: The trend continues though, with the latest robber staying in the air-conditioning to do his dirty deed.

A young black punk knocked over La Peniche, 1940 Dauphine St. (corner of Touro Street), in the middle of the afternoon last Friday (8.14.09). He entered the restaurant in the Marigny Triangle about 3:17 p.m. and pulled a gun, demanding the money from the cash register and 2 customers in the establishment.

The robber made off with the cash--including a roll of quarters and a roll of nickels--fleeing on his silver-colored bicycle up Touro toward St. Claude Avenue.

He is described as 5'8" tall, 160 pounds, with medium braids, wearing a black T-shirt and dark baggy pants.

Brazen on Bourbon: Talk about broad daylight! Saturday (8.15.09) afternoon just before 3 p.m. on one of the busiest corners in the French Quarter at Bourbon and Iberville streets, and 4 black thugs come up to 24-year-old guy, stick a weapon of some sort in his ribs and go through his pockets, taking his cash, credit cards, and a camera.

That was HQ's report--so you know if Big Chief Riley touched it, it was tainted. The 8th District finally issued a report Tuesday (8.18.09) just before noon:

• It happened in the A.M., not p.m. in the middle of the day;
• Like so many victims in the wee morning hours, this one was drunk out of his mind and is not really sure of what happened where or when;
• He was accosted by a WHITE guy who led him off Bourbon Street, around the corner where his pockets were ravished by 4 black dudes.
• The white instigator was described as 6' tall, weighing 175 pounds, wearing a white tank top; the blacks all looked alike to him.
  

Purse, and worse, snatching: Don't know if it was the same thugs who pulled the shakedown on Bourbon Street (above), but 2 black boys attacked a white guy walking in the 700 block of Gov. Nicholls Street (between Bourbon and Royal streets) Sunday (8.16.09) morning around 1:43 a.m.

They pushed the victim against the wall and attempted to empty his pockets. He resisted and yelled for help. The punks fled on foot on Gov. Nicholls to Bourbon and then headed toward Canal Street.

Police later rounded up a pair of 16-year-old boys and charged them, but we'll never hear any more about them because the poor babies are "juveniles."

Sounds like shades of the punks who murdered Wendy Byrne just a block away last January. And when is that juvenile court judge going to have the cajones to turn the 14-year-old over to grown-up court to face the charges like his 15-year-old cohorts?

A couple of other incidents we just learned of:

• Friday (8.14.09): A woman walking in the 600 block of Royal Street (between St. Peter and Toulouse streets) around 12:47 a.m. was accosted by a white guy who tried to pull her purse from her shoulder.

She prevailed and he fled on foot up Royal toward Canal Street. He is described at 5'7" tall, with a heavy build, short brown hair, and wearing a gray T-shirt.

• Thursday (8.13.09): It must have not been a big deal when a black dude grabbed a white woman's purse in the 900 block of John Churchill Chase Street (near Annunciation Street) since she didn't bother to report it until 3 days later. Enough time for the guy, in his mid-40's, 5'6" tall, weighing 140 pounds, with gray hair, to be long gone.
  

Tong wars?: At least the orientals keep it in the family. An Asian man was found unconscious lying on the sidewalk near Julia and S. Peters streets around 4:23 a.m. on Friday (8.14.09).

Witnesses said several Asian men jumped out of a black SUV and beat the crap out of their fellow countryman with a beer bottle. They then filed back into their ride and fled toward the Convention Center.

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

Thom Kahler

Back at it again

Sorry for the delay: A brief stay in Hotel Touro put me behind some, but by all appearances, you didn't miss much. Where did all the bad guys go? Did we win? Is it safe to go out on the streets at all hours again?

Latest NOPD crime maps show there were only 17 robberies in July this year. Wow, that seemed remarkably low--until I checked July of last year. Only 6! Really, could that be?

Doing some further checking, it appears the 8th District reported more robberies for July, 2008 than the NOPD did on its crime map. Is this another case of the NOPD expunging unfavorable stats to make Big Chief Riley look good while he prepares to get the hell out of Dodge? Stay tuned--we'll do some more checking.

Trendy?: Are the days of being accosted on the street by an armed robber or pursesnatcher over? That possibility seemed to breed terror into residents of the French Quarter and Marigny Triangle in the past, but such incidents have become increasingly rare.

The new threat? Sitting in a bar. (See, your doctor told you boozing was bad for you.) First, there were the 4 bars knocked over in the Marigny Triangle in late June and early July; they got that guy. Then there was the bar on St. Charles Avenue that got hit twice; they got the guy in at least one of those. Then Buffa's was held up; they got that guy.

Now a couple more bars have been hit close to Canal Street in the last few days:

• Wednesday (8.12.09): An armed black thug barged into the 700 Club at 700 Burgundy St. (corner of St. Peter Street) around 1:07 a.m. and robbed several customers at the bar: 2 women, one 24, the other 20; 2 men, one 21, the other 22.

