COURT REPORT: Justice, in various forms

Murderers get theirs: Maybe it looks more like justice if it's drug out in court for a long time, as in these 2 cases:

• Roy J. Parker Jr., 26, was sentenced 5.28.10 to life without parole for shooting dead his wife and wounding a male friend of hers in the Erin Rose bar, 811 Conti St., in the wee hours a little over a year earlier on 5.2.09.

A jury found him guilty of 2nd-degree murder and attempted murder the month before. There wasn't much doubt he did it after he burst into the popular Irish pub just after 4 a.m. and ripped off 5 shots; it was witnessed by the bartender, several customers, and video surveillance cameras.

But now he's wasting more of the public defender's time, appealing his conviction in a hearing set for 8.12.10. Most think the killer of his 23-year-old wife, Veronica, and the mother of his children should rot in hell.

• Dale Pigford, 60, got the same sentence--life without parole--in another case that dragged through the court for over a year.

He got into a tiff with a homeless guy at Tulane and S. Claiborne avenues and wound up stabbing him on 1.30.09. The victim, Gary Sing, 44, didn't appear that seriously wounded as he checked himself into nearby University Hospital; he died there 2.6.09 and the coroner ruled it a homicide.

Pigford, 2415 Columbus St., was arrested shortly thereafter. A jury found him guilty 3.9.10 and he was sentenced 3.23.10. The Loyola Law Clinic is trying to get him a new trial but his lawyer keeps missing court dates.

Murder by another name: You might call Nathaniel Payton, 28, the "Teflon Triggerman" since criminal charges just don't seem to stick to him. Almost 2 years ago (in the early morning hours of 8.2.08) he allegedly pumped 7 or 8 gunshots into a guy at Bienville and Decatur streets; he was apprehended right away and police initially charged him with aggravated battery.

Citizens in the neighborhood were outraged--emptying a clip into a guy and treating it like an accident? Whoa! Police changed the charge to attempted murder but the judge let him out on a mere $75,000 bond--chicken feed for a big time drug dealer like Payton. So a thug who gave a whole new meaning to the word "ruthless" continued to run the streets.

That is, until his victim, Cyril Roussell, 34, up and died at LSU Public Hospital on 2.9.09, a little over 6 months after Payton filled him full of lead; the coroner ruled it homicide. The police rebooked him, charged with murder, and the judge set his bond at $1.5 million.

When the case finally went to trial in March, the best the jury could do is find him guilty of manslaughter, not murder--another "excuse me" charge; he had wiggled out of more serious trouble again. The most Judge Lynda Van Davis could give him was 40 years, which she did on 4.9.10.

Now the Louisiana Appellate Project is trying to get this scumball a new trial; a hearing is set for 7.7.10.

Robbers go down: As you might suspect, most of the crimes have to do with robberies. And as with most court cases, they go on way too long--with the bad guy pleading guilty, just as he could've on Day One when he was arraigned. Must be that sitting in OPP is preferable to being locked up in Angola. Take these cases for instance:

• Bryan Gray, 22, was arrested in May last year for a number of armed robberies in the preceding month, including one in the 300 block of Tchoupitoulas Street on 4.10.09 and another in the 400 block of Gravier Street on 4.2.09.

When all was done, 8th District detectives charged him with 6 robberies. His case dragged through the court until he pled guilty 5.14.10 to all 6 counts and was sentenced by Judge Camille Buras to 15 years in prison without probation, parole or suspension of sentence.

• Michael A. Lewis Jr., 23, seemed on his way to setting some record for the length of legal proceedings against him. He was arrested in January, 2008 and charged with 3 armed robberies.

He finally pled guilty to all 3 last Tuesday (6.22.10) and was sentenced by Judge Terry Alarcon to 10 years in prison without probation, parole or suspension of sentence.

He previously beat 2 armed robbery raps in 2004 when the DA refused the charges. This time he was first arrested for an Uptown robbery, then an 8th District detective noted the similarity and arrested him for robbing a man in the 700 block of S. Peters Street on 1.24.08.

• Kerry J. Paul, 29, was suspected in 4 bar robberies in the French Quarter and Marigny Triangle last summer, charged for 2 of them, and convicted of only 1. But you aren't likely to see him around here for a long time after Judge Keva Landrum-Johnson threw the proverbial book at him.

Paul was convicted by a jury of robbing one of the bars. On the second charge, the jurors could not decide on a verdict and a mistrial was declared; the DA decided not to try the case again. He didn't need to; instead he charged Paul as a "multiple" offender.

Paul, with a long criminal record, admitted to the charge when he appeared for sentencing 10 days ago (6.16.10). The judge gave him 70 years in prison as a career criminal and then slapped another 25 years on for the one robbery he was convicted of.

Among the bar robberies in which Paul was a suspect were: 6.25.09 Donna's, N. Rampart and St. Ann streets; 6.29.09 The John, Burgundy and Frenchmen streets; 7.3.09 The R Bar, Royal and Kerlerec streets; and 7.4.09 Melvin's Bar, 2112 St. Claude Ave.

Others guilty of robbery with less notoriety:

• Gregory Garmany, 43, pled guilty on 5.12.10 to attempted armed robbery and was sentenced by Judge Laurie White to 4 years in prison.

He was arrested 12.5.09 after he pulled a knife on a Lucky Dog vendor at Royal and Iberville streets. What he didn't know was that the dog man was an ex-Marine who beat the crap out of him.

