Kathy and Tommy Nunez, left, at their home in Chalmette, held a party last year for the National Night Out Against Crime. At right is St. Bernard Det. Sgt. Paul Miller. STEVE CANNIZARO PHOTO.

Jun 30, 2011 - Hoping to exchange the heat of August for cooler temperatures in the fall, St. Bernard and several near-by parishes will move their annual celebration of the National Night Out Against Crime to Tuesday evening, Oct. 11, Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

St. Bernard Parish residents can call the Sheriff’s Office at (504) 278-7628 to register a neighborhood event and have a deputy come out to give crime prevention tips and answer questions from participants.

Pohlmann said, “We have been enjoying good participation by our residents in National Night Out Against Crime activities and had more than 40 groups hold parties last year, our highest number since before Hurricane Katrina.”

But Pohlmann said St. Bernard and law enforcement agencies including the Sheriff’s Offices in Jefferson, St. Charles, St. John and St. James and other police agencies including New Orleans, Kenner, Westwego and Harahan decided extremely hot temperatures have detracted from the National Night Out events previously hosted the first Tuesday of August. It was particularly hot in 2010, he said.

“We hope to encourage even more participation by moving the event to Oct. 11 this year,’’ Pohlmann said, “because of the likelihood of cooler temperatures,’’ plus children would be back in school and it would still be Daylight Saving Time and it wouldn’t get dark early.

There have also been some concerns in the past about the West Nile virus being spread at outdoor events in the summer.

Pohlmann said he encourages St. Bernard Parish residents to take part in the 28th annual celebration of the National Night Out Against Crime as a good way to promote neighborhood spirit and help remind people to look out for suspicious activity in their area.

Neighorhood gatherings and, in recent years, get-togethers at churches, playgounds and shopping centers in which food and beverages are served have also become popular ways to show people want to band together against the threat of crime.

Pohlmann said “In St. Bernard, we basically keep the celebration specific to neighborhoods and like to see people get together as neighbors because it sends a message you care about your neighborhood.’’ 

“I feel we are winning the fight against crime’’ in St. Bernard, Pohlmann said, evidenced by extremely low numbers of violent incidents – especially random incidents involving people who don’t know one another.

St. Bernard residents should call Capt. Charles Borchers at (504) 278-7628 if they are holding a neighborhood gathering for the National Night Out observance and deputies will be available to come out to meet with them and discuss any concerns they have and answer all questions.

Borchers is Director of Crime Prevention and the Neighborhood Watch programs for the Sheriff’s Office and coordinates activities for the Night Out Against Crime. Also, call Borchers to start a new Neighborhood Watch group or register for the next Citizens Police Academy to be held later this year, Pohlmann said.

“St. Bernard is still left with some neighborhoods only partially recovered from Hurricane Katrina,’’ and needs everyone to pull together, Borchers said. He said taking part in a neighborhood gathering is a great way to resolve to keep your eyes open for anything suspicious in their neighborhood.  Always call the Sheriff’s Office at 271-2501 if you see suspicious activity.

“I was very encouraged last year by the amount of people who turned out and we seem to be adding more groups each year,’’ Borchers said.

The National Night Out Against Crime is sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch (NATW) and was introduced in 1984. The program was the idea of NATW Executive Director Matt A. Peskin in an effort to heighten awareness and strengthen participation in local anti-crime efforts.

Last year's National Night Out campaign involved more than 30 million nationally, including residents, law enforcement agencies, civic groups, businesses and at military bases.
 

Jun 28, 2011 - St. Bernard Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann says residents should remember the old adage that if something seems too good to be true, then it isn’t true. And don’t get fooled by it.

At least one scam that cost a resident money ,has been reported in St. Bernard Parish recently, as well as other attempts that failed, Pohlmann said.

He said one man was defrauded of nearly $3,000 in a scheme involving him being offered a job through an e-mail and being sent a fake check to cover products that would be needed for that job.

The victim was instructed to deposit the check, wait a day for it to clear, then withdraw the amount in cash and send it as a money order to an out-of-state address to pay for the items he would need, Pohlmann said.

Days after withdrawing the money from a bank and sending a money order he learned from the bank the original check he deposited was returned as fictitious and he was out of the money he sent.

In an unrelated case, Pohlmann said, another St. Bernard Parish man  was called and told he had won money he would receive if he first paid a service charge by sending money to an address. The man didn’t fall for the scheme but reported it to the Sheriff’s Office.