The robber and an accomplice fled on foot down Burgundy toward Orleans Street. The gunman was described as in his early 20's, 6' tall, thin build, light complexion, wearing a gray T-shirt with long black sleeves, blue jeans and a blue hat; his buddy was wearing the usual black thug wardrobe: white T-shirt, black pants, and a black baseball cap.

• Thursday (8.13.09): Another black thug pulled a semi-automatic pistol inside Jimani Lounge & Restaurant, 141 Chartres St., around 9:56 p.m. and demanded money from the bartender. He complied and the robber fled on foot down Iberville Street toward N. Rampart Street.

He was described as 30 to 40 years old, 6'1" tall, 210 pounds, with long dreadlocks pulled back in a ponytail, wearing a white T-shirt and dark pants.

• Saturday (8.8.09): A brazen black dude came up to a white woman in Harrah's Casino around 10:27 p.m. and grabbed her purse, but casino security caught up with him as he attempted to flee.

Police took Archie Love, 28, into custody and booked him with pursesnatching and attempted escape. He's in the jailhouse now, under $30,000 bond.

Other than that: A couple of unruly patrons of the Red Eye Grill, 852 S. Peters St., got into an argument with another patron, all white guys, around 2:10 a.m. on Saturday (8.8.09). The 2 allegedly struck the victim with a beer bottle and attempted to flee but were apprehended by police.

David Guidry, 25, was charged with 2nd-degree battery; David Forly, 26, was charged with aggravated battery. Neither stuck around long enough in Central Lockup to have their pictures taken.

Judge Keva Landrum-Johnson released Forly on his own recognizance on a $10,000 bond; Guidry also got out on a $15,000 bond, but there's no record of how.

Don't let your guard down: It may seem benign out there now, but be vigilant. As you know from the past, just when we think we can relax, out of nowhere comes trouble.

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

Thom Kahler

Bad boys rounded up

Buffa's bandit: Quick work by 8th District detective Willie Jenkins might have convinced Darwin Hunter that he was no match for the NOPD's finest.

After Det. Jenkins obtained an arrest warrant for Hunter just 3 days after the armed robbery of Buffa's Bar & Lounge on 7.31.09, Hunter probably figured he had no choice but to give up. He walked into 8th District headquarters yesterday (8.5.09) afternoon and surrendered to the police.

He was booked into Central Lockup just before 4 p.m. on charges of armed robbery and aggravated assault. He is being held on $160,000 bond.

Police believe Hunter is the robber who walked into Buffa's, at Esplanade Avenue and Burgundy Street, early Friday morning around 12:56 a.m. armed with a pistol and demanded money from the bartender, and then fled on foot.

Hunter, 26, has a long criminal history--including male prostitution--going back to when he turned 17 (and perhaps before that in juvy court) and has the jailhouse tattoos to show it.

Back to lockup: The last of 2 prisoners who escaped from the House of Detention 7.21.09 was recaptured Tuesday (8.04.09) after 2 weeks on the lam.

And where was he? Right under the sheriff's nose--gallivanting around Uptown and holed up at his girlfriend's house in the 6300 block of Gen. Pershing Street. The girlfriend, Ozonesha James, 23, was booked as an accessory for harboing the fugitive.

Acting on a tip from Crimestoppers, police took Lester Jones (pictured), 26, into custody early Tuesday morning. His cohort, Arthur Johnson, 32, who busted out of prison with him, was recaptured 7.29.09 in St. Landry Parish with his girlfriend.

Jones was sentenced just a few days before his escape to 15 years in prison for drug dealing.

Night out for crime: These 2 punks must not have gotten the message that it was the annual "Night Out Against Crime" when they allegedly robbed a couple of white guys walking in the 2100 block of Dauphine Street (between Frenchmen Street and Elysian Fields Avenue, by Washington Park) on Tuesday (8.4.09) just after 10 p.m.

One of the 2 black thugs pulled a gun and demanded the victims' money, and once satisfied fled on foot. But in no time, 8th District cops caught up with Keith McCrary (top) and Herbert Brown (bottom), both 17. Each was charged with armed robbery with a firearm and are being held on $150,000 apiece.

Deja vu?: Almost like clockwork, an armed robber hit St. Charles Bar & Billiards, 736 St. Charles Ave., last month, then Wednesday (8.5.09)--just 30 days later--another thug pulled the same caper. But this time, 8th District detectives caught up with Travis Chapuis, 24.

He is believed to be the robber who entered the bar around 10:27 p.m. last night and pulled a pistol, demanding money. He fled after the bartender complied. By 12:30 p.m. today (8.6.09), detectives had him behind bars, charged with armed robbery.

It's not known yet whether he's the same gunman who held up the same bar around 11:50 p.m. on 7.6.09. That robber was described as a black male, 20 to 25 years old, 5'8" tall, weighing 150 pounds with a thin build, and a little complexion.

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

Thom Kahler