Fireworks of the wrong kind

Report it NOW: Got an email the other day from a NOcrimeline.com reader complaining about how terrorized a friend of hers was after he was robbed that he didn't report the crime to police until 2 days after the incident. Then she had the nerve to ask what it was going to take to get "my neighborhood back"?

Gee, for starters, how about telling your friend to man-up and report crimes when they happen. You get no sympathy from me when you won't report crimes that affect your safety.

Look at these robberies, all in the early morning last Friday (6.2.10):

• A 32-year-old white woman walking in the 700 block of Iberville Street (between Royal and Bourbon streets) around 1:30 a.m. was targeted by a black thug who pulled a pistol and demanded her purse.

She refused to give it up and started to walk away. The gunman followed her and grabbed the purse from her shoulder. The victim and her brother tailed the robber until he handed the purse to another black guy and fled on foot. The second guy gave the purse back to the victim.

But after all this, the woman waited 12 hours to report the crime to the police!

The armed robber in those lapsed 12 hours could have robbed all these people:

• At 2:30 a.m.--just an hour later--a 27-year-old man walking in the 500 block of St. Louis Street (between Decatur and Chartres streets) was accosted by a black man armed with a pistol who demanded his money. He said he didn't have any and attempted to flee. The perp fired once, hitting the victim in the butt with a .38-caliber slug. The shooter fled and the victim was hauled to Tulane University Hospital.

• At 5:50 a.m.--just over 3 hours later--a 23-year-old white woman walking near Burgundy and Conti streets was held up by a robber who said he had a gun. She gave it up and he fled on foot.

• At 5:55 a.m.--only 5 minutes later--a 44-year-old woman walking in the 1000 block of Toulouse Street (just 2 blocks away, between Burgundy and N. Rampart streets) was struck by a black thug who attempted to pull her purse from her grasp. She resisted and he fled on foot.

As it turned out, 8th District cops apprehended Darren Cole, 25, and he was positively identified by the victims in all 3 of these robberies that occurred within a few hours after the first one that morning.

The victim in the first robbery still hadn't reported the crime at the time Cole was arrested. When she did, she described the robber as 20 to 25 years old, 5'5" tall, weighing 145 pounds, with a dark complexion and dreadlocks pulled back in a ponytail, wearing an oversized T-shirt and baggy blue jeans.

The description did not fit Cole. But had the first victim reported the crime against her as soon as it happened (isn't there an app for that?), the police might have been out hunting for her assailant and been able to prevent the robberies Cole is alleged to have committed.

Cole is sitting in OPP on $330,000 charged with 2 counts of attempted simple robbery, 1 count of armed robbery, and 1 count of aggravated 2nd-degree battery. (I don't know if it's a religious ritual or what, but Cole, who wears a Muslim-type beard, has been arrested 9 times in early July over the years: 7.10.2003, 7.3.2004, 7.4.2008, 7.2.2010.)

The wild bunch: While attendees at the Essence Fest were out setting a good example, their younger counterparts must have missed the message:

• Sunday (7.4.10) 11:05 p.m.: A 31-year-old black woman inside of McDonald's, 934 Canal St. (between Baronne Street and University Place) got into an argument with a young black chick that turned into a brawl. The younger girl and several of her friends jumped into the fray and allegedly inflicted lacerations to the older woman's abdomen and head.

Police booked Dajene Jefferson (top), 17, and Kenisha McNeal (bottom),17, with aggravated battery. The police report didn't indicate what type of weapon was used.

• Monday (7.5.10) 1:10 a.m.: A 17-year-old black kid in the 1000 block of Canal Street (between University Place and S. Rampart Street) heard several gunshots and then realized he'd been shot in the ankle.

Police apprehended a suspect, a 14-year-old black boy whose name could not be released, and recovered a firearm.

Fourteen-years-old?! Yes, it is fair to ask why kids were roaming the streets at this hour.

Rounding up drugs and guns: Capt. Robert Norton, commander of the 1st District (that hell known as Treme), is getting lots of kudos from Chief Serpas for his efforts in taking drugs and guns off the streets.

How's he doing it? With one of the Chief's favorite tactics--traffic stops. Serpas was criticized when he was in Nashville for the number of traffic stops that his officers made, though they were highly effective. But as he explained then (in effect), "There are no walk-by shootings--they're drive-by shootings."

So using that tactic, Norton and his men in the last few weeks have been targeting cars with tail lights out, improper tags, careless driving, etc. to stop drivers and passengers. In the process, they've rounded up any number of illegal firearms, concealed weapons, fugitives wanted on warrants, and drugs of all sorts.

But it might be argued that in the 8th District (the French Quarter and its environs) the problem IS walk-bys.

