Doesn't make sense: One week we hear the NOPD crowing about the murder rate being down in the first three months of this year, but saying precious little about the fact that ALL other crimes (except burglary and rape) are up dramatically, especially robberies. Then the next week we hear Mayor Mitch tout another new "plan" to reduce murders, saying precious little about all the other crimes that are a real problem.
Why is he talking about murder if homicides are down, and ignoring all other crimes when they're up? Just doesn't add up, Mitch, doesn't add up at all.
No one's saying murder isn't awful and that it's not a crime that New Orleans is well-known for. In reality, the fact remains the same: Murder in New Orleans is by and large a black-on-black crime amongst drug-dealing teenagers. Murders of whites by blacks are rare, and vice versa; murders of whites by whites (except for domestic situations) are rare.
The crimes that really affect more residents and tourists the most are robberies. Armed robberies this year increased from 123 last year to 194 (up 57.72%); arrests were up dramatically to 36, but that's still only 1 out of about every 5 robbers. Simple robberies (think iPhones) more than doubled (up 109.52%) from 42 last year to 88; arrests didn't increase as much, only about 10% to 33. No one's saying what's being done to curb this crime that affects the law-abiding majority.
(Hey, Mitch. When does this new anti-murder initiative go into effect? An awfully lot of people have been gunned down in the last week or so.)
If you ask me, the immediate problem is not trying to solve all the socio-economic problems of a bunch of sociopaths in the city; an awfully lot of people will die while you're doing that. The immediate solution is getting the illegal guns off the street. We're not talking about taking them from holders of concealed weapons permits; we're talking about getting the stolen, serial-number-removed, illegally purchased weapons thugs are using in hold-ups and homicides.
So where's the crime: If the crime stats show crime is up, where's the crime in the 8th District (French Quarter, etc.)? Reports of robberies and assaults seem to be down, but perhaps the stats--which don't break out NOPD district by district results--would show crime is down in the 8th. Something is weird and it may be HQ-ordered under-reporting as they did in the good old days when Serpas got his start with the NOPD. Or it may be Cmdr. Walls and his crew may be doing a helluva a good job--don't rule that out.And as a citizen, you can make sure your weapon is secured from theft. (You listening Sheriff Marlin Gusman? He had his personal pistol stolen from his car, where he had carelessly left it.)
And Super Chief Serpas, if you claim--as you have before--that you're taking guns off the street, tell us what happened at the Last Call Bar on 3.12.12. Witnesses say a woman was brandishing a gun right out front of the establishment in the 800 block of Conti Street. Cmdr. Jeffrey Walls of the 8th District says a woman was arrested and a gun confiscated but won't release the details.C'mon Ronnie, show us report #C1751712, even though it's only listed as a drug violation--and not a weapons charge--on your crime map. Let's see if you really took a gun off the street--and what happened to the perp.
(One thing Cmdr. Walls has agreed to is including the age, sex and race of victims in the reports he supplies. Before, the exclusion of that info made victims seem like an "it" rather than a living, breathing human being.)
So here's what we've got for the merry month of May:- Wednesday (5.30.12) 1:30 a.m.: A group of black guys were walking in the 800 block of St. Ann Street (between Bourbon and Dauphine streets) when they got into an argument with a another black dude who pulled a gun on a 26-year-old to reinforce his point. The gunman, who presumably fled, was described as in his early 20's, medium skin tone, wearing a red shirt and white shorts.
- Saturday (5.26.12) 8:30 p.m.: A 41-year-old white man was walking in the 200 block of Bourbon Street (between Iberville and Bienville streets) had his iPhone was snatched by a black punk who then ran away. The robber was described as young, wearing a light-colored shirt and dark-colored shorts.
- Thursday (5.24.12) 3:05 a.m.: A 31-year-old white guy was walking with a black dude in the 700 block of Bienville Street (between Bourbon and Dauphine streets) when 2 transvestites came up and sprayed him with pepper spray and took is wallet. The 3 suspects fled. One of the "girls" was described as a 6' tall male with a medium build, wearing a short orange dress; the other was described as a 5'6" tall male with a slim build, a short hair weave, wearing a black skirt and white shirt; the dude was described a 5'10" tall with a medium build, wearing a white shirt and baseball cap.