• Jamal Jackson, 26, pled guilty to armed robbery on 3.19.10 and was sentenced by Judge Frank Marullo to 18 years in prison without parole. That sentence will also cover 2 other armed robberies Jackson pled guilty to, plus a charge of domestic abuse.

He was one of 2 black thugs who robbed 2 other black men in their 20s at gunpoint who were walking in the 1000 block of St. Louis Street on 2.28.09.

• Jerome M. Jones, 20, was found guilty of armed robbery on 4.8.10 by Judge Camille Buras and sentenced to 10 years in jail.

Jones was charged with armed robbery after he and a buddy carjacked a black guy at Natchez and Camp streets on 1.20.09 after first failing in another carjacking attempt down the street.

• Tre King, 18, finally pled guilty 5.12.10 to a carjacking in the Marigny Triangle on 12.22.08 after the charge was reduced from armed robbery to attempted armed robbery and the DA's office withdrew its intent to seek a firearms sentencing provision. He was sentenced by Judge Arthur Hunter to 6 years in prison.

King was charged with stealing a 2000 Mercury Cougar in front of 723 Touro St. at gunpoint.

• Darrell B. Bell (top), 41, and Rene Metoyer (bottom), 42, pled guilty to lesser charges after initially being charged with attempted armed robbery in a case that had the earmarks of a "Chinese Fire Drill."

In March, after a jury was sworn in just before lunch, the 2 defendants had a change of heart during the lunch break. Bell pled guilty to attempted simple robbery and Metoyer pled guilty to simple battery.

Judge Camille Buras sentenced Bell to 12 months in jail and Metoyer to 6 months in OPP, with credit for time served since his arrest, so he was gone immediately.

Here's the caper that got the 2 arrested in May last year; see if you can follow it:

A white guy got into a car 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 guy's 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 and the cops arrested Bell and Metoyer.

Nothing simple about these robberies: They call them "simple" robberies when the crook is not armed with a weapon. But in truth, they are usually more violent than when a robber pulls a gun.

• Toarrius Carter (left), 29, and Maurice Charles (right), 28, each pled guilty to simple robbery in March for an incident last August. They each received an 18-month sentence in jail from Judge Frank Marullo.

But here's what they did: Two 8th District officers on patrol came upon Carter and Charles who were beating a white man lying on the ground in the 400 block of Dauphine Street and going through his pockets. Both perps were arrested.

• Wardell Dennis (right), 21, and his sister, Dominique Dennis (left), 18, pled guilty in March to a pursesnatching they pulled off last August in the 300 block of Burgundy Street, only after the DA agreed not to charge them as "multiple" offenders, which would have added substantially to their sentences because of their past criminal records. As it was, Judge Julian Parker sentenced each of them to 5 years in prison.

• Ashley Fleming, 23, pled guilty 2.24.10 to simple robbery and possession of Ecstasy after she snatched the purse of a white woman last June near St. Philip and Dauphine streets. Judge Julian Parker gave her 2 years in prison, lumping in a 6-month sentence for possession of marijuana.

With credit for time served since her arrest, she was back on the street on 3.16.10. Watch your purses!

• Ronald Haynes, 55, who had a long history of criminal offenses, pled guilty to simple robbery on 6.22.10 and was sentenced to 10 years in prison as a multiple offender by Judge Lynda Van Davis.

He was charged 9.26.09 after grabbing money from the pocket of a white guy walking in the 600 block of Bourbon Street and smashing the victim in the face when he resisted.

• Steve Hollins (top), 19, and Darrien Johnson (bottom), 18, both pled guilty in May to simple robbery for grabbing the wallet of an Asian woman walking in the 600 block of Toulouse Street.

Judge Camille Buras sentenced Hollins to only 1 year in jail; she gave Johnson 4 years (even though he also pled guilty to possession of a stolen auto) but suspended the entire sentence--though she did order him to pay $5 restitution.

These are no choirboys who were being given a break. Less than a week after this incident, Hollins was charged with attempted 1st-degree murder for shooting 2 teenage boys in New Orleans East.

• William Mozingo, 30, pled guilty to pursesnatching on 5.20.10 after he roughed up a woman walking in the 700 block of St. Philip Street near Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop and took her purse on 3.2.10.

Judge Robin Pittman sentenced him to 2 years in prison. Now that's the way to move a case through the courts!

• Kenneth Wiley, 51, pled guilty to simple robbery in April this year for robbing a guy of his wallet in the 400 block of Bourbon Street in April last year. Judge Robin Pittman sentenced him to 3 years in prison.

• Darrell M. Smith, 45, pled guilty in February to 2 counts of theft under $300 and one count of attempted theft under $300.

Then he got a sweetheart sentence from Magistrate Harry Cantrell: a total of 52 days with credit for time served since his arrest on New Year's Eve. Smith was back on the street on 2.24.10. (Ironically, Cantrell was the only magistrate to survive the shake-up last week in Criminal District Court where 3 magistrates were ousted.)

Smith was charged after he tried to make off with a woman's wallet at the Bourbon Street Blues Company, 441 Bourbon St., on New Year's Eve 2009.

And finally...: A Baton Rough high school teacher, who allegedly tried to torch the hotel where he was staying last summer, finally got enough of a break in May that he pled guilty to a reduced charge of simple criminal damage under $500.

