One-man crime wave

Look out!: 8th District detectives have sworn out 3 arrest warrants for Arthur Dillon, 22, who is believed to be responsible for 3 armed robberies in the past week.

He is described as a black dude in his early 20's, 5'7" to 6' tall, with a medium build, in one case wearing a black coat with a hood and in another a gray hooded sweatshirt.

Dillon's suspected sins so far:

• Saturday (1.30.10) 8:00 p.m.: 5 white women were getting into their car at N. Rampart and Pauger streets in the Marigny Triangle when an armed black guy came up and demanded their money. They complied and he hopped into a waiting vehicle which fled on Pauger toward St. Claude Avenue.

• Thursday (2.4.10) 11:29 p.m.: A white couple were getting into their car at S. Diamond and Fulton streets (across from the Convention Center) when they were robbed by an armed black guy who fled with their cash into the getaway car which headed down Convention Center Boulevard to Andrew Higgins Drive.

• Friday (2.5.10) 11:29 p.m.: Back in his old 'hood the very next night at the exact time as the night before (what? his mama got him on a midnight curfew?) an armed gunman accosted a white woman in the 1500 block of Pauger Street (between Burgundy and Dauphine streets in the Triangle, a block from the robbery the Saturday before) and made off with her money. The victim didn't say whether he fled in a vehicle, but she did positively identify Dillon from a photo line-up shown to her by detectives.
  

Robberies by others: Other robberies marred the past week:

• Tuesday (2.2.10) 4:30 a.m.: A white guy was robbed at Gravier and Camp streets when a black derelict asked him for a dollar. When the victim took his wallet out of his pocket (carry loose change, buddy) the robber grabbed it and ran.

The thief was described as 40 to 45 years old, 5'9" tall, weighing 150 pounds, wearing a red and black sweatshirt and jeans.

• Monday (2.8.10) 1:30 a.m.: It was white-on-white crime when a white guy grabbed a white woman's purse while she was walking in the 600 block of Dauphine Street (between Toulouse and St. Peter streets).

The crook was 5'8" tall, weighing 160 pounds, wearing a black cap, Saints' jersey (who wasn't wearing one last week--but what number?), and blue jeans.

Bang-up time: What's a celebration without a shooting? Young thugs in and around the French Quarter had to knock off a few rounds to have a good time:

• Friday (2.5.10) 8:30 p.m.: A 15-year-old black boy got into an argument with 2 other black punks in the 100 block of University Place, just off Canal Street where the Krewe of Oshun's parade had rolled minutes before. One, a 16-year-old, pulled out a small-caliber pistol and blasted the younger boy in the leg. He was treated and released from the hospital.

The shooter and his weapon were seized, but because the young thug is a juvenile the police won't release his name (wouldn't want the cold, heartless punk traumatized). So we won't know when this creep is out walking the streets again--and armed again.

• Monday (2.8.10) 12:03 a.m.: 3 adults--a white man, 25, and 2 black women, one 30 and the other 36--were standing near Iberville and Bourbon streets when they heard shots fired and then realized they had been wounded in their legs. They did not see the shooter and they were released after being treated for minor wounds.

• Monday (2.8.10) 1:34 a.m.: A Hispanic man walking near Bourbon and Conti streets felt a pain in his chest, and noticed a puncture wound to his chest. He told police he was unsure how he had been cut.

What's with all these folks--kids and adults alike--walking around armed with guns while so many human targets are in close proximity? I have no quarrel with properly licensed gun owners who want to protect themselves. But kids and felons seem to be more heavily armed than law-abiding citizens.

Maybe kids just don't have respect for the law; they see their "heroes" like rapper Lil Wayne weasel their way out of punishment for violating gun laws.

Yesterday Lil Wayne, who a day earlier was bragging about how he welcomed going to jail, told a NY judge he forgot he had a dentist's appointment in Miami; he obviously preferred a root canal (or maybe more gold implants) if it would stall his sentencing to a year in jail by a month.

The felons aren't smart enough to stay away from guns when they get out of jail. If they were smart, they wouldn't be felons in the first place.

Want to put an end to this? If a kid is caught with a gun, try him as an adult and don't let him hide behind being 16, or 15, or 14, or... Let him do some real time. And make the parents pay too--in fines or jail time.

As for felons, turn them over to the feds for prosecution that is far more severe than what the local courts mete out.

Put pressure on the cops to try to catch kids and felons with weapons. If a kid looks like he's young enough to be breaking curfew, stop him and see--and see if he's armed. If a felon so much as spits on the sidewalk, stop him and see if he's armed and carrying.

Let's get these scumbags off the street so honest citizens don't have to arm themselves to be safe in crowds.

Coming back to work, Leon?: Now that DA Leon Cannizzaro's attempt at being a kingmaker has turned out to be a dismal failure, perhaps he can get back to the job we elected him to do: Get the bad guys off the streets.

His office is dragging out the prosecution of 2 juveniles accused of murdering Wendy Byrnes over a year ago, most recently asking the court for a delay that postpones any action until 3.9.10. On top of that, his office still refuses to say if it's going to charge the third suspect--a 14-year-old--as an adult.

Job One: Police chief?: Many are hailing the landslide election of Mitch Landrieu as mayor as an opportunity for him to use the time between now and inauguration 5.3.10 to search and find a new police chief by then. Having a new chief to make the streets of New Orleans safe again can't come too soon. The sooner Landrieu begins looking, the sooner we can enthusiastically celebrate his election.

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

Thom Kahler