“While it sounds nice to be told you have been offered a job or have won something, just remember they shouldn’t come with strings attached,’’ Pohlmann said.

“Don’t send money to someone you don’t know. Don’t give out your personal information, such as social security number or your mother’s maiden name to others,’’ Pohlmann said, “because that’s the kind of information criminals can use to steal your identity, empty your bank accounts or buy things in your name.’’

The job offer scam is a variation on other types of fraud, Pohlmann said.

Attempted fraud involving someone allegedly winning a prize but having to pay a service charge to receive it is often reported to authorities, Pohlmann said. “It seems to run in cycles.’’

Jules Dantin, booked with possession of about $10,000 in stolen property he received to sell as scrap metal

Jun 27, 2011 - About $10,000 worth of stolen nickel-based alloys taken from a Chalmette business have been recovered by the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office and two workers were booked with felony theft, Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

Also, a third man arrested in a vehicle where 351 pounds of the stolen alloys was found was booked with possession of stolen property. The mother of one of the arrested workers is now wanted on a warrant signed by a judge alleging she also possessed the stolen property.

Pohlmann said sheriff’s Det. Sgt. Paul Miller determined two workers, Bryan Mariakis, no age available, 400 Genie St., Chalmette, and Troy Riviere, 34, 2220 Munster Blvd., Meraux, had stolen the material from a company warehouse on June 8. Both men have been booked with theft over $500, which is a felony.

Pohlmann said the men brought the material to Jules Dantin, 52, 1931 Selos Court, Chalmette, to have him sell as scrap metal. Dantin, whom the men had known for a lont time, lived with Linda Molinary, 59, mother of Mariakis, Pohlmann said.

Officials of the company victimized had reported large amounts of the nickel alloys were missing from a warehouse over a period of time.

Pohlmann said Det. Miller was aware that metal matching the description of what company officials reported stolen was found in a vehicle during a recent traffic stop by agents of the sheriff’s Special Investigation Division.

Both Dantin and Molinary were stopped in the vehicle and both were booked at the time with possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia. Dantin, 52, was also arrested on an outstanding warrant charging simple burglary.

Company officials identified the 351 pounds of alloy as being stolen from their warehouse, Pohlmann said. Further investigation found Dantin had scraped similar metal alloys at a Chalmette scrap yard in mid-May and photos kept by the scrap business showed the material had the same markings as those recovrered from the vehicle where Dantin and Molinary were arrested.

Molinary had made bond on her original charges and couldn’t be found. A search warrant was obtained alleging possession of stolen property and she is being sought on that charge, Pohlmann said.

Dantin was re-booked with that charge in St. Bernard Parish Prison where he was being held. Dantin remains jailed in lieu of $60,000 total bond.

Both Riviere and Mariakis have been released from jail on bonds of $15,000 each on the felony theft charges.
 

Jun 23, 2011 - Before going on vacation or leaving for business, St. Bernard Parish residents should call the Sheriff’s Office and get on the list to have extra passes made at their home by patrol deputies, Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

“When thinking about the last-minute things to do before leaving remember to call (504) 278-7763 or 271-2501 and get on the extra pass list,” Pohlmann said.

He added, “That information is kept confidential’’ and revealed only to the officers assigned to patrol the section where the caller lives.

Pohlmann said residents should also leave a contact number so a patrol deputy can call them if they see anything wrong at a home, including non crime-related matters such as damage from a wind or rain storm.

St. Bernard still has fewer residents than before Hurricane Katrina, which means fewer eyes on the streets in some neighborhoods to watch for suspicious actions, Pohlmann said. “That makes signing up for the extra patrols at your home more valuable now than before the hurricane.’’

Capt. Charles Borchers, head of Crime Prevention including the Neighborhood Watch program for the Sheriff’s Office, said the extra pass list has been used effectively for years and helps residents be assured their homes will have some extra protection while they are away.

Also, St. Bernard residents interested in starting a Neighborhood Watch group in their area can call Borchers at (504) 278-7628.