Once in a while a vehicle--or bicycle--is used. But most of the miscreants on this side of N. Rampart Street are on foot. So how do you legitimately stop them and check for weapons, drugs, or outstanding warrants?

Considering how young most of the robbers are here, maybe the place to start is to check for curfew violations--stop anyone who looks the least bit young.

They're kidding, right?: Did you see where the Louisiana Justice Hall of Fame is going to induct former NOPD Chief Warren Riley as a member?

To avoid any embarrassment, they ought to wait until the feds get done with their investigation into the NOPD's shenanigans during Katrina. Riley was chief of operations when Katrina began and thus boss of the officers who've been indicted.

Ultimately, he may not escape blame. Even if he does, he'll still be remembered as the worst chief this city has ever had.

Crimes last week in the 8th District
(click on the crime map below to enlarge it)

Sunday (6.27.10)

Homicide: 400 Bourbon
Attempted Homicide: 1630 Canal
Auto Theft: 618 Magazine
Auto Theft: 334 Royal
Auto Burglary: 300 N Rampart
Theft: 600 Magazine

Monday (6.28.10)

Simple Robbery: 800 Gov Nicholls
Auto Burglary: 365 Canal
Auto Burglary: 900 Gravier
Theft: 830 Royal
Shoplifting: 301 Canal

Tuesday (6.29.10)

No crimes reported

Wednesday (6.30.10)

Theft: 1500 Poydras
Theft: 301 Canal
Theft: 1001 St Peter
Bicycle Theft: 333 Julia
Auto Theft: 1000 Constance
Auto Theft: 821 Gravier
Auto Burglary: 701 O'Keefe
Auto Burglary: 145 University

Thursday (7.1.10)

Auto Burglary: 600 Poydras
Auto Burglary: 210 N Rampart
Auto Burglary: 300 Canal
Auto Burglary: 333 Canal
Theft: 135 St Charles
Theft: 900 Convention Center

Friday (7.2.10)

Armed Robbery: 700 Iberville
Armed Robbery: 500 St Louis
Armed Robbery: Burgundy & Conti
Simple Robbery: 1000 Toulouse
Auto Theft: 350 St Joseph
Auto Theft: Canal & Royal
Auto Theft: 852 S Peters
Theft: 444 St Charles
Theft : 1010 Common
Theft: 900 Convention Center
Theft : 900 Convention Center
Shoplifting: 406 N Peters

Saturday (7.3.10)
Theft: 228 Poydras
Auto Theft: Andrew Higgins & Constance
Auto Theft: 900 Canal
Auto Burglary: 800 Baronne
Pickpocketing: 500 Bourbon
Shoplifting: 333 Canal

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

Thom Kahler

Some serious stuff

Crimes last week in the NOPD 8th District:
(click on the crime map below to enlarge it)

Sunday (6.20.10)

Aggravated Assault: 1 Poydras
Theft: 941 Bourbon
Theft: 1940 Dauphine
Auto Theft: Chartres & Esplanade
Auto Theft: 334 O'Keefe
Auto Burglary: 1027 Bienville
Auto Burglary: 342 N Rampart
Auto Burglary: Poydras & Tchoupitoulas

Monday (6.21.10)

Simple Robbery: 500 Burgundy
Theft: 823 Decatur
Theft: 316 Chartres
Shoplifting: 1015 Canal
Auto Theft: 700 Constance
Auto Burglary: 833 Magazine
Auto Burglary: 1000 Bienville
Auto Burglary: 600 John Churchill Chase

Tuesday (6.22.10)

Armed Robbery: 1200 Bourbon
Theft: 818 Royal
Pickpocketing: 544 Bourbon
Auto Theft: 900 Esplanade
Auto Theft: Chartres & Toulouse
Auto Burglary: 519 Conti
Auto Burglary: 901 Convention Center

Wednesday (6.23.10)

Simple Burglary: 735 Camp
Theft: 318 N. Rampart
Theft: 400 Poydras
Auto Burglary: 500 Bienville

Thursday (6.24.10)

Simple Burglary: 725 Camp
Theft: 618 Frenchmen
Theft: 901 Bourbon
Shoplifting: 416 N Peters
Shoplifting: 1020 Canal
Pickpocketing: Bourbon & St Ann
Auto Theft: Bienville & Dauphine
Auto Theft: Orleans & Royal
Auto Theft: 700 Dumaine
Auto Burglary: 342 N. Rampart
Auto Burglary: 1912 Dauphine

Friday (6.25.10)

Theft: 800 Decatur
Auto Theft: Clinton & Iberville
Auto Theft: Lafayette & S Peters
Auto Burglary: 100 University
Auto Burglary: 700 St Ann
Auto Burglary: 936 St Charles
Auto Burglary: 833 Camp

Saturday (6.26.10)

Rape: Camp & Canal
Theft: N. Rampart & St. Anthony
Theft: 1608 Pauger
Theft: 945 Magazine
Rape: Camp & Canal
Shoplifting: 715 Bourbon

Maybe just a coincidence, but...: On Sunday (6.27.10)--the day major changes in the NOPD were due to take place--all hell broke out in the 8th District:

• First, there was the murder of a 28-year-old Gretna police officer around 4 a.m. in the 400 block of Bourbon Street (between Conti and St. Louis streets).

