Aug 30, 2010 - A case that began when a St. Bernard sheriff’s deputy on patrol in Arabi made a traffic stop ended in the seizure of the drugs Ecstasy, cocaine and marijuana, $3,100 in cash and a gun and the arrests of two men and a woman on Tuesday, Aug. 24, Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

More than four grams of cocaine and more than 40 tablets of the drug Ecstasy, as well as marijuana and various other pills, including the painkiller hydrocodone, were recovered.

Deputy Sheriff Robert Morales stopped an eastbound vehicle on St. Claude Avenue early in the morning because of no visible license plate.

Because of the driver’s nervous behavior, the deputy did a pat-down search for officer’s safety and felt a budge in a pocket which turned out to be $3,100 in cash, Pohlmann said.
The officer also noticed the man, Juan Williams, 24, 922 Lebeau St., Apt. B, Arabi, to be shaking and looking back at his vehicle. The driver was also on probation in Jefferson Parish for a marijuana charge.

Williams voluntary signed a form consenting to a search of the vehicle and subsequently Deputy Morals found a clear bag of what tested positive for marijuana protruding from a small compartment.

There was also more than 40 tablets of the drug Ecstasy, bags of cocaine and various other pills, including the painkiller hydrocodone, Pohlmann said.

Williams was booked into St. Bernard Parish Prison on charges of possession of the Ecatasy, cocaine, marijuana and hydrocodone with intent to distribute. Williams was being held in lieu of $30,000 bond, as well as a probation hold.

Later, Morales and agents of the Sheriff’s Special Investigations Division went to the arrested subject’s apartment and spoke with others there and received permission to conduct a search, Pohlmann said.

A subject there, Kevin Mullens, 23, of New Orleans, who pleaded guilty to simple robbery in Jefferson Parish in 2006, was found to have a small amount of marijuana on him and he was arrested for its possession.

Inside a closet, a purse was located which contained three bags of cocaine, some marijuana and a fully loaded gun reported stolen in Jefferson Parish, Pohlmann said. The owner of the purse, Sharana Sellers, 22, of Slidell, was also arrested. Sellers said the evidence found belonged to Mullens who she said asked her to hold it for him, Pohlmann said.

Mullen and Sellers were booked with possession with intent to distribute the drugs and on charges involving a firearm found in connection with controlled substances. Mullens was also booked with being a felon in illegal possession of a firearm.

Sellers was jailed in lieu of $20,000 bond and Sellers in lieu of $15,000 bond. Three children six and under were also in the apartment and were turned over to her relatives.

In an unrelated case on Aug. 18, SID agents, commanded by Col. Chad Clark, made the parish’s first arrest under the new state law that recently went into effect banning the sale or possession of synthetic marijuana, known by various names such as Majo or Blaze, that was being sold in stores as an incense.

Colton Loomis, 18, of Franklinton, was booked in Violet with possession of the synthetic marijuana and a glass smoking device. He was arrested by agents Christopher Encardes and Scott Maitrejean after he was seen standing on a corner and tried to walk away from their sheriff’s car and was stopped for questioning. No bond information was available.

Also, more than two grams of crack cocaine were found and a Chalmette woman was booked with possession with intent to distribute cocaine and with introduction of a controlled dangerous substance into a prison on Aug. 24.

Cherie Thonn, 31, 2000 Despaux Drive, was stopped in Chalmette by patrol Deputy Sheriff Gary Noriea after she was seen speeding in a vehicle and running several other motorists off the road, authorities said.

When she was ordered out of the vehicle, several bags containing what turned out to be crack cocaine fell from her lap. She was booked on the drug charge and with reckless operation. Later, at St. Bernard Parish Prison, more crack cocaine was found on her person. No bond information was available.

Ryan Clague, (left) booked with five burglaries, possession of stolen property and other charges; (right) numerous stolen items recovered in Clague’s arrest, including tools and other equipment, a weed-eater and a box of DVDs. STEVE CANNIZARO PHOTO.