Then he got an even bigger break: Judge Karen Herman sentenced him to only 2 days in jail and $10,000 restitution to the hotel. (Now tell me, if he was charged with damage under $500 why is he being ordered to pay back 20 times that amount to the hotel?)

Kelly Messenger, 34, was captured on video surveillance cameras at the Westin Hotel in Canal Place setting fire to a sofa in the lobby on 7.11.09 just after 5 a.m. before getting on the elevator to the 11th floor where he was staying. Initially, he was charged with aggravated arson, then the charge was dropped in court to simple arson, and finally to the criminal damage charge.

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

Thom Kahler

Blue dogs, red cars, and white you-know-whats

CRIMES last week in the NOPD 8th District

Sunday (6.13.10)

Aggravated Assault: 927 Poeyfarre
Auto Theft: 210 N Rampart
Auto Burglary: 100 University
Auto Burglary: 200 Burgundy
Auto Burglary: 500 Conti
Bicycle Theft: 313 Royal

Monday (6.14.10)

Auto Theft: 900 Bienville

Tuesday (6.15.10)

Aggravated Battery: 430 Dauphine
Burglary: 445 S. Rampart
Auto Burglary: 800 St Peter
Auto Burglary: Burgundy & Iberville
Theft: 840 Tchoupitoulas

Wednesday (6.16.10)

Business Burglary: 601 Baronne
Auto Burglary: 1029 Bienville
Auto Theft: 200 Notre Dame

Thursday (6.17.10)

No crimes reported

Friday (6.18.10)

Rape: Canal & S. Rampart
Auto Burglary: 100 Burgundy
Theft: 141 Chartres
Theft: N. Front & Iberville
Shoplifting: 134 Royal
Shoplifting: 730 Royal

Saturday (6.19.10)

Theft: 441 Bourbon
Auto Burglary: Conv. Center & Notre Dame
Auto Burglary: Conv. Center & Notre Dame
Auto Burglary: 820 Poydras
Pickpocketing: 700 Bourbon
Theft: 1 Poydras
Theft: 8 Canal

Rape? What rape?: It's hard to believe the NOPD is serious about solving rapes when they give you so little information for you to avoid the rapist or help find him.

Case in point: Supposedly a black dude forced a woman (race and age not given) was forced (no indication how or if a weapon was used) into a red 2-door vehicle with tinted windows and a damaged hood (sedan? pickup? SUV?) on Friday (had to check the crime map to find it was 6:17 a.m.) at Canal and S. Rampart streets.

He took her to what was believed to be a beauty salon or barber shop where he sexually assaulted her. He then drove her to N. Rampart and Esplanade Avenue where he released her.

Two days later the NOPD released this computer composite of what the rapist supposedly looks like.

The problem with getting information on rapes is this: The initial report is filed with the district (in this case, the 8th) then the investigation is turned over to the sex crimes squad. The district is prohibited from commenting on the case and the sex squad is equally tight-lipped.

So the public is left dangling to wonder whether there is a real threat out there. Seems like a good problem for Chief Serpas to tackle, so citizens could be better informed of any dangers.

Doggone: Shoplifting cases rarely make the news, except when $40,000 worth of Blue Dog paintings are missing.

A thief with nothing more than a brown shopping bag walked into world-famous artist George Rodrigue's gallery at 730 Royal St. last Friday (6.18.10) around 5:30 p.m. and, eluding the security cameras, bagged 2 small Blue Dog paintings from a set of 3.

The paintings were recovered Monday (6.21.10) in a warehouse on Broad Street after a call to the gallery from a tipster. Another tipster identified the thief as Lee Szakats, 50.

Szakats has a prior conviction for theft, but Judge Darryl Derbigny gave him only a 3-year suspended sentence in February. A warrant was issued for his arrest 5.14.10 after he failed to pay required court fees.

Real robberies: The 8th District has had few lately, but an armed robbery was reported yesterday at noon in the 1200 block of Bourbon Street (between Gov. Nicholls and Barracks streets). No report has been issued yet by 8th District cops.

Other action:

• Saturday (6.19.10): Apparently avoiding going all the way to the French Quarter in search of victims, 3 robbers in the Iberville Housing Project waited until the victims came to them.

In this report from the 1st District NOPD (in which the cops there don't bother with such niceties as the time of the robbery, the number of victims, or the race/sex/age of the victims), the 2 victims who were from Oklahoma (this was deduced from the report) were walking back from the French Quarter to their car parked in the 1400 block of Iberville Street when 3 black thugs asked them if they wanted to buy cocaine. When they declined, the thugs robbed them instead of $175.

• Sunday (6.20.10) 5:00 a.m.: A 22-year-old white guy walking in the 500 block of Burgundy Street (between St. Louis and Toulouse streets) was accosted by 3 black thugs (you don't think they crossed N. Rampart Street, do you?) who knocked the victim to the ground and took his wallet before fleeing on foot up Burgundy toward Canal Street.

One of the perps was described as 18 to 20 years old, 5'8" tall, weighing 140 pounds, with a thin build, wearing a black shirt and blue jeans; the other 2 were only described as being black.

Feuding and fighting: Knives were the weapons of choice in 2 cases were a couple of guys wanted to win an argument:

• Sunday (6.20.10) 5:51 p.m.: Two white guys who work together at 1 Poydras St. got into an argument. One of them picked up a knife and tried to cut the other one.

A warrant has been issued for Henry Seaton, 32.