Borchers said residents should consider the following crime prevention tips before leaving their home on vacation:

• Lock up. While this might seem obvious, some people forget to lock their house completely while rushing to get away. Make sure all doors and windows are locked.
• Be careful who you tell when you plan to be away from your home. However, ask someone you trust to watch for anything unusual
• Do whatever possible to create the appearance someone is home. Keep a vehicle in the driveway or out front of your residence. Maintain your lawn before you leave or have someone mow your lawn while you are gone.
• Put outdoor lighting on either timers, light-sensitive photocell mechanisms, or motion detectors. Use timers to activate inside lighting, radios, or TVs. Use the new fluorescent (cfl) light bulbs because they burn cooler than the standard light bulbs.
• Don’t let deliveries accumulate. If possible, ask someone to pick up mail, newspapers and packages and any circulars placed on your front door. At least stop delivery of a newspaper so they don’t pile up.
• Don't leave keys under your doormat, flower pots or window ledges—intruders check these first.
• Keep shrubbery trimmed. Thick shrubbery and trees cover your windows, allowing burglars to work undetected.
• Never put your name on your mailbox because someone could look up your number and call to determine when you are not home.
• Set the telephone answering machine so the rings do not exceed three or four.  If you do not have an answering machine, then turn the ringer down. Never leave a message on a phone indicating you are away on vacation.
• Ensure your security system is armed and provide instructions to the central monitoring station, if you have one, to call your cell phone, the Sheriff’s Office and/or a particular friend, relative or neighbor.
• If your neighborhood has a Neighborhood Watch program inform officials about your vacation plans.

June 22, 2011 - Two Plaquemines Parish, an uncle and nepew, have pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of a 20-year-old Chalmette man killed in a hail of gunfire through a door in 2008.

The victim, Vantrel Bienemy, 413 Pierre St., who was shot three times about midnight on Sept. 22, 2008, at 503 Dubarry St. in Chalmette, wasn’t the intended target, sheriff’s officials said at the time.

A half-brother who lived at the residence where the killing happened was the target of the two men in retaliation for a physical confrontation the night before between the half-brother and the older of the two arrested subjects that apparently had been over drugs, said Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann. But bullets fired through the front door struck and killed Bienemy.

Timothy Reddick, 42, of Pointe-a-la Hache, and Lavell Cross, 21, a nephew of Reddick who had been living in Algiers, both were arrested for second-degree murder.

Reddick and Cross both pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter on Monday, June 20, in a deal with prosecutors as their cases ware set to go to trial.

State District Judge Jacques Sanborn accepted the guilty pleas.

Reddick, who admitted in court he was the shooter, received a 20-year prison sentence from Sanborn and was given credit for time served in jail awaiting trial. Cross got a 15-year sentence but it was suspended and he was put on active probation for five years.
 “It’s sad that a young person would be killed over something he apparently had nothing to do with,” Pohlmann said.

Bienemy had moved to St. Bernard Parish in May from Atlanta where he lived after Hurricane Katrina. “All of the people involved were displaced from Plaquemines Parish by the hurricane,’’ Pohlmann said.

He said Reddick is a convicted sex offender but Cross didn’t have a previous criminal history before his uncle apparently enlisted Cross to go with him to the scene of the shooting in retaliation for the confrontation Reddick allegedly had with the victim’s half-brother.
“It seems the plan was to knock (on the door) and hope the half-brother answered,’’ Pohlmann said.

After the first knock, the half-brother didn’t answer and also didn’t warn the victim not to go to the door, Pohlmann said. When the victim tried to close the door after seeing the men outside, he was shot through the door, hitting him twice in the stomach.
Authorities also said small bags of marijuana were found in the toilet of the residence where Bienemy was shot, probably because some drugs were flushed down the toilet before sheriff’s deputies arrived after the shooting.

Herbert Bailey, 25, of St. Bernard Parish, booked with having sex with a minor and having pornography of a minor

Jun 20, 2011 - A 25-year-old man who allegedly had sex with a 16-year-old girl and the victim were both arrested in St. Bernard Parish after she tried to hide photo evidence, Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

Herbert Bailey, 1704 Suzi Drive, in eastern St. Bernard, was booked with carnal knowledge of a juvenile, pornography of a juvenile and other charges after a traffic stop by sheriff’s deputies led to officers seeing lewd photos he had taken of them with his cell phone camera, Pohlomann said.

He said the 16-year-old girl who was in the vehicle with Bailey and was the alleged victim in the case was arrested because she seized the man’s Iphone containing photos fom a Sheriff’s Office car and threw it into high grass on the side of the road to try to get rid of the evidence. The phone was later found by officers.

