Not bad, not bad at all

Been waiting to say that: Don't know when we've seen such a quiet week in the French Quarter. Only one armed robbery (previously reported here) and 3 simple robberies marred the week; even auto thefts (4) and auto burglaries (1) were down significantly. The 2 robberies not previously reported were both last Saturday (11.13.10):

• 3:40 a.m.: A 44-year-old white man standing near Orleans Avenue and N. Rampart Street had his wallet snatched from his hand by a white guy who fled on foot on Orleans toward Bourbon Street.

The only description of the robber, other than he was white, was he had brown dreadlocks and was wearing all dark clothing.

• 4:00 p.m.: Maybe not as vicious as "Dancing With The Stars", but 4 black boys who tap dance on Bourbon Street ganged up on 2 other dancers, a 14-year-old black boy and 13-year-old black girl, and robbed them near Audubon Aquarium, taking money from their pockets.

The robbers hotfooted it along the river to St. Louis Street where they turned toward Bourbon.

The young miscreants were described as 12 to 15 years of age, mostly pint-sized 4'9" to 5'4" tall, wearing the usual garb of street dancers. No word on whether the police rounded up the little bounders yet.

Ready, aim, rev: An 8th District officer was nearly run over while conducting a traffic stop at S. Peters and Poydras streets around 7:30 p.m. last Friday (11.12.10).

According to the police report, Gerry Mays, 24, attempted to hit the cop with his car. After a short pursuit, cops caught up with Mays and booked him with aggravated assault and vehicle negligent injury.

The mere $10,000 bond was not enough to keep Mays in jail long enough to get his picture.

It wasn't Mays' first attempt to take out an officer; in 2004 he was charged with battery on a police officer and resisting an officer.

Got another one: 8th District detectives took down Joseph Ceasar, 32, last week (11.9.10) for a robbery 4 days earlier in the 900 block of Gov. Nicholls Street.

In that incident, 3 older white women, two 58 and one 64 years old, were walking on Gov. Nicholls Street around 1:10 a.m. when a dark-colored 4-door sedan stopped next to them and a black guy got out, pulled a pistol, and demanded their money. The women gamely refused, but the robber grabbed one woman's purse from her shoulder and fled in the car on Gov. Nicholls toward the river.

Ceasar was arrested without incident at 1422 Louisa St. and charged with first-degree robbery. He is being held in OPP on only $35,000 bond.

That's a far cry from the $500,000 bond he was held on 10 years ago when he was charged with 2 counts of armed robbery and 4 of first-degree robbery.

In that case, Ceasar was sentenced to 10 years in prison "without benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence." If my calculations are correct, he just got out of Angola earlier this year.

Looks like doing hard time made little impression on him.

Another rape: Some people just set themselves up to be victims--even if you want to blame it on the alcohol.

According to the NOPD report, a woman (no age or race given) was drinking at the Three-Legged Dog at 400 Burgundy St. last Friday (11.12.10) around 4 a.m. The next thing she remembered was waking up inside a car driven by a black dude. He told her he was taking her to his apartment; the woman lost consciousness again. The next time she came to, she was inside an apartment and had been sexually assaulted. The suspect was gone.

Police are seeking a light-complected black guy with a chubby face and short hair, and are seeking to develop a better description. The suspect will be charged with aggravated rape.

If you have any information, you can call the Sex Crimes squad at 658-5521 or CrimeStoppers at 822-1111.

Walk and talk with the Chief: NOPD Superintendent Ronal Serpas, 8th District commander Capt. Edwin Hosli, members of the 8th District and other city leaders will walk together in the monthly community anti-crime walk next Tuesday (11.23.10) at 5 p.m.

The walk will begin at Chartres and St. Peter streets (by Jackson Square), then...

• proceed down St. Peter Street (3 blocks),
• turn left on Dauphine Street (4 blocks),
• turn right on Bienville Street (one block),
• turn right on Burgundy Street (3 blocks),
• turn right on Toulouse Street (4 blocks),
• end at Chartres and Toulouse.

The community walk provides an opportunity to meet and interact with the police officers who serve the neighborhood and to send the message all are standing together to combat violence.