• Tuesday (6.15.10) 10:39 a.m.: Two men, one white, one black, in the Double Play bar at 439 Dauphine St. (corner of St. Louis Street) got into an argument. The white guy tried to end it by leaving the bar; the black guy tried to end it with a box cutter. He allegedly followed the victim from the bar and cut him.

Police apprehended Lionel Foster, 34, and charged him with aggravated battery. He is being held in OPP on $15,000 bond.

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

Thom Kahler

You can't blame the police

Upon further review, we're blaming the wrong people about the looming crackdown on overnight street music in the French Quarter.

Because the police--the 8th District quality-of-life officer, specifically--issued copies of ordinances to street musicians informing them that it was illegal to play in the streets between 8 p.m. to 9 a.m., protests have spread to over 12,000 people on Facebook in the past week, almost unanimously blaming the police for trying to stop the music.

Yet, you must remember this: The police are duty-bound to enforce the law. And that is what they're trying to do in this case, based on complaints--who knows how many and from whom--reputedly made by residents of the French Quarter. So the police are just doing their job. As my good friend Steve Steinberg said in his letter to the editor in the Times-Picayune last Thursday (6.17.10): "...please be aware that the folks who are always complaining about noise are not necessarily the majority. They are just the noisiest."

(You could, of course, ask why the police zeroed in on this one section of the City Code while ignoring so many others. Did you know it's illegal to sell T-shirts on Bourbon Street from Canal Street to St. Ann Street? Dang, could have sworn I saw a T-shirt shop or 2 in that stretch.)

The real culprits, I fear, are our neighbors who moved here not so long ago. Almost universally they came as tourists, charmed by the notion they could carry their breakfast beer down the street and cavort with their plastic cupped cocktail in the wee hours of the morning--things they could never do back home where they came from.

But once they moved here, what had been so wickedly delicious to them as tourists became offensive to them as residents. They seem to want to change the French Quarter--to make it more like where they came from. One NOcrimeline reader noted that when she lived in a horse community it was the newcomers who complained about the smell of manure.

(Once I hollered at a kid peeing on the fence across the street, only to be chastised by my loved one for my outburst: "Tell me you've never done that." I couldn't; I remember little of my first Mardi Gras in 1972--which of course is the hallmark of great revelry.)

Fingers pointed at French Quarter Citizens as the primary complainers after Brian Furness, president of FQC, appeared on the TV news last Friday (6.18.10) night and said he welcomed the law's enforcement. But Monday (6.21.10) afternoon, he explained:

"We are disappointed that so many have misinterpreted our support for enforcement of the law as somehow anti-musician or anti-French Quarter spirit. We are similarly disappointed that some fail to recognize that key to the French Quarter’s authenticity and character is its continuing use as a place to live — the French Quarter is not Disneyland. Our membership has been silent on the curfew issue, but has vociferously urged that we actively support a crackdown on noise and other quality of life issues that diminish our neighborhood’s vitality and attractiveness as a place to live. We have heard them, and will actively continue our efforts to enforce the laws that strengthen, not undermine, the quality of life in our historic neighborhood."

There is, however, hope in the words of Mayor Mitch Landrieu:

"...we have an obligation to protect and support the very things that make our culture so authentic. It is possible for musicians and residents and businesses to co-exist in the French Quarter and across our city. It requires having ordinances that make sense, that are clearly communicated to the public and that are properly enforced. My administration is going to work with the City Council and the New Orleans Police Department to review the quality of life ordinances to ensure that they best serve the needs of our community."

In the meantime, let's not consider the NOPD the bad guys in all this. They're doing what we want them to do--enforce the law. Don't like the law? Change it.

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

Thom Kahler

This ain't Treme, ya' know

The trouble with reducing violent crime--robberies, assaults, and such--as the 8th District has done so dramatically in recent months is you've got to find something else to keep the cops busy. But the 8th District seems to have stepped in it big time this time by enforcing a curfew on street musicians.

You don't mess with Bart Simpson's Butterfinger and you don't mess with the French Quarter's music. For all HBO has done to glorify the music of New Orleans in "Treme", the lesson seems to be lost on the Quarter. A video that went viral on Facebook of cops chasing the "To Be Continued Brass Band" from the corner of Bourbon and Canal streets on Tuesday (6.15.10) night, where the band had almost become a fixture against the backdrop of the Foot Locker's wall. Another brass band, "Young Fellaz", had been routed the Friday (6.11.10) night before.

No one seems to want to fess up to who stirred this mess up, but Police Chief Ronal Serpas late yesterday (6.16.10) afternoon sent out a letter trying to wipe the doo-doo off his officers' feet. In it he noted that the "...8th District has for many years, and as recently as within the last several weeks, received numerous complaints from residents of the French Quarter noting that musical street performers are violating existing ordinances."

He acknowledges that the 8th District's Quality-of-Life officer, Roger Jones Jr., has been handing out notices to street musicians spelling out the ordinances which prohibit playing music on city streets from 8 p.m. to 9 a.m. But Serpas' letter emphasizes: "...there has been no enforcement action taken as a result of these particular notices..." and that officers "...will continue to use discretion, appropriate to the circumstances present, to enforce any ordinances..."

No one will say who made the complaints, whether it was some little old lady from Des Moines who didn't know the Quarter could be so raucous, or whether it was one of the groups (VCPORA or French Quarter Citizens) who claim to represent the residents of the Vieux Carre.