Pohlmann said that after the phone was seized and placed in the front seat of the patrol car and Bailey was arrested, the girl reached through a window of the vehicle, grabbed the phone and threw it away. She was booked with burglary of the patrol car and obstruction of justice, Pohlmann said.

Bailey is being held in St. Bernard Prison on the sex and pornography charges, pending a bond hearing before a judge.

The girl was taken to the St. Bernard Juvenile Detention Center and also was awaiting a bond hearing.

Bailey and the teen-ager were stopped on Suzi Drive near his home about 8 p.m. Sunday, June 19, for making a right turn without using a turn signal, Pohlmann said.

Deputy Ryan Melerine, who made the stop, noticed the man’s Iphone had a photo on it of Bailey and the girl kissing.

Noting she was under-age, the officer asked Bailey permission to check the phone for other photos. Bailey acknowledged there were photos of them of a sexual nature and the deputy seized the phone as evidence, Pohlmann said.

The girl stole the phone from the patrol car while the deputy was interviewing famil members of the pair, who had arrived at the scene.
 

Jun 16, 2011 - One man was killed and another man injured seriously early Thursday, June 16, in an accident involving two boats which collided in a canal, a few miles from Breton Sound Marina at Hodedale in eastern St. Bernard Parish.

The Departmart of Wildlife and Fisheries, which handled the accident with assistance from the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office, said the 6:30 a.m. accident involved nine people. One boat had seven people on board and a smaller boat carried both the man who was killed and his friend.

Killed was Donald Neal, 66, of eastern St. Bernard Parish. His injured friend, Antoine Broadwater, 50, of New Orleans, was taken to University Hospital in New Orleans. The others involved in the crash were checked for minor injuries.

The accident happened in the Dyke Canal, also known as the Back Levee Canal or Spoil Canal. The boats reportedly collided in a blind turn on the canal.

St. Bernard Parish Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann, who was on the scene at Breton Sound Marina where the injured were brought ashore, said there has been a growing concern about increased boat traffic in the area since the closure of the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet, or MR-GO, in 2009. The body of water was closed not far from the scene of the accident.

Pohlmann said boaters “should be extemely cautious because there are more, and larger, vessels in the area now’’ as a result of the MR-GO closing.

Jun 16, 2011 - Large amounts of crack cocaine and other drugs have been seized by St. Bernard Paish sheriff’s deputies and agents of the sheriff’s Special Investigations Division, including a man who may have been selling marijuana to cusomters he met with along a rural road, Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

One-half ounce of crack cocaine, or 14 grams, was confiscated in two separate arrests, Pohlmann said.

Ray Richardson, no age available, of Beachhead Drive, Violet, was stopped while driving Tuesday night, June 14, and 8.2 grams of crack cocaine was found. He was booked with possession with intent to distribute cocaine. He was being held in St. Bernard Parish Prison in lieu of bond set at $26,500.

In a separate case, Christopher Jones, 40, 720 Bayou Road, was arrested June 9, after 6.6 grams of crack cocain, some marijuana and $243 cash was found when a search warrant was served there by agents of the SID. Jones was booked with distribution of about one-half gram of crack, possession with intent to distribute the 6.6 grams of crack and possession of a small amount of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

Pohlmann said that In a related case on June 9, agents went to 1951 Sebastopol Drive in Violet and booked Preston Joseph, 47, of that address, with distribution of about one-half gram of crack cocaine.

Jones has been released on $15,000 bond and there was no bond information available on Joseph.

Also, Chris Callais, 37, 28 West Chalmette Circle, was booked the night of June 12 with possession with intent to distribute about three-quarters of an ounce of marijuana found in his vehicle, along with more than $640 cash and a scale. He was stopped on a road in eastern St. Bernard after the sheriff’s Office received information a motorist might be dealing drugs because he was driving suspiciously, signaling other vehicles to pull over, Pohlmann said.

Officers smelled raw marijuana when they stopped him and Callais gave permission to search the vehicle, where the marijuana was found. He was also booked ih a parole violation.

Also, on June 7, Justin-Allen Calway, 17, 3305 Golden Drive, Apt. D, Chalmette, and Kendell Petes, 20, of New Orleans, were both booked with possession with intent to distribute an ounce of marijuana worth about $300. Deputies investigated the pair after receiving information they were buying a digital scale in a store and acted suspiciously, then had fled in a vehicle that smelled of raw marijuana, Pohlmann said.

Calway was also later booked with cultivation of five marijuana plants, Pohlmann said.