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

Sunday (11.07.10)

Auto Theft, S Peters & Poydras, 12:40 p.m.
Aggravated Battery, 700 Chartres, 3:03 p.m.
Armed Robbery, St Ann & the River, 10:42 p.m.

Monday (11.08.10)

Theft, 821 St Charles, 9:37 a.m.
Simple Robbery, 300 Bourbon, 12:54 p.m.
Shoplifting, 812 Royal, 2:04 p.m.
Theft, 200 S Villere, 4:25 p.m.

Tuesday (11.09.10)

Theft, 1831 N Rampart, 12:27 p.m.
Bicycle Theft, 400 Dauphine, 12:27 p.m.
Theft, 123 Baronne, 12:56 p.m.
Pickpocketing, 800 Decatur, 5:17 p.m.

Wednesday (11.10.10)

Theft, 2000 Royal, 7:19 a.m.
Shoplifting, 134 Royal, 6:31 p.m.

Thursday (11.11.10)

Bicycle Theft, Bienville & N Rampart, 7:10 p.m.
Auto Burglary, 1001 N Peters, 4:30 p.m.

Friday (11.12.10)

Shoplifting, 145 Elk, 8:53 a.m.
Auto Theft, 535 Barracks, 10:39 a.m.
Theft, 618 Julia, 11:19 a.m.
Theft, 444 St Charles, 11:48 a.m.
Auto Theft, 617 Barracks, 12:09 p.m.
Auto Theft, Convention Center & Poydras, 2:02 p.m.
Theft, 555 Canal, 2:17 p.m.
Aggravated Assault, S Peters & Poydras, 7:29 p.m.
Theft, 535 Julia, 10:02 p.m.
Theft, 700 Baronne, 11:40 p.m.

Saturday (11.13.10)

Simple Robbery, Orleans & N Rampart, 3:58 a.m.
Bicycle Theft, 1440 Canal, 8:43 a.m.
Theft, 813 Decatur, 8:46 a.m.
Simple Robbery, 1 Canal, 3:58 p.m.

* * *

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

Thom Kahler

Mopping up

That's what it feels like: After all the mayhem over the Halloween/VooDoo/Saints-Steelers weekend, it seemed downright quiet this past week. Except the 8th District NOPD managed to put the collar on some suspects and they've come up with a computer composite of the killer of that Marine Corps sergeant.

Homicide Det. Andrew Packer, who seems to get the most difficult murder cases in the department (he's the one who came up with the suspect last month in the Ryan Trosclair murder by burning), has now developed the most detailed perpetrator description you've probably ever seen come out of the NOPD.

The description Det. Packer elicited from witnesses to the stabbing death of Sgt. Ryan Lekosky on 10.31.10 at Dauphine and Iberville streets reads: "African-American male, mid-30's in age, 5’8” in height, dark complexion with a small to medium build, around 165 to 170 pounds. He was wearing gold-framed aviator-type sunglasses with black lenses, possibly one diamond stud earring in each ear, button-down collared peach short-sleeve shirt, blue jeans, light colored alligator boots."

(An earlier description of the suspect being bald and having a short beard is now described as a "fade" haircut, which is barely visible, and likewise with the beard.)

The description of the perp's vehicle given by witnesses is not as elaborate. They could only say it was black-colored, 4-door SUV that seemed to sideswipe another vehicle in the 100 block of Dauphine as it headed toward Canal Street. Aided by surveillance video from nearby businesses, Det. Packer has narrowed the year of the vehicle to within 3 years.

Sgt. Lekosky, 23, and his wife were walking around 3:30 a.m. after leaving the Marine Corps Ball at the Marriott Hotel on Canal. The perp, driving up Dauphine, made rude remarks about Mrs. Lekosky as he drove by and got into a shouting match with her. The perp got out of his SUV to continue the argument face to face when Sgt. Lekosky intervened to protect his wife and was stabbed. He died from his wounds at 7:05 a.m. at University Hospital.