Maj. Eddie Hosli, commander of the 8th District, concedes he has been besieged with complaints about noise since he took over here in 2007. I can tell you it's been a common refrain at NONPAC meetings (monthly confabs of 8th District cops and citizens) well before Maj. Hosli arrived. But...

But the complaints I've heard have been about the blaring mediocre renditions of rock 'n roll emanating from clubs along Bourbon Street. Complaints against street performers were virtually nil--except for maybe tap dancers and musicians using amplifiers (which are illegal too).

And yet nothing's been done over the years to quell the noise from those clubs. Maj. Hosli says the noise ordinance prohibits sound levels over a certain number of decibels and requires the use of decibel meter to determine when the noise becomes illegal.

The 8th District does have a decibel meter, but only one officer currently trained in how to conduct sound readings. He says he is in the process of scheduling a class to train additional officers and will explore the possibility of obtaining an additional sound meter.

All this sounds reminiscent of Councilwoman Jackie Clarkson's crusade in 2004 to remove the benches in Jackson Square to keep the bums from sleeping there; when the benches came back, they had dividers preventing anyone from lying down and some of us from squeezing in to sit.

That foray led to sanctions against the tarot card readers, requirements that bartenders be licensed, that any place serving alcohol beverages had to have public restrooms (with soap and paper towels, no less!)--not bad laws. But they've not been rigorous enforced and get the same selective enforcement that other laws do, like barring big buses from the Quarter's tiny streets.

Since those days in the attempted Disneyland-ization of the French Quarter, enforcement of most of those laws has fallen by the wayside. That's what rankles most folks--the selective enforcement of the many city ordinances that are meant to keep the French Quarter more civil.

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

Thom Kahler

So where'd all the crime go?

It didn't seem that long ago that we were afraid to walk the streets of the French Quarter and surrounding neighborhoods. It may not be quite Mayberry RFD, but it's a helluva lot better than it's been in the past. Now if we could just get used to it and stride out from our homes without fear.

We're trying something new by listing all the crimes reported to us by the 8th District for last week, along with the district's crime map.

CRIMES last week in the NOPD 8th District

Sunday (6.6.10)

Armed Robbery: Bourbon & St Philip
Auto Burglary: 800 Magazine
Auto Burglary: Burgundy & Iberville
Auto Theft: 365 Canal
Auto Theft: 927 Poeyfarre
Pickpocketing: 701 Bourbon
Theft: 227 Bourbon

Monday (6.7.10)

Auto Theft: 1555 Poydras
Theft: 333 Julia
Theft: 1 Poydras

Tuesday (6.8.10)

Armed Robbery: Tulane & Loyola
Simple Robbery: 600 Dumaine
Auto Burglary: 300 Baronne
Auto Burglary: 422 Notre Dame
Auto Theft: 920 Poeyfarre
Theft: 2 Poydras

Wednesday (6.9.10)

Simple Robbery: 900 Conti
Theft: 907 St Peter

Thursday (6.10.10)

Auto Theft: 1212 N Rampart
Theft: 500 Poydras
Theft: 1026 Decatur

Friday (6.11.10)

Auto Burglary: O'Keefe & Poydras
Auto Burglary: Burgundy & Iberville
Theft: 1001 Esplanade
Theft: 640 Bourbon

Saturday (6.12.10)

Purse Snatching: Bienville & Bourbon
Rape: 124 Royal
Auto Burglary: 342 N Rampart
Auto Burglary: 800 Perdido
Bicycle Theft: 914 Bourbon
Theft: 930 Tchoupitoulas
Theft: 333 Poydras

A few robberies--and an arrest or 2: We reported the 2 armed robberies and one arrest in last week's NOcrimeline report, but here are 3 simple robberies from the past week:

• Saturday (6.12.10) 4:20 a.m.: Cops caught 2 black hoods for allegedly robbing a 47-year-old black lady who was standing near the corner of Bienville and Bourbon streets. One of them grabbed her purse and both of them took off running toward N. Rampart Street.

One of the robbers was a 16-year-old black boy, so because he's a juvenile we'll never know what sort of justice he got. His alleged accomplice was Brock Emilien, 21, who was charged with pursesnatching and contributing to the delinquency of juveniles. (Good! They ought to hang him high on that last charge.) He is being held on $12,000 bond in OPP.

• Wednesday (6.9.10) 2:10 a.m.: A 32-year-old white man was robbed by a gang of black boys and girls in the 900 block of Conti Street (between Dauphine and Burgundy streets). Two of the black boys held the victim while the others in the gang--another boy and 2 girls--rifled through his pockets and took all he had on him. They fled on foot up Burgundy toward Canal Street.

The young thugs were described thusly: A black male, 17 to 25 years old, 6'4" tall, with a thin build, wearing a dark blue shirt and dark-colored pants; a black male, 17 to 25 years old, 6' tall, with a thin build, wearing a gray shirt and black pants; a black male, 6'4" tall, heavy set, wearing a white T-shirt; the 2 girls were 5'4" tall, both fat, one wearing a red shirt and the other a lime green shirt.

• Tuesday (6.8.10) 9:52 p.m.: A 58-year-old white man walking in the 600 block of Dumaine Street (between Chartres and Royal streets) nearly lost his cellphone 2 black thugs tried to grab it from his hand. But he put up a fuss and the would-be robbers took off on Dumaine toward Decatur Street.