They were arrested in the 3200 block of Golden Drive, where an ounce of marijuana was found in the vehicle. Calway agreed to a searh of his  nearby residence, where the plants were found and he admitted growing them, Pohlmann said. They were jailed but no bond information was available.

In an unrelated caese, Juan Suazo, 25, 3814 Jupiter Drive, Chalmette, was booked June 7 with illegal possession of more than 450 grams of synthetic marijuana valued at about $4,500 after a domestic disturbance call to his residence, where sheriff’s depuies found the contraband.

Suazo was also booked with simple battery on a woman and possession of drug parphernalia, which was a smoking device.

No bond information was available.

Jun 15, 2011 - A St. Bernard Parish sheriff’s deputy saved a woman who was unconscious and had turned blue when the officer stopped her boyfriend as he choked her inside their Chalmette home, Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

He said a call to the Sheriff’s Office by a neighbor who reported seeing a man dragging a woman inside by the hair likely saved her life by triggering the quick response.

Pohlmann said, “The combination of the timely call and quick investigation by the Sheriff’s Office may have prevented a murder. The victim was unconscious and bluish gray from lack of oxygen as the aggressor held both of his hands around her throat before the officer pulled him away and handcuffed him after a struggle.’’

Deputy Christopher Encardes, an agent with the sheriff’s Special Investigations Division commanded by Chief of Detectives Col. John Doran, had gone to the residence when dispatched there after the phone call about domestic violence. The deputy approached an open door, saw what was happening, then pulled away the man, Pohlmann said.

Anderson Doolin, 34, who lived with the victim on Delille Street, was booked with attempted murder and is being held in St. Bernard Parish Prison in lieu of $500,000 bond. He was also booked that night with domestic abuse battery and resisting an officer.

The incident happened about 7:30 p.m. on June 8 in an apartment in the 2300 block of Delille Street near Paris Road in Chalmette.

The victim, who had also been beaten and threatened before she was choked, regained consciousness and said Doolin had come home drunk, started an argument and began beating her for a long duration and threatened to kill her, Pohlmann said.

She said he dragged her outside, punched her and dragged her back inside as she screamed for help. “I was praying someone heard me,’’ the woman told officers afterward. She also said she lost consciousness while he choked her.

Pohlmann said after Doolin was jailed both he and a friend, Troy Cowdell, 37, 2320 Stander Place, Chalmette, were booked June 10 with intimidating a state witness, who was the victim.

He said authorities learned Doolin asked Cowdell to go to the victim’s home and make her drop charges against him. Sheriff’s deputies went to the woman’s home and found Cowdell outside, Pohlmann said.

Cowdell was arrested on the intimidation charge and Doolin was rebooked in prison with the same charge and with violation of a court-ordered restraining order. Cowdell was later released on bond.

Following a search of the residence where Doolin lived with the woman, Doolin was also booked with possession of marijuana and possession of paraphernalia, which were a digital scale and smoking devices.

Zanthony Reese, 23, security guard at Chalmette complex booked with possession with intent to distribute marijuana.

Jun 12, 2011 - St. Bernard Parish residents have expressed fears of an influx of drugs and a general crime increase resulting from four mixed income housing complexes presently under construction in Chalmette.

Now, before the first complex is completed, two drug arrests have been made at one of the sites, an employee there who is a security guard and had seven bags of marijuana in his vehicle, and a friend of his, St. Bernard Parish Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

He said the two were smoking marijuana when spotted in the guard’s vehicle Thursday evening, June 9, and the seven bags were found inside.

Pohlmann said the bags indicates the intent to sell the drugs.
Both of the men, Zanthony Reese, the guard, 23, of Gretna, and his friend, Marcus Triplett, 23, of Baton Rouge, were booked with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.

“I hope this isn’t a bad omen that the Sheriff’s Office has already made two drug arrests at one of the sites and there is the indication an employee was selling to others,’’ Pohlmann said.

“I’m not trying to make a bigger point about these complexes,’ Pohlmann said, “just pointing out that already we have a problem if someone guarding the place is bringing drugs into St. Bernard Parish and bagging them up for sale.’’

“The good news is the Sheriff’s Office responded quickly and made two arrests, seizing the marijuana,’’ Pohlmann said.

He said residents can expect the Sheriff’s Office to be prepared to deal with any situation that arises at the complexes, as it is for anywhere else in St. Bernard.