What's it with the Moonwalk?: The Moonwalk along the river is usually a tranquil haven, disturbed only occasionally by panhandling gutter punks. But for the third time in the past week, sojourners there have been attacked by gangs.

This time, a white couple, he 66 years old, she 61, were assailed by 2 black thugs, one with a gun who demanded their money. The victims complied and the 2 robbers hightailed it out of there down St. Peter Street along with 2 other black gang members who were lurking in the shadows.

One robber was described as 6'2" tall, weighing 200 pounds, with a short haircut, wearing a gray sweatshirt and dark pants; the other was 5'8" tall, wearing all dark clothing; the other 2 were described only as "black".

How'd these guys get out?: Under kind of weird circumstances, Steven Bacala, 31, was arrested last week and charged with armed robbery for an incident 9.23.10 in the 500 block of Dumaine Street around 10:45 p.m. in which a 30-year-old white guy was knocked to the ground and had his pockets emptied.

So this week, NOPD headquarters puts out a list of arrests by its Special Operations Unit. What it says about the collar on Bacala 11.3.10 is very vague: He "was arrested in another state and then picked up by the District Attorney's office and transported back to New Orleans" and "turned over to the Violent Offenders Warrant Squad...and was booked accordingly."

Never heard of anything like that before. What state? When? DA handling extradition? Who knows?

Tell me this: how does a guy who's supposedly pulling petty heists in the French Quarter come up with a $75,000 bond to get out of jail? You'd think they might hold him long enough for him to rat out his accomplice.

The robber was described as a white guy, 35 years old, 5'8" to 5'9" tall, with a thin build and black hair, and wearing a white T-shirt and black pants, and his buddy who is described the same.

And figure this one out too. Last Friday (11.5.10), 8th District cops threw Dwayne White, 24, into Central Lockup and booked him with simple robbery after he allegedly snatched money out of a 28-year-old white woman's hand at Conti and Bourbon streets around 2 p.m.

But before his mugshot is snapped, he manages to come up with enough moolah for a $20,000 bond the next day. Once again: how does a young black guy who's allegedly reduced to fleecing cash out of citizen's hands come up with that kind of loot?

Hardly worth mentioning: If it's not important enough for the victim to report he's been robbed until 4 days later, why should we care? I guess only to protect ourselves from a similar fate.

Seems a 46-year-old white man was walking in the 300 block of Bourbon Street (between Bienville and Conti streets) around 10 p.m. last Thursday (11.4.10) when a black thug came up and threw him against the wall and cleaned his pockets.

The robber, described as 6'5" tall, weighing 270 pounds, wearing a black T-shirt and blue jeans, fled on foot toward Canal Street.

The victim didn't report the crime until Monday (11.8.10). Couldn't have taken him that long to sober up--and I think I'd be impressed by a gorilla that huge that I'd want the cops to get him off the street.

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

Sunday (10.31.10)

Auto Theft, 200 Chartres, 1:16 a.m.
Simple Robbery, Bourbon & St Louis, 1:41 a.m.
Purse Snatching, 333 Poydras, 3:20 a.m.
Murder, Dauphine & Iberville, 3:38 a.m.
Aggravated Assault, 240 Bourbon, 4:21 a.m.
Theft, Julia & St Charles, 7:48 a.m.
Theft, 800 Canal, 9:26 a.m.
Auto Burglary, 844 Baronne, 12:18 p.m.
Theft, 838 Canal, 1:00 p.m.

Monday (11.1.10)

Attempted Murder, 100 Bourbon, 1:02 a.m.
Murder, Burgundy & St Louis, 6:38 a.m.
Auto Burglary, N Rampart & St Louis, 9:34 a.m.
Theft, 1227 Tulane, 2:00 p.m.
Auto Theft, 500 Madison, 4:41 p.m.

Tuesday (11.2.10)

Pursesnatching, Bourbon & St Ann, 12:19 a.m.
Auto Burglary, 1000 St Louis, 9:00 a.m.
Simple Robbery, 716 Dauphine, 12:57 p.m.
Rape, 500 Gov Nicholls, 3:37 p.m.