Both perps are described as 20 to 25 years old, 5'9" tall, weighing 165 pounds, with medium complexions, wearing white shirts and black pants.

What's this about?: It doesn't sound like the kind of a situation an ordinary honest citizen would get involved in, but who knows? Around 6:20 p.m. on Sunday (6.13.10) a 25-year-old black woman got into an argument with a 45-year-old white guy in the lobby of 927 Poeyfarre St. in the Warehouse District--the Nine27 Apartments where rents run from $1,100 to $1,800 a month.

Apparently he got so exasperated that he pulled out a pistol and threatened the black girl. She left the scene and called her father who returned with her and confronted the white man, who then allegedly threatened Daddy with the gun too.

When police arrived, they took into custody Frank Ibieta, 45, and charged him with 2 counts of aggravated assault with a firearm. He's in OPP on $20,000 bond.

911 or 821-2222: When we reported last week that Chief Ronal Serpas wanted citizens to call the NOPD's non-emergency line (821-2222) instead of 911 unless there was a threat to "life and limb"--questioning the wisdom of trying to divine which was what--one regular reader of NOcrimeline chronicled her experiences of calling the police:

"I have made 911 calls 5 times, 4 of them for vicious assaults in progress, with varying results.

"Of course, the one that got real results was when I called because a petite, female police officer, off duty but in uniform and accompanied by her small daughter, was being assaulted by a huge man just outside the door of our building in broad daylight. There was a police officer on a scooter there in 30 seconds. She was joined by at least 8 other officers in patrol cars who blocked off both ends of (the) street.

"By then I had, stupidly, gone out and confronted the attacker and the assault had stopped. He was arrested and taken in, but the victim would not press charges--he was her boyfriend. But at least he got put in lockup for a brief period.

"Another time, myself and another woman called 911 because a woman was being beaten in the middle of the day on Royal Street half a block from the 8th District station. A group of us collectively ran off the guy (another "domestic dispute), but when no officer showed up after 20 minutes, the victim left the scene and we did, too.

"One year on New Year's Eve, I observed a drunk guy being viciously beaten and kicked by 3 also-drunk guys. I called 911, but they really did not want to respond as they were busy. I finally got mad at the dispatcher and said, 'Mayor Nagin is giving a speech in Jackson Square half a block away and I can see dozens of uniformed officers standing around there. Why don't you have a couple of them cruise over here and act like policemen before this guy gets killed?'

"That did it and some officers responded, but the perps had taken off. The victim had a broken nose and teeth knocked out and who knows what else, and was taken by ambulance to Charity. I told the cops I could easily identify the perps if they would come with me, but they declined and left.

"Another similar assault happened a few years later when a bunch of people were out on our galleries one lovely night and saw an SUV stop in the middle of (the) street and 3 guys jump out and attack a guy walking by on the sidewalk. Several of us called the police and they came rapidly.

"However, once they got there they determined that the victim had gotten into a verbal argument at a bar because of some remark he made to one of the guy's girlfriend. They followed him in their car and jumped him. Despite all of us as witnesses, no body was taken into custody nor the driver even given a Breathalyzer test. Another 'medical emergency?'

"My last experience showed how it is suppose to go, but won't now that we are told not to call 911 about 'suspicious persons.'

"Again, we were out on our gallery at night when we observed a patrol car circling the block very, very slowly with its lights flashing. This looked different than the so-called blue-light patrols. We looked down and saw a man hiding behind a construction dumpster on (the) street. As soon as the patrol car turned the corner, he came out and started walking away. I called 911 and they stayed on the line with me while I kept up a visual sighting of him. He was picked up and I identified him and he turned out to be a burglar on parole who was supposed to stay out of the Quarter."

Comstat moved: The 8th District's Comstat meeting this week--on Wednesday (6.16.10) at 1 p.m.--has been moved to the Royal Sonesta Hotel at Bourbon and Conti streets (use the Conti entrance). The meetings, which are at the mercy of the generosity of the hotels, had been held at the Omni Royal Orleans, which had a conflict this week that took the space the 8th District usually used.

If you haven't been to a district Comstat meeting, you should make an effort to go once. With refreshing candidness on the part of district brass, you'll see how they assess what is happening in the Quarter (and CBD and Marigny Triangle) and how they plot to solve any current crime problems.

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

Thom Kahler

Here we go again

Robberies resume: For sometime there had been few robberies, now it seems the bad guys are taking out their guns again and going to work:

• Tuesday (6.8.10) 12:52 a.m.: A 26-year-old white man sitting near the corner of Loyola and Tulane avenues early this morning when a black guy armed with a handgun came up and demanded his laptop computer. The victim complied and the thief took off up Tulane toward S. Claiborne Avenue.

1st District officers responded to the scene which is just inside the border 8th Districts near the 1st District. The victim told officers the robber was light skinned, wearing a green hat, green shirt and a large necklace. Officers apprehended Ben Fruge, 18, who was in possession of a laptop computer near Tulane and Broad Street. He was positively identified by the victim. Fruge told officers the gun was a BB gun and he discarded it in a trash can near the crime scene, where officers recovered it.

Fruge was turned over to 8th District detectives who booked him with first-degree robbery and illegal possession of stolen things. His bond was set at $40,000.

• Sunday (6.6.10) 4:40 a.m.: A 48-year-old white man was walking near St. Philip and Bourbon streets when a light-colored sedan drove past him and stopped. Two black dudes hopped out and one pulled a pistol, demanding the man's money. The victim complied and the robbers went back to the car, which sped off down Bourbon toward Esplanade Avenue.