- Wednesday (5.23.12) 2:39 a.m.: A 33-year-old black guy was walking near Common and Carondelet streets in he CBD when another black guy came up and got into an argument with him. One pulled a knife and stabbed the other badly enough he had to be taken to the hospital. Police think this may be a domestic dispute.
- Monday (5.21.12) 2:30 p.m.: A 17-year-old Hispanic girl was walking near Common and Carondelet streets when a white punk wielding a knife demanded her iPhone. She gave it up and he fled on foot toward the river. He was described as 5'9" tall, with a thin build, short brown hair, wearing a blue T-shirt and blue jeans.
- Saturday (5.19.12) 6:00 p.m.: A 30-year-old white man was in the 500 block of Decatur Street when he was robbed by 3 black thugs. They got the cash; the victim retrieved the wallet and ran off. The robbers were all described as in their 30's, one 6' tall, weighing 180 pounds; the other 2 as 5'8" tall.
- Thursday (5.17.12) 6:00 a.m.: A 24-year-old white woman was standing on the corner of Bourbon and St. Louis streets, near Chris Owens Club, when a black chick came up and asked to use her cellphone. She gave the other woman her phone, just before a black dude came up behind her and put a gun to her face, saying "Do not move--just give me your money!" She complied and the robber and mystery woman fled on foot toward Royal Street. The robber was described as in his late 20's, 6' to 6'2" tall, with a thin build and goatee, wearing a red T-shirt, blue jeans, and white tennis shoes. A video surveillance camera captured the drama on tape.
- Tuesday (5.15.12) 11:50 p.m.: A trio of white folks, he 26, 2 women, one 22 and the other 25, were robbed by 2 black punks at Kerlerec and N. Rampart streets of their money, cellphones, and other goods. Both robbers were described as anywhere from 16 to 25 years old, one 5'9" to 6' tall with a slim build, and the other 5'6" tall with a slim build, weighing 165 pounds.
- Monday (5.14.12) 4:50 a.m.:
The victim, described as only a black man, had his rented 2012 black Chevy Impala carjacked from his by 2 of the brothers as he went to get in it at N. Rampart and St. Ann streets, after one pulled a gun and demanded his keys. 8th District detectives positively identified the thief as Lawrence Melrose, 17, who's racked up a baker's dozen of felony charges since turning adult (what do you want to bet he had a ton more as a juvenile?). He was charged with armed robbery this time and is being held in OPP on $250,000 bond.
- Monday (5.14.12) 3:15 a.m.: A 21-year-old black guy was in the House of Blues, 225 Decatur St., when a friend of his came up, hit him, and they began fighting. It was only after the fight that he realized he'd been stabbed. It says detectives are following several leads. How hard can it be to find the assailant if the victim can identify him as a friend?
- Saturday (5.12.12) 3:15 a.m.:
A 21-year-old black man tried to break up a fight between a white couple where the man was trying to strangle the woman in the 800 block of S. Peters Street. The assailant fled and then returned with a knife and cut the black man. Five days later, 8th District detectives booked Jerimiah Kaiser, 35, with aggravated battery and domestic abuse. He is being held in OPP on $20,000 bond.
- Saturday (5.12.12) 6:10 a.m.: A 21-year-old white woman was walking in the 800 block of Conti St. (between Bourbon and Dauphine streets) when a black woman knocked her to the ground and took her bags. The robber fled into a green Ford Mustang.
- Saturday (5.12.12) 11:30 p.m.: A 29-year-old white woman was standing in the 500 block of Canal Street when a black guy grabbed her iPhone from her lap and fled on Dorsiere Street toward Iberville Street. She described him as 5'8" to 6' tall with a thin build, dark complexion, short hair, wearing a white T-shirt and black shorts.