Pohlmann said an off-duty sheriff’s deputy passing one of the complexes being built on Virtue Street saw what he thought was suspicious activity and called in the information.

He said agents of the sheriff’s Special Investigations Division, headed by Chief of Detectives Col. John Doran, went to the scene and found the two men in the security guard’s vehicle smoking marijuana and the guard had seven bags of marijuana in the vehicle.

Both Reese and Triplett have been released from jail on bond.

St. Bernard Parish sheriff's detectives look over contents of safe after it was opened by a representative from the company that sells the brand of safes. Shown, from left are Chief of Detectives Col. John Doran, Capt. Mark Jackson and Lt. Richard Mendel. Locked safe found dumped on Arabi street. STEVE CANNIZARO PHOTO.

Jun 10, 2011 - The St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office was able Friday to get open a locked safe found on an Arabi side street off St. Claude Avenue on Wednesday, June 8, but it didn’t solve the mystery of who owns it or why it was dumped.

Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said a representative from the company that sells the brand of safe, Eurovault, was able to open it but the contents only offered more questions.

Pohlmann said two Hibernia bank bags were found in the safe and hey had inside cash register receipts totaling in the thousands of dollars, from an unidentified company. The last entry on the receipts was dated Aug. 26, 2005, three days before Hurricane Katrina struck.

The business may have been a night club, based on the amount of the receipts and writing on the outside of the bank bags, he said, but no specific name of a business was found. Also, four names were written inside, Will, Chad, Hitler and Dan, possibly indicating managers on someone authorized to be handling money in the safe.

Sheriff’s officials don’t know anything beyond that, Pohlmann said, and would like to identify the owner to see if the safe was stolen or how it came to be dumped on Aycock Street, behind a business and just off the 6900 block of St. Claude Avenue – near the Orleans Parish line.

“It’s a heavy safe and someone went to a lot of effort to get rid of it and the question is why,” Pohlmann said. “It’s also interesting the receipts end just before the hurricane but the safe is dumped almost six years later.”

Anyone with information about it should call the Sheriff’s Office at (504) 271-2501.

There are no reports of a missing safe in the parish, Pohlmann said, and sheriff’s detectives have contacted law enforcement agencies in surrounding parishes but haven’t received any information about such a reported theft.

When found, a touch pad on the safe was broken.
 

Jun 11, 2011 - A 16-year-old New Orleans boy has been jailed in St. Bernard Parish for an April incident in which he and another boy broke into and tried to steal the truck of a Chalmette man, who fired two shots at them, Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

The owner, claiming the boy now under arrest aimed a gun at him when he caught one of them inside his truck, shot out a window of their getaway vehicle, Pohlmann said.

He said neither teen was shot but the one who hasn’t been caught had an arm injury after the one now arrested accidentally rolled over the other one as they escaped.

Pohlmann said the 16-year-old, whose name wasn’t released because he is a juvenile, was identified by St. Bernard detectives and an arrest warrant for him was signed by a judge. New Orleans police found the teen-ager recently and arrested him and he was transferred to St. Bernard on June 3. The second youth involved hasn’t been identified and remains at-large.

The arrested boy, Pohlmann said, is being held in the Juvenile Detention Center in Chalmette in lieu of $50,000 bond and has a probation hold on him from New Orleans, where he faces other charges. In St. Bernard he was booked with aggravated burglary of the truck and aggravated assault for pointing a gun.

The burglary and shooting happened April 20 in the 2300 block of Corrine Drive in Chalmette.

Pohlmann said that although the two teen-agers got away in a Dodge Caliber, sheriff’s deputies got the license number, which when traced was determined to be registered to a rental agency.

Further investigation showed a woman in Metairie had rented the Dodge before the incident in Chalmette.

Pohlmann said sheriff’s Detective Trey Delaune located the vehicle at the rental agency, where it had been returned, and found evidence a window had been shot out and replaced, with shattered glass present inside. The renter hadn’t reported the damage, but rather had replaced the window, Pohlmann said.

When interviewed, the renter admitted her son, who lives in New Orleans, had taken her rental vehicle without her consent on the same day as the incident, Pohlmann said. The woman also said the teen acknowledged an incident in St. Bernard but he wouldn’t elaborate. She said she replaced the shattered rear passenger window and returned the vehicle to the rental agency.

Pohlmann said an arrest warrant was obtained for the teen when he didn’t come forward to the St. Bernard Sheriff’s Office.