When 8th District officers arrived on the scene, they found the victim, Brett Thomas, laying motionless in the middle of the street. He was transported by ambulance to Tulane University Hospital, where he died at 4:49 a.m.

Detectives later determined that Thomas, who was off-duty at the time, and a group of friends got into an argument with a gang of unidentified men, one of whom clobbered Thomas behind the head, causing him to fall to the street.

Police have not been able to put together video surveillance photos that clearly show the suspects, who remain at large.

• Then, later in the day at 2:47 p.m., a 28-year-old Hispanic woman was brought into the emergency room at Tulane University Hospital, riddled with gunshot wounds.

When officers from the 8th District showed up at the hospital, they encountered Jose Hernandez, 25, who told them he didn't know what had happened but he had brought the victim, his girlfriend (no name given), to the hospital.

He told them he had been living with her at the notorious Canal Street Hotel, 1630 Canal St.--the scene of numerous shootings and murders in the last few years--while he worked on renovations there.

When detectives went to Room 305 of the hotel where the couple were living they found what the said was evidence that the shooting had taken place there. They also learned that there had been a disturbance earlier in the room between Hernandez and his girlfriend.

Detectives charged Hernandez with domestic battery and disturbing the peace by fighting. The victim was in critical condition in the hospital and has yet to make a statement to the police. Hernandez is being held on $85,000 bond in OPP and is also being detained for immigration authorities.

Bike bandit bagged: Seems like bicycles are the vehicle of choice for pursesnatchers these days.

First there was the bike bandit who was terrorizing the French Quarter and CBD back in the Spring; police hauled in a suspect, but Judge Laurie White reduced his bond and he slipped out of jail in May. Then later in May, another bike bandit began targeting women in the Quarter.

Finally last Saturday (6.26.10), 1st District cops arrested Horace L. Price Jr., 36, and booked him with robbery in 2 separate incidents, one on Bourbon Street last week and another just across N. Rampart Street in Treme.

According to investigators, at approximately 10:50 a.m. Saturday, a woman walking in the 1100 block of Kerlerec Street was approached by a black man riding a bicycle. He implied he had a weapon and demanded money. After the victim complied, the suspect slapped the victim on the cheek and fled on his bicycle.

Det. Steven Keller was the first on the scene and immediately dispatched a description of the suspect. Sgt. Barry Marquez while on patrol observed a man who fit the description of the suspect riding a bike. When Marquez attempted to stop the bicyclist, he fled on his bike. After a short pursuit, Ofc. Edgar Baron and Ofc. Rhett Charles assisted Marquez in apprehending the suspect.

Keller conducted the investigation and Price was identified as the perpetrator of the robbery and provided a taped statement of the incident. He was booked for armed robbery, simple battery, a warrant from Jefferson Parish, and a parole violation.

Then Keller remembered a similar incident that occurred in the French Quarter and contacted 8th District Det. Jerusha Hillman.

Hillman conducted her own investigation and the suspect provided her with a taped statement of the incident. She also identified Price through surveillance video as the suspect who allegedly held up a 28-year-old white woman around noon on 6.22.10 in the 1200 block of Bourbon Street using the same modus operandi as used in Treme.

She booked Price for 1st-degree robbery on Monday (6.28.10). He's now in OPP on $185,000 bond.

What is puzzling is this: Back in 1991--when Price was 17--he was convicted of 2 counts of armed robbery. The judge sentenced him to a 30-year term in prison "without the benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence." By my count, he should have still been in Angola for another 11 years--to 2021. So what was he doing out?

Still another bike bandit?: It couldn't have been Price (see above) since he was taken into custody Saturday (6.26.10) morning, so who was the black guy who rode up to a 40-year-old white man Saturday night around 10 p.m. on a bicycle and robbed him?

The incident occurred in the 800 block of Gov. Nicholls Street (between Bourbon and Dauphine streets). The robber knocked the victim to the ground and took the wallet out of his pants pocket.

It didn't help that the victim didn't bother to report the crime until Monday (6.28.10) and then couldn't give the police a description of the suspect. Police said they will interview the victim again at a later date. Ask him how he could be so screwed up so early in the evening that he didn't know what happened to him.

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

Thom Kahler

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