Wednesday (11.3.10)

Auto Theft, Poydras & St Charles, 2:08 a.m.
Auto Burglary, 900 Burgundy, 3:16 a.m.
Theft, 1010 Common, 6:12 p.m.
Aggravated Battery, St Charles & St Joseph, 6:38 p.m.

Thursday (11.4.10)

Simple Robbery, 800 St Louis, 2:14 a.m.
Theft, 900 Convention Center, 10:09 a.m.
Theft, 710 Baronne, 12:15 p.m.
Shoplifting, 900 Convention Center, 4:06 p.m.

Friday (11.5.10)

Armed Robbery, 900 Gov Nicholls, 1:09 a.m.
Pickpocketing, 511 Bourbon, 1:50 a.m.
Theft, 910 Iberville, 2:15 a.m.
Auto Theft, 535 Tchoupitoulas, 7:47 a.m.
Auto Theft, 200 Camp, 10:37 a.m.
Simple Robbery, Conti & Bourbon, 2:08 p.m.
Auto Burglary, 930 Elysian Fields, 9:03 p.m.
Auto Burglary, 1500 Poydras, 10:11 p.m.

Saturday (11.6.10)

Theft, 620 Iberville, 1:07 p.m.
Theft, 900 Convention Center, 1:26 p.m.
Theft, 124 Royal, 1:53 p.m.
Pickpocketing, Bienville & Bourbon, 2:03 p.m.

* * *

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

Thom Kahler

Horrors of Halloween

Bloodiest weekend: It's hard to remember when there's been a more violent weekend in the French Quarter than this past one. It's also hard to remember the confluence of more activities in one weekend: Halloween with a pair of parades, VooDoo Fest, and the Saints-Steelers clash. Hotels were reported sold-out but Budweiser wasn't. You get the picture of the commotion so many liquored-up revelers can cause. But it doesn't really explain this nonsense:

• Sunday (10.31.10) 3:30 a.m.: Marine Corps Sgt. Ryan Lekosky, 23, and his wife, Kristen (pictured), residents of Metairie, were walking in the French Quarter after leaving the Marine Corps Ball at the Marriott Hotel on Canal Street. A black dude in a SUV drove alongside the couple on Dauphine Street at Iberville Street and made rude and crude remarks about Lekosky's wife. She apparently unleashed her own invective on the driver, angering him to the point he stopped his vehicle and got out to physically assault her.

Sgt. Lekosky, still in his Marine Corps dress uniform, tried to break up the fight but was stabbed multiple times by the black guy. The assailant got back in his truck and fled up Dauphine toward Canal. Sgt. Lekosky was taken by ambulance to University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 7:05 a.m.

The killer, who is still at large, is described as 35 years old, 5'7" tall, weighing 165 to 170 pounds, with a bald head and short beard, wearing a light-colored long-sleeved shirt, blue jeans, and alligator boots. His SUV is a dark-colored newer model, with a broken outside mirror on the passenger side.

• Monday (11.1.10) 1:00 a.m.: U.S. Marshals took Latrell Coleman, 19, into custody in Norcross, GA on Wednesday (11.3.10), just 2 days after he allegedly put a bullet in the head of 20-year-old man in the 100 block of Bourbon Street.

8th District cops were breaking up a fight in that block when they heard gunshots. They found the victim lying in the street with a single gunshot wound to the head. He was transported by EMS to LSU Trauma Center in stable condition.

Detectives quickly identified Coleman as a suspect and issued a warrant for his arrest on attempted murder charges. The Marshals Service received a tip Coleman was in Georgia, where they arrested him around 7:45 p.m. Wednesday. He is being held in the Gwinnett County jail awaiting extradition to New Orleans.

• Monday (11.1.10) 6:40 a.m.: Thomas Jessie (on left), 37, of Bay St. Louis, MS was found lying dead on the sidewalk at Burgundy and St. Louis streets by 8th District officers after a 911 call reported a "male shot." There was no indication how many times he'd been shot, if the murder weapon had been recovered, or what the motive might have been.
  