The gunman was described as in his mid-20's, 5'9" tall, with a medium build and dark complexion, wearing a white shirt; the other perp was merely described as the all-encompassing "black" man.

• Friday (6.4.10) 3:05 a.m.: Two white men and a white woman were held up near Chartres and Gov. Nicholls streets by 3 black crooks. One pulled a gun and demanded the trio's money, which the victims surrendered. The robbers ran to a vehicle which fled on Gov. Nicholls toward Decatur Street.

None of the 3 victims could describe the car or 2 of the robbers, but they described the gunman as 6'1" tall, weighing 160 pounds, with dreadlocks and a dark complexion, wearing a light-colored baggy shirt and dark pants.

• Thursday (6.3.10) 12:09 a.m.: A white man walking in the 900 block of Orleans Avenue (between Dauphine and Burgundy streets) was accosted by a gang of 5 black boys intent on robbing him at gunpoint. When the victim realized the punks were using a BB gun, he snatched it from them and they fled to Burgundy, turning toward Canal Street.

He described them as 16 to 18 years old, about 5'8" tall, weighing around 145 pounds, all wearing dark-colored clothing.

What's the lesson in all of these? All happened in the wee hours and you remember the crooner telling you "...the night time is no good time." Of course, he went on to conclude "...but it's my time." So what are you going to do:?

Gun-less gangsters: A couple of so-called simple robberies occurred Saturday (6.5.10), a day with no armed robberies reported:

• 12:26 a.m.: A 40-year-old white woman walking in the 600 block of Bourbon Street (between Toulouse and St. Peter streets) when a black boy swooped down on her and grabbed her iPhone from her hand. He fled on foot up Bourbon to Iberville Street where he turned toward N. Rampart Street.

She described him as 16 to 20 years old, 5'4" tall, weighing 130 pounds, with a dark complexion, wearing a white shirt and dark jeans.

• 12:26 a.m.: A 40-year-old white woman walking in the 600 block of Bourbon Street (between Toulouse and St. Peter streets) when a black boy swooped down on her and grabbed her iPhone from her hand. He fled on foot up Bourbon to Iberville Street where he turned toward N. Rampart Street.

She described him as 16 to 20 years old, 5'4" tall, weighing 130 pounds, with a dark complexion, wearing a white shirt and dark jeans.

• 11:24 p.m.: A 23-year-old black woman walking near Clinton and Bienville streets (between Decatur and N. Peters streets) had her purse snatched by a white guy who fled on foot.

Police apprehended Chad Rinkus, 22, who was charged with pursesnatching and possession of stolen things. He is being held on $30,000 bond.

Fun 'n games? Not really: In the middle of the afternoon on Saturday (6.5.10) around 3:46 p.m. the passenger in a car going down Canal Street near N. Peters Street pulled out a gun and pointed it at several pedestrians.

Police put an end to this nonsense when they arrested Matthew Wetta, 24, and charged him with 3 counts of aggravated assault. His bond was set at only $15,000 and he was gone before they could take his mugshot in lockup.

Magistrate Rudy Gorrell decreed if Wetta made bail he had to wear an ankle bracelet and observe a 6 p.m. curfew.

Get'em while their hot: The 8th District is trying to better address "quality of life" issues by asking citizen who know of problem areas in the district (French Quarter, CBD, Marigny Triangle) to fill out a "Hot Sheet."

A copy of the Hot Sheet can be downloaded and filled out anonymously; you will not be contacted unless you wish to be. The page may be printed and mailed to the 8th District station or emailed to Quality of Life Officer Roger Jones.

On the sheet you can file complaints on such things as abandoned cars, street lights out, excessive noise, curfew violations and truants, loitering and drug dealing, prostitution, etc.

Prevent crime or not?: Police Chief Ronal Serpas is asking citizens to restrict the use of 911 to emergencies where there is "immediate danger to yourself or someone else, such as an assault or shooting."

For non-emergency issues, such as a property crime or suspicious persons report, citizens should call 821-2222.

Serpas stressed that "calls to both numbers are categorized and prioritized in the same manner, and that callers may request anonymity when speaking with an operator at either line. However, only incidents involving a threat to "life and limb" should be reported to 911, so as not to overwhelm the system's resources."

There are problems with this. Ask any one who's sat for 3 hours waiting for a cop to show up at an accident scene (as I have). Ask anyone who's waited and waited for a cop to show up after a burglary (as I've heard reported over and over). Response to 911 calls have generally been prompt, and over the years citizens have been conditioned (often by district commanders) to use 911 and they have because they get results. Unless something has drastically changed in the communications department, citizens are going to fear the terminal wait of yore.

Besides, I'm more inclined to report a suspicious person lurking in my neighborhood to 911--let the cops figure out whether the guy was a threat to my "life and limb" BEFORE I become a victim. I call that crime prevention.

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

Thom Kahler

Getting in synch again

Keeping up: Since new NOPD Chief Ronal Serpas has shed light on what old chief Warren Riley kept in the dark, it's taken some readjustment for all of us to keep up with it. Cranking out the reports has kept Ofc. Brian Shubert busy trying to release them in a timely fashion, and on top of that, putting out and updating a crime map daily, plus a list of ALL crimes in the 8th District. And I'm trying to find my rhythm too.