- Friday (5.11.12) 3:15 a.m.:
Normally, domestic disputes don't make it to NOcrimeline, but in this case you have to wonder why Nicole Chisolm, 41, was even out on the street. She's charged with bashing her ex-boyfriend in the head with a beer bottle after an argument at Iberville and Bourbon streets. Last December she was sentenced to 7 years in prison (with 5 years suspended) after pleading guilty to manslaughter--after the DA dropped 2nd-degree murder charges. Why she was not in jail (even with credit for time served) is anyone's guess. Now she's in OPP for aggravated battery on a $50,000 bond. She's going no where for a while.
- Thursday (5.10.11) 2:35 a.m.: A 44-year-old white man walking on Gravier Street near Camp Street was robbed by an armed black guy who came up behind and demanded his money. The robber was described as in his early 20's, 5'8" to 5'9" tall with a slim build, dark complexion, wearing a light blue shirt and khaki pants.
- Sunday (5.6.12) 7:50 a.m.:
A 37-year-old witness who saw a white punk pull a knife on a cab driver on Bourbon Street near Conti Street and then followed him when the cab drove off was stabbed in his upper chest after getting into an argument with him. Police arrested Steven Goard, 23, and charged him with aggravated battery. He posted $25,000 bond and walked out of Central Lockup a couple of says later.
- Saturday (5.5.12) 12:50 a.m.: A 29-year-old white woman was sitting near Julia Street and St. Charles Avenue when a guy she couldn't describe in the least came up and grabbed her purse from her lap.
- Saturday (5.5.12) 6:45 a.m.: A 32-year-old black dude walking in the 700 block of Iberville Street (between Bourbon and Royal streets) spurned the advances of a transvestite who asked him for a date and was stabbed in his upper left shoulder. The victim was too out of it to give detectives a detailed description of the man trying to be a woman.
- Saturday (5.5.12) 4:00 p.m.: A 27-year-old white guy walking near Dauphine and Toulouse streets managed to hand on to his cellphone when a gang of 3 black boys tried to take it. Police who responded to the scene managed to arrest one of the juveniles, but the 2 who remain at large are described as 15 to 16 years old, both 5'10" tall, weighing 150 pounds, one with a thin build, a light complexion and long afro, wearing a gray tank top and bluejeans shorts; the other with short hair, wearing a white T-shirt and bluejeans.
- Friday (5.4.12) 5:00 a.m.: A 30-year-old white stripper at Lipstixx Gentlemen's Club, 420 Bourbon St., who apparently had few friends among her fellow strippers, was ganged up upon by 3 of them after work and knocked to the floor while 2 of them, both white chicks, stole her bag of filthy lucre. The following week the police arrested Priscilla Cisneros, 30, and Maranda Cotton, 28, for simple robbery. They both bailed out of Central Lockup on a puny $3,500 bond.
- Wednesday (5.2.12) 11:45 a.m.: Two white couples, a man 31 and woman 28 and a man 61 and woman 55, were robbed in broad daylight in the Marigny Triangle in the 2000 block of Dauphine Street while walking toward Frenchmen Street. A black thug brandishing a pistol jumped out from behind a car parked in a driveway and ordered them to "drop everything, empty your pockets, don't run." The robber hopped into the passenger side of a waiting silver-colored 4-door Chevrolet HHR driven by a black female and fled up Elysian Fields Avenue. The victims got the first 4 letters/numbers of the Georgia license plate, which was traced to Enterprise Rentals. The robber was described as 5'11" tall with a thin build, gold tooth, wearing all black clothing.
Within
2 days the NOPD's Violent Offender Warrant Squad and U.S. Marshals arrested Brandy Lee Bass, 25, in Jefferson Parish and charged him with a total of 8 armed robberies. He is being held in OPP on $650,000 bond. He is currently on parole for illegally carrying a firearm and possession with intent to distribute cocaine.
2 days the NOPD's Violent Offender Warrant Squad and U.S. Marshals arrested Brandy Lee Bass, 25, in Jefferson Parish and charged him with a total of 8 armed robberies. He is being held in OPP on $650,000 bond. He is currently on parole for illegally carrying a firearm and possession with intent to distribute cocaine.- Wednesday (5.2.12) 3:40 p.m.: NOPD detectives are looking for a black man who was wearing a "Free Sean Payton" T-shirt when he liberated $570 from a store in the 400 block of Decatur Street. Police say he casually walked into the store and the store manager turned around he had gone behind the counter near the cash register. When she noticed him, he said "Your register was open." He is described as 40 years old, 5'9" to 5'11" tall with a medium build and dark complexion. He was wearing a dark colored cap, the aforementioned T-shirt, and chef's pants. He is a suspect for shopliftings at Canal Place Mall too. Here he is caught on video tape.