8th District cops, with help from 1st District officers, immediately apprehended 5 black guys fleeing the scene. After interrogating them, they let 4 of them go, all except Donovan Carter (on right), 21, of Baton Rouge. Carter was identified as a suspect by Homicide Det. Christopher Harris and is being held without bond in OPP on first-degree murder charges.

Get the phone, will'ya: Once again, pilfering of cellphones is paramount in the French Quarter:

• Tuesday (11.2.10) 12:10 a.m.: A 32-year-old white woman walking near Bourbon and St. Ann streets had her phone and wallet grabbed from her hand by a white guy who fled on foot down on St. Ann to Royal Street, turning toward Esplanade Avenue.

The robber was described as 5'10" tall, weighing 155 pounds, wearing an orange golf shirt and khaki shorts.

• Monday (11.1.10) 7:30 p.m.: A 50-year-old white woman standing in the 700 block of Dauphine Street near Orleans Avenue had her iPhone grabbed from her hand by a black guy riding by on his bicycle.

The robber was described as 18 to 21 years old, with a medium build and short hair, wearing a red hooded jacket and blue jeans.

• Sunday (10.31.10) 1:35 a.m.: A 28-year-old white woman walking near St. Louis and Bourbon streets had her iPhone grabbed from her hand by a black boy. She put up a fight and got her phone back.

The boy tried to flee but was apprehended by 8th District cops who turned him over to juvenile authorities.

Don't go by the riverside: Strange as it may seem, police don't believe these 2 cases are related even though both occurred down by the usually tranquil riverside and both involved 2 white chicks:

• 1:00 a.m. Saturday (10.30.10): A young white guy walking along the river with 2 white chicks he met earlier in the night was accosted near St. Louis Street by a white dude, who struck him and knocked him to the ground, then took money from the victim's pocket. The assailant fled with the 2 chicks in a taxi cab.

The robber was described as 5'11" tall, with a medium build and dark blond hair, wearing a red shirt.

• 7:00 p.m. Saturday (10.30.10): Later that same day, 2 white guys, 21 and 24 years old, were sitting along the river near St. Peter Street when they were approached by a white guy and a black guy--plus 2 white chicks. An argument broke out and one of the guys in the quartet pulled a knife and slashed one of the victims. When the victim's friend tried to intervene, another guy of the group bashed him in the head with a brick.

The white assailant was described as 5'10" tall, with blond hair, wearing a black shirt and black pants; the black guy was described as 5'10" tall, wearing a black shirt and a black hat.

The police are saying that while the 2 incidents seem similar, the second one is a clash between gutter punks and the homeless. They have a lead on the females involved which they believe will lead them to the perpetrators in both cases.

Attacks on old(er) folks: Two older white men, 56 and 60 years old, were stopped by a gang of black youths--2 guys and 2 chicks--in the 800 block of St. Louis Street (between Bourbon and Dauphine streets) on Thursday (11.4.10) around 2:15 a.m. One of the blacks struck one of the white men and a fight ensued, during which the victim's wallet was lifted from his front pocket.

The victims could only describe one suspect in the gang, a black chick, 4'1" tall, weighing 100 pounds, with black curly hair, wearing a blue dress and black shoes.

In another case in the early morning hours the next day, 3 older white women, two 58 and one 64 years old, were walking in the 900 block of Gov. Nicholls Street (between Bourbon and Dauphine streets) on Friday (11.5.10) around 1:10 a.m. when a dark-colored 4-door sedan stopped next to them and a black guy got out, pulled a pistol, and demanded their money. The women gamely refused, but the robber grabbed one woman's purse from her shoulder and fled in the car on Gov. Nicholls toward the river.

The robber was described as 6' tall, wearing all dark clothing with a hood.

Rapes now being reported: What a difference a chief makes. Last week we chided the NOPD for not putting out reports on rapes, causing unnecessary concern by citizens who feared a sexual predator might be on the prowl. This past week, the NOPD began what appears to be an effort to alleviate those fears.

Case in point is this report issued today (11.4.10) about a domestic case that won't impact the citizens of the neighborhood:

Seems a 30-year-old woman was sexually assaulted by her ex-boyfriend on 9.22.10 when he showed up at her residence in the 500 block of Gov. Nicholls Street after they broke up a couple months earlier. She refused to let him in, so he forced his way in and raped her. She didn't report the crime until a couple of days ago.