Both teen-agers involved in the incident got the worst of it.

The victim whose truck was burglarized and was about to be stolen came outside with a handgun when he saw someone climbing into his truck.

No residents of the street were injured. The burglar who was surprised in the act by the vehicle’s owner was injured when he ran to get into the moving Dodge get-away car but fell to the ground and his right arm was rolled over by his accomplice’s right rear tire, Pohlmann said. When he got up, his arm was dangling as if it were broken but he got  into the accomplice’s car and they drove away.

“This was a case of the bad guys immediately suffering the consequences of trying to commit a crime in St. Bernard Parish,’’ Pohlmann said.

The owner said he fired two shots when the driver, the one now under arrest, pointed a handgun at him. The shot nearly hit the driver.

No charges were filed against the vehicle owner over the shootings because he appeared to have acted in self-defense, Pohlmann said.
 

Jun 9, 2011 - It’s a mystery: where did a locked, extremely heavy safe come from that was found off St. Claude Avenue, dumped behind a business in Arabi.?

Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office is trying to unlock both the mystery and the safe.

The safe, more than a foot tall, was found Wednesday, June 8, behind a business in the 6900 block of St. Claude, just a few blocks from the Jackson Barracks National Guard buildings at the Orleans Parish line.

There are no reports of a missing safe in the parish, Pohlmann said, and sheriff’s detectives have contacted law enforcement agencies in surrounding parishes but haven’t received any information about such a reported theft.
When found, a touch pad on the safe was broken.

A representative from the company that sells that brand of safes has been contacted in an effort to identify an owner, Pohlmann said. The safe may need to be opened to do that.

Fredrick McLeod, 35, of New Orleans, arrested in St. Bernard as fugitive from Texas where he was wanted involving 8 pounds of marijuana.

Jun 7, 2011 - The St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office has caught a fugitive who twice was booked with murder in the past and has been on the run from Texas authorities over eight pounds of marijuana since October 2010, Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

Fredrick McLeod, 35, of New Orleans, was arrested Tuesday, June 7, in the attic of a house in Violet. Pohlmann said he was found after information on his whereabouts was developed by agents of the sheriff’s Special Investigations Division, commanded by St. Bernard Chief of Detectives Col. John Doran.

McLeod has previous convictions for armed robbery, dealing crack cocaine and lesser charges. He was arrested for murder in New Orleans in both 2000 and in 1996 but there was no information available on what happened to the charges.

Pohlmann said authorities in Smith County, Texas, near Tyler, said they want to extradite McLeod on the charges he was wanted for involving eight pounds of marijuana and evading police who searched two days for him in October 2010.

McLeod escaped into a wooded area in Smith County, Texas, on Oct. 13, 2010, after being pulled over by police on Interstate 20. After he abandoned his vehicle, authorities say they found nearly eight pounds of marijuana inside an SUV he was driving, as well as his I.D.

He evaded Texas police twice in two days.

Police searched the woods and even called in helicopters that first night after he ran into woods but he wasn’t found.

The next morning he was spotted leaving a motel south of I-20 as he was walking to a taxi he had called for. When the suspect saw police he took off running into woods again and hadn’t been caught until St. Bernard deputies found him in Violet.

Jun 6, 2011 - Two eastern St. Bernard Parish men were booked with theft of 150 live crabs worth $410 from a cooler on the dock of a seafood company on Delacroix Highway, Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

Perry Menesses, 54, 2117 Guillot Drive, and Tory Hoo, 26, 1924 Sugar Mill Drive, were accused of taking three boxes of crabs after approaching a dock by boat.

Menesses, who crabs and has sold to the seafood company where the 150 crabs were taken, employs Hoos as a deckhand.

A video surveillance system recorded the theft and the 150 crabs in three boxes were found by sheriff’s deputies on Menesses’ boat, Pohlmann said.

Confronted with the evidence, Menesses admitted he and Hoo stole the crabs, although Hoo said he only stayed on the dock while Menesses went into a walk-in cooler and took the crabs the night of May 26.

Both men were booked into St. Bernard Parish Prison on the theft charge as well as with criminal trespassing. Menesses, also booked on four outstanding arrest warrants from the parish, remains jailed in lieu of $16,000 bond. No bond information was available on Hoo.

Separately, Kenneth Green, 24, who lived at 3821 Juno Drive, Chalmette but was in the process of eviction, was booked May 26 with four counts of child desertion for leaving alone four children ages 8 and younger in the house, Pohlmann said.