Focusing on phones: Though prices are dropping on iPhones ($99 in some places), they're still the target of robbers because it's so easy to swap out the SIM card and make them your own:

• Friday (5.28.10) 3:00 a.m.: A white man was nearly robbed of his iPhone by a black guy and a Hispanic male, one of whom pulled a knife (guess which one), at Camp and Gravier streets in the CBD. The victim put up a fight and the thugs fled on Camp toward Canal Street.

The Hispanic was described as 5'8" tall, weighing 170 pounds, wearing a brown uniform shirt and black pants; the black guy was described as just being black.

• Friday (5.28.10) 11:30 a.m.: Not so lucky was a white guy walking (and probably talking) near Bienville and Bourbon streets in broad daylight when a black dude grabbed his phone from his hand and fled on Bienville toward N. Rampart Street.

The robber was described as 25 to 30 years old, 5'8" tall, weighing 160 pounds, wearing a black T-shirt and dark-colored jeans.

• Saturday (5.29.10) 12:30 a.m.: The next day, again in broad daylight, a white woman walking in the 400 block of Bourbon Street (between Conti and St. Louis streets) had her phone grabbed from her hand by a black thief.

Cops apprehended a 16-year-old juvenile and charged him. A 19-year-old with him was released when police could not link him to the crime.

Bike bandit back?: Remember the alleged "Bike Bandit" that Judge Laurie White let out of jail on a reduced bond after he was apprehended in April for a "bike-by" pursesnatching in the 900 block of Royal Street?

Well, we're not saying it's the same guy, but the modus operandi was very similar Friday (5.28.10) when a black guy on a dark-colored bicycle swooped down on a white woman walking in the 1000 block of Royal Street--just a block away from where the "Bike Bandit was arrested--and grabbed her purse from her shoulder around 3:40 a.m. He then pedaled off on Ursulines Street toward N. Rampart Street.

The victim described him as 25 years old, 5'10" to 6' tall, weighing 180 pounds, with a dark complexion, wearing a white tank top and denim shorts. The description closely matches the profile Maj. Edwin Hosli, commander of the 8th District, put out last March when the "Bike Bandit" was at the height of his escapades.

Plain old pursesnatching: Though phones seemed to be the prized target, some robbers settle for a plain old pursesnatching.

A white woman walking in the 100 block of S. Peters Street (just off of Canal Street) around 2:44 a.m. Sunday (5.30.10) was approached by 2 black guys, one of whom grabbed her purse from her shoulder. They took off for Canal, turning toward N. Rampart Street, natch.

She described the one as 18 to 25 years old, 6' tall, with a medium build and short dreadlocks, wearing a white polo shirt with stripes; the other one was just "black".

Melee at Jackson Square: A white guy got into an argument with 2 other white guys just before midnight on 5.25.10 in front of St. Louis Cathedral that turned physical when one guy struck another with a stick.

When 2 passers-by tried to intervene, the 2 thugs attacked them too with the sticks. Police soon caught up with Jeffery Hopstetter, 22, and Terry Lopez (pictured), 23, and charged each of them with 3 counts of aggravated battery.

Not sure why, but Magistrate Gerard Hansen set the bond for Hopstetter at $3,000 and he was gone from Central Lockup before his picture was available. But then he set the bond for Lopez at 10 times as much--$30,000--for the very same offenses and it took him a couple days longer to get out. (Maybe it was an Arizona-type justice thing, what with a Hispanic name.)

Boys will be girls sometimes...: At a club in the French Quarter around 1 a.m. Sunday (5.30.10), a man told police he got into an argument with a black man dressed in women's clothing who later attacked him.

As he left the club, he noticed the she-man following him. In the 400 block of N. Rampart (between between Conti and St. Louis streets, across from the Quarter) the she-man threw a brick at him, hitting him in the neck. Then, he said, his assailant chased him with a glass bottle. The victim called EMS and was taken to Touro Hospital by ambulance.

He described his assailant as 30 to 40 years old, with dark skin, wearing a dark blue shirt and light blue skirt and black flip flops, and also wearing a long brown wig.

Too close for comfort: Remember they guy who was blown away by a homeowner in Mississippi a week or so ago after a home invasion?

Police say Cornelius Ferrande, 23--the now dead man--was the same guy who killed a cab driver and robbed another a couple of days earlier in the Garden District.

Now police also say Ferrande is the guy who who shot another black man in the 1900 block of St. Ann Street (just across N. Claiborne Avenue, a block off of Orleans Avenue) only 2 days before that.

It's just more evidence the bad guys get around. There's no reason to doubt he's spent time in the French Quarter if he can make the rounds from Treme to the Garden District to Mississippi.

Making yourself a victim: You don't like to blame the victim for becoming one, but come on.

Police arrested a man 5.24.10 for the rape of a 19-year-old tourist whom he picked up early in the morning of 4.29.10 in the French Quarter. He offered her a ride to her hotel room in Metairie after she told him she was from Milwaukee and didn't know her way around down here. Instead of going west he went east and attacked her in the backseat of his car after pulling a gun on her.

Police charged Calvin Turner, 25, with kidnapping, armed robbery, and 2 counts of rape. He is being held in OPP on $2.5 million bond.

But hey, just because you're not from around here, because you're from Milwaukee (a pretty violent place itself), and you're only 19, you should still know better than to get into cars with strange men.

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

Thom Kahler