None of it is our business, but at least we know it doesn't involve a rapist running amok in the neighborhood.

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

Sunday (10.24.10)

Auto Burglary, Burgundy & Conti, 12:04 a.m.
Auto Theft, 535 Tchoupitoulas, 12:10 p.m.
Auto Theft, Andrew Higgins & Poe, 12:39 p.m.
Theft, 623 Canal, 7:25 p.m. Theft, 2 Canal, 7:29 p.m.
Aggravated Assault, 227 Bourbon, 7:37 p.m.
Pickpocketing, 1500 Sugar Bowl, 7:45 p.m.
Shoplifting, 729 Canal, 8:32 p.m.

Monday (10.25.10)

Auto Burglary, 23 French Market, 7:59 a.m.
Theft, 600 St Louis, 12:41 p.m.
Auto Theft, St Claude & Touro, 5:21 p.m.

Tuesday (10.26.10)

Armed Robbery, 700 Canal, 3:03 a.m.
Auto Burglary, 1002 Bienville, 7:23 a.m.
Auto Theft, 200 Bourbon, 10:52 a.m.
Business Burglary, 439 Dauphine, 12:43 p.m.

Wednesday (10.27.10)

Auto Burglary, Baronne & Union, 7:03 a.m.
Auto Burglary, St Joseph & Tchoupitoulas, 7:57 a.m.
Theft, 1026 St Philip, 8:18 a.m.
Theft, 500 Canal, 10:43 a.m.
Auto Burglary, 145 University, 2:55 p.m.
Theft, 600 Decatur, 3:40 p.m.
Theft, 415 Dauphine, 11:25 p.m.

Thursday (10.28.10)

Pickpocketing, Bienville & Bourbon, 4:43 a.m.
Theft, 300 Julia, 6:10 a.m.
Auto Burglary, 1000 Conti, 10:29 a.m.
Theft, 415 Dauphine, 11:33 a.m.
Auto Theft, 514 S Rampart, 3:37 p.m.
Shoplifting, 1019 Decatur, 6:02 p.m.

Friday (10.29.10)

Business Burglary, 1420 N Rampart, 8:55 a.m.
Shoplifting, 333 Canal, 2:07 p.m.

Saturday (10.30.10)

Simple Robbery, St Louis & the River, 10:46 a.m.
Aggravated Battery, Moonwalk, 6:54 p.m.

* * *

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

Thom Kahler

Rape? What rape?

Confusion reigns: Four rapes--give or take a couple--in the last 2 weeks may not a trend make. But what's worrisome is: What happened to whom where?

The local NOPD district (the 8th in the French Quarter and environs) no longer takes the initial call. Instead the Sex Crimes Section does the entire investigation. Unlike other people crimes (robberies, assaults, etc.), the 8th District does not generate a report listing information about the crime, yet rapes still show up on the 8th's crime map. That's what worries a lot of citizens--they have no more information than that.

The problem with this is: The public doesn't know whether a rape is:

• a domestic dispute (which doesn't pose a threat to anyone else),
• a drunken woman rendering herself easy prey to a new acquaintance (which may or may not involve other women), or
• women being randomly stalked by a serial rapist (which is extremely alarming).

Lt. Paul Noel, commander of the Sex Crimes Section, says he's not at liberty to release information and that any report would have to come from the Public Information Office. But PIO doesn't have any standard procedure for releasing info on rapes and only rarely reply to inquiries.

NOcrimeline continues to lobby the NOPD to establish a procedure to automatically release any and all information--including a description of the perp--on every rape that occurs in the city. Too often these crimes are kept shrouded until they form a pattern too obvious to ignore--and after they've left a trail of victims in their wake.

So here's what we've had lately:

• Sunday (10.10.10): It's hard to know if one or two rapes happened. The 8th District's crime map showed a rape had occurred at 1 p.m. at 632 Frenchmen St. and the district's list of crimes showed a rape at the identical date and time at 623 Canal St. Was it 2 crimes or just what was the confusion?