Green, father of two of the children, was supposed to be watching them while their mother worked in Chalmette but left them alone at least 90 minutes. A constable delivering eviction papers found the children and notified sheriff’s Juvenile Division detectives. Detectives said the apartment was in bad living condition, with feces and dog food on the floor.

The mother was found at her work place and brought home by officers. Green was arrested when he went to the Juvenile Division to discuss the complaint, Pohlmann said.

Pohlmann noted that the circumstances were so dangerous for the children that Green is being held in jail in lieu of bond set at $36,000.

Also, Christopher Olson, 18, of Slidell, was booked June 1 with attempted burglary of a parked, unmarked Sheriff’s Office vehicle in Chalmette.

The teen-ager, while allegedly intoxicated, was seen trying to break into the vehicle and placed under arrest for attempted burglary, disturbing the peace and resisting an officer. No bond information was available.

Capt. Charles Borchers, director of Crime Prevention for the Sheriff's Office, demonstrates a proper locking device for a home to a participant in the Refuse to be a Victim course he taught. STEVE CANNIZARO PHOTO.

Jun 4, 2011 - More than 25 St. Bernard Parish residents heard safety tips for avoiding becoming crime victims at home or away in the “Refuse to be a Victim’’ free series of lectures concluded in May at Nunez Community College, delivered by Capt. Charles Borchers, crime prevention director for the Sheriff’s Office.

Borchers emphasized, “You have to have a mental plan of action’’ at home or when traveling to be on alert for potential criminals. Use strong locks and peep holes on home doors, Borchers said. Light-timers, alarm systems, video surveillance systems and motion lights are all good anti-crime strategies at home.

Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann, who ordered the course made available to the public, said the tips “are mostly common sense ideas’’ that some people may already carry out but are important to be emphasized.”

Borchers told participants, “Never leave empty boxes out in front of your home for garbage pick-up because it advertises what new items people have bought and have inside their residence. Instead, he said, cut up boxes and place them inside plastic bags and put the whole thing in mini-dumpsters.

When out, easily purchased pepper spray with a clip is available so that it can be kept on a safety belt in a vehicle or inside a purse, Borchers said. Even a loud whistle on a key chain is a good idea for people to have for personal protection.

If someone wants to carry a gun in their vehicle it’s legal as an extension of your residence, Borchers said, but to carry it outside on your person a permit is required, as well as weapons safety training by a certified instructor.

When parking a vehicle at a shopping center don’t settle for the first parking spot. If at night, find one with the best lighting available and look around for suspicious people before getting out or going back to the vehicle, he said.

Borchers can be reached at (504) 278-7628 to learn more about crime prevention or organize a Neighborhood Watch group in St. Bernard Parish. Always call the Sheriff’s Office at 271-2501 if you see anything suspicious in your neighborhood, Pohlmann said.
 

Jun 3, 2011 - A 15-year-old New Orleans boy under home incarceration after a recent arrest for armed robbery was caught in Chalmette on Friday with a stolen truck which hit five parked vehicles when pursued by a sheriff’s deputy.

When arrested, the teen was still wearing the electronic tracking device he was ordered to wear when he was placed under home incarceration in New Orleans as a condition of being freed, St. Bernard Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

The boy, who wasn’t identified by authorities because he is a juvenile, was arrested in New Orleans for an alleged armed robbery in the French Quarter several weeks ago, and put under home incarceration, Pohlmann said.

But about 8 a.m. on Friday, St. Bernard Sheriff’s Dep. Jarrod Gourgeus while on patrol in Chalmette saw a 2006 Ford truck reported stolen in New Orleans a day earlier, which had three occupants, two men and a woman, Pohlmann said.

He tried to stop them but they fled to the 3200 block of Pakenham Drive, off Genie Street, and the truck hit five parked vehicles on the street and the driver and passengers ran, Pohlmann said.

Two got away but a 15-year-old boy, who was a passenger in the rear seat, was soon found and he was wearing an electronic tracking device on one leg, Pohlmann said.

No one was injured when the parked vehicles were struck.

The 15-year-old was booked with possession of stolen property, which was the truck, flight from an officer and possession of marijuana found in the truck, Pohlmann said.

New Orleans police and St. Bernard sheriff’s detectives were continuing an investigation into the truck theft and the other possible subjects in the vehicle found in Chalmette, Pohlmann said.