- Tuesday (5.1.12) 6:55 a.m.:
A 58-year-old black gentleman standing near Dauphine and St. Philip streets with a friend he was giving a dollar to was robbed by another black man who came up and told him he was homeless. He grabbed $22 from the victim's hand. Ofc. Ed Davis caught up with Corey Miller, 26, a short distance away and charged him with simple robbery. He is in OPP on $15,000 bond.
"I was at Bourbon Live (216 Bourbon St.) and started talking to a great looking black girl who called herself Nicole. We were hitting it off, and at first I was skeptical because she was alone and talking to me, but she started buying drinks and even left her purse on the bar when she went to the bathroom and asked if I could watch it.
"We decided to leave and go back to my room, but first she had to pick up her girlfriend and drop her off somewhere. After picking her up, we stopped at a gas station (the Chevron, right across from the 1st District NOPD station at N. Rampart and St. Louis streets), and she asked if I could put a couple bucks in the car. I said sure and put $10 in the tank with my debit card. While filling the tank, I turned around and noticed the friend in the back seat had her phone out and appeared to be recording me plug in my pin. I wasn't positive but she did look to be recording me.
"After that we left and dropped the friend off and went to my room at the Bourbon Orleans Hotel. We started fooling around and I went to the bathroom. When I came out less than 90 seconds later, she was gone with $1,600 out of my bag, my ATM card, and my roommate's iPad and iPod. I ran out after her but she was gone, and the bag guys at the front desk said she went towards Dauphine Street.
"I stopped in the police station, but the woman yelled at me and told me I appeared drunk, and there was nothing she could do. I said I just got robbed out of close to $3,000 worth of stuff, and she continued to yell at me, until I was fed up and left. I checked my bank statement when I got back to my hotel, and 2 withdrawals of $200 had been made at 740 Dauphine St. at a Chase bank.
"We called the police again later that night, and they finally showed up 3 hours later. With our stopping for gas, I told them that the might be able to see the license plate number from the station cameras, or she the woman's face on the ATM camera. She said "Yes, maybe" and pretty much shrugged it off. I feel that there is no way we will get anything back, as the NOPD didn't seem to care about my plight."
"We decided to leave and go back to my room, but first she had to pick up her girlfriend and drop her off somewhere. After picking her up, we stopped at a gas station (the Chevron, right across from the 1st District NOPD station at N. Rampart and St. Louis streets), and she asked if I could put a couple bucks in the car. I said sure and put $10 in the tank with my debit card. While filling the tank, I turned around and noticed the friend in the back seat had her phone out and appeared to be recording me plug in my pin. I wasn't positive but she did look to be recording me.
"After that we left and dropped the friend off and went to my room at the Bourbon Orleans Hotel. We started fooling around and I went to the bathroom. When I came out less than 90 seconds later, she was gone with $1,600 out of my bag, my ATM card, and my roommate's iPad and iPod. I ran out after her but she was gone, and the bag guys at the front desk said she went towards Dauphine Street.
"I stopped in the police station, but the woman yelled at me and told me I appeared drunk, and there was nothing she could do. I said I just got robbed out of close to $3,000 worth of stuff, and she continued to yell at me, until I was fed up and left. I checked my bank statement when I got back to my hotel, and 2 withdrawals of $200 had been made at 740 Dauphine St. at a Chase bank.
"We called the police again later that night, and they finally showed up 3 hours later. With our stopping for gas, I told them that the might be able to see the license plate number from the station cameras, or she the woman's face on the ATM camera. She said "Yes, maybe" and pretty much shrugged it off. I feel that there is no way we will get anything back, as the NOPD didn't seem to care about my plight."
Kiss the girl and the loot good-bye. And, in the future when in New Orleans, remember: our girls are pros at this sort of thing.
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