The only information we could get from Bob Young, the NOPD's Public Information Officer, said a woman (no age or race given) was drinking at a bar on Frenchmen Street (no location, date, or time given) when she engaged in a conversation with a black guy. He offered her a ride home, but instead drove her to a warehouse at an undetermined location and persuaded the woman to enter under the ruse that there was a party inside. Upon entering, there were 2 other black guys inside and she was sexually assaulted by one or more of them.

Young said because the victim was intoxicated, cops have not been able to locate the warehouse or even narrow down a good location where the crime occurred. That still doesn't explain anything about the 2 different locations on the police reports.

• Friday (10.22.10): The 8th District crime map shows 2 rapes, one at 9:06 a.m. in the 1100 block of Burgundy Street (between Ursulines Avenue and Gov. Nicholls Street) and the other at 12:07 p.m. at 555 Canal St., which is the Marriott Hotel.
  

According to Bob Young, the PIO, the incident on Burgundy Street involved an ex-boyfriend. It's not known if he was arrested because his name was not released, perhaps because that would unintentionally reveal the name of the victim.

The other case, at the Marriott, involved a stripper who was partying with 4 men. She had consensual sex with one of them and then fell asleep in the bed with all of them. She thinks she may have had sex with another one of them while she was sleeping. Police are still interrogating the men and investigating the incident.

Reporting rapes in a more systematic fashion is probably something Chief Ronal Serpas is going to have to kick some butt on if the public's ever going to be informed about these heinous crimes.

Robberies return: Just when you think you might get through a week with only a few robberies, those hopes are dashed:

• Tuesday (10.26.10) 2:45 a.m.: A 59-year-old black man waiting at the streetcar stop in the 700 block of Canal Street got into an argument with another black guy, guessed to be a few years younger.

The younger man, obviously devoid of the power to persuade with his words, left but vowed to return with a weapon. The older man went across the street to the Astor Crown Plaza hotel to try to get help. As he and a hotel employee came outside, his adversary charged at him with a broken bottle and slashed the victim's arm. The victim dropped his backpack, which the attacker picked up and fled down Canal toward the river.

The assailant was described as 48 to 53 years old, 6' tall, weighing 180 pounds, with a bald head, wearing a black shirt and denim shorts.

• Saturday (10.23.10) 6:30 p.m.: An 18-year-old white teenager was accosted near Baronne and Canal streets by 2 black teenagers, who demanded money his money. The victim did not report the incident immediately, but when he later spied the duo again he notified police.

Cops arrested Antoine Jones, 19, and booked him just before 9 a.m. the next morning, charged with simple robbery and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The minor is the 15-year-old black boy who was Jones' accomplice.

Jones, who had a charge of attempted first-degree murder against him dismissed by the district attorney a little over a year ago, is being held on $30,000 bond.

• Saturday (10.23.10) 5:35 p.m.: A 26-year-old white man walking in the 200 block of O'Keefe Avenue in the CBD was accosted by a gang of 4 black men who grabbed him and snatched his wallet.

The victim was unable to describe his assailants.

• Friday (10.22.10) 1:10 a.m.: A man who had just left the Blue Nile nightclub on Frenchmen Street was walking up Decatur Street to where his car was parked just the other side of Elysian Fields Avenue. He noticed a black dude walking down the middle of the street as he unlocked his car with the remote. The black guy pulled a dark-colored semi-automatic pistol and demanded the owner's car keys. The victim gave them up and the thief fled north on Elysian Fields.

(This report came from Det. Michael Augustus of the 5th District, which may explain the lack of details, such as the victim's age and race, a description of the perp and the car he stole. Say, detective, don't you think giving those descriptions might help solve this case?)

• Friday (10.22.10) 11:00 p.m.: A 52-year-old white man walking in the 700 block of St. Louis Street (between Royal and Bourbon streets) was attacked by 2 black thugs. One struck him and the other pulled a pistol, demanding the victim's money before fleeing on foot toward the river.

The robbers were described as 30-years-old, one 5'7" tall, weighing 140 to 150 pounds, wearing black jeans and a baggy white shirt; the other as 6'2" tall, weighing 260 pounds, with short hair.

• Thursday (10.21.10) 2:10 a.m.: A 38-year-old white woman walking with a female friend in the 800 block of Orleans Avenue (between Bourbon and Dauphine streets) had her purse snatched by a black thief who fled on foot up Dauphine.

He was described only as having short twists in his hair and wearing a gray shirt and black pants.

• Wednesday (10.20.10) 3:30 p.m.: A 36-year-old white woman was in Washington Square Park when 2 black boys rode up on their bicycles and one of them grabbed her cellphone before fleeing down Elysian Fields Avenue.

One was described as 13 to 14 years old, riding a red bike; the other was 16 years old, riding a blue bike.

Not welcome here: When it was the Utopia Night Club it had all sorts of problems with patrons. Now that it's renamed The Beach on Bourbon, the nightclub at 227 Bourbon St. must have gotten pickier about its clientele.

On Sunday (10.24.10) when Bianca Hollier, a 24-year-old black chick, tried to enter the club around 6:30 p.m., the doormen told her she wasn't welcome. She got into an argument with them and allegedly wound up pulling a pistol and pointing it at one of the doormen.

The cops soon took her into custody and booked her with aggravated assault with a firearm and disturbing the peace. Her bond was initially set at $4,500, but later reduced by a magistrate to $3,500 along with "firearm" being dropped from the assault charge. She got out of OPP today (10.28.10) while the getting was good.

Cleaning house: An 8th District cop was one of 3 Chief Serpas made an example of Wednesday (10.27.10) when he booted them off the NOPD.

Ofc. Patrick O'Hern, a 13-year veteran of the force, was arrested last January for an incident in December in which he fired shots from his service weapon into his own car after parking it in the rooftop parking lot at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside.

He was originally charged with illegally discharging a firearm but pled no-contest to 2 counts of criminal mischief in court. That, and a number of other violations of NOPD policy including drinking while on duty, was enough to get him fired in Chief Serpas' purge of the bad apples from the force.

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

Sunday (10.17.10)

Auto Theft, 400 Notre Dame, 12:33 p.m.
Auto Burglary, 721 St Charles, 1:59 p.m.
Shoplifting, 106 Royal, 5:35 p.m.
Auto Theft, 100 Camp, 11:06 p.m.

Monday (10.18.10)

Theft, 621 St Louis, 11:02 a.m.
Auto Theft, Girod & Loyola, 3:13 p.m.
Simple Robbery, Dauphine & St Louis, 11:59 p.m.

Tuesday (10.19.10)

Auto Theft, 927 Poeyfarre, 11:10 a.m.
Auto Theft, 2 Poydras, 1:36 p.m.

Wednesday (10.20.10)

Theft, 859 Convention Center, 9:52 a.m.
Auto Burglary, 1000 Iberville, 10:12 a.m.
Simple Robbery, 750 Elysian Fields, 3:28 p.m.

Thursday (10.21.10)

Purse Snatching, 800 Orleans, 2:11 a.m.
Pickpocketing, 300 S Peters, 3:13 a.m.

Friday (10.22.10)

Theft, 700 Tchoupitoulas, 4:20 a.m.
Rape, 1100 Burgundy, 9:06 a.m.
Rape, 555 Canal, 12:07 p.m.
Auto Theft, 1029 Bienville, 3:42 p.m.

Saturday (10.23.10)

Armed Robbery, 700 St Louis, 12:00 a.m.
Auto Theft, 800 Camp, 12:43 a.m.
Simple Robbery, 200 O'Keefe, 5:38 a.m.
Theft, Bienville & Bourbon, 6:58 a.m.
Bicycle Theft, 1400 Tulane, 2:35 p.m.
Pickpocketing, 100 Bourbon, 4:35 p.m.
Theft, 482 N Peters, 6:19 p.m.
Simple Robbery, Baronne & Canal, 8:27 p.m.
Shoplifting, 710 Canal, 11:45 p.m.

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

Thom Kahler