Aug 25, 2010 - A Chalmette man on probation for burglary and wanted for not showing up for court dates has been booked with five other burglaries and possession of numerous items of stolen property recovered in an investigation that is continuing, Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

The arrest Monday, Aug. 23, of Ryan Clague, 34, who was living in a storm-damaged house at 3313 Veronica Drive, continues a trend in which the Sheriff’s Office has been steadily solving burglaries in St. Bernard Parish.

More than 30 break-ins of homes, businesses and vehicles have been cleared since June 1 and about 20 people have been booked with burglary or possession of recovered stolen property, Pohlmann said.

“We know it frustrates residents when punks steal something they worked to buy and that’s why we are so glad when we solve burglaries and thefts and recover property.’’ Pohlmann said. “Like everywhere else, most property crime here is driven by drug use, which is what the user wants the money for when they sell what they steal.’’

In Clague’s case, he was spotted by an off-duty sheriff’s deputy who lives in the area where Clague was staying and sheriff’s detectives then went to find and arrest him on warrants for missing court dates, Pohlmann said.

Clague ran from the house when detectives arrived but was caught. There were numerous items found that tied Clague to five reported burglaries of sheds and vehicles and pawn tickets were found that could lead to recovering other stolen property, Pohlmann said.

Clague has a prior conviction for burglary in which he served prison term and was on probation at the time of the Aug. 23 arrest. He is being held without bond in St. Bernard Parish Prison on several charges including the five burglary counts, possession of stolen property, theft of electrical service, possession of drug paraphernalia and resisting arrest.

Aug 24, 2010 - An illegal alien working in St. Bernard Parish plowed a car into a Chalmette clothing store Tuesday afternoon, Aug. 24, injuring a pregnant store employee, then he got out and fled on foot but was captured blocks away by witnesses, according to St. Bernard Parish authorities and State Police who handled the investigation.

The worker, who wasn’t identified, crawled out the front door after being struck by the vehicle inside the All About Me clothing store at 1201 E. Judge Perez Drive at the corner of Palmisano Blvd., just after 3 p.m. The woman was treated at Tulane Medical Center for a leg injury.
Jose Antonio Hernandez-Ramirez, 37, an illegal alien who said through an interpreter after his arrest that he is living in Jefferson Parish and working in construction in eastern St. Bernard, ran away after plowing a Ford Thunderbird fully inside the clothing store through a wall facing Palmisano Boulevard. The store, which is near Chalmette High, was heavily damaged on that side of the building.

The driver was booked into the St. Bernard Parish Prison on charges of vehicular negligent injury to the employee, two counts of hit-and-run driving, reckless operation of a vehicle, no driver’s license and no insurance, as well as driving a vehicle with switched license plates.
Witnesses said a second man had been in the Thunderbird when it stalled on East Judge Perez Drive in front of the store but he got out before the driver restarted it. The driver then struck a vehicle behind him while backing up the car, then went forward and lost control while turning on Palmisano Boulevard and crashed into the side of the building into the store. The second man fled at that point and wasn’t captured.

Hernandez-Ramirez ran from the store after the incident but was caught by a witness, Billy Gettys of Arabi. “I never saw something so crazy,’’ Gettys said afterward. “I saw him coming running out’’ and chased him to nearby Volpe Drive, Gettys said.

The driver spoke little English and spoke with a woman at the scene who saw the incident and agreed to act as an interpreter for authorities.

Capt. Charles Borchers, coordinator of Citizens Police Academy and crime prevention director for the Sheriff’s Office, goes over basic facts about the free eight-week program of lectures. Demonstrations and tours. STEVE CANNIZARO PHOTOS.

Aug 22, 2010 - Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann told a new class of Citizens Police Academy on Aug. 18 that at the end of their 8-week course the parish residents involved “will walk away with a proud feeling about the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office.’’

“We have the best team on the field we have ever had,’’ Pohlmann told the group of about 50 residents who assembled for the opening night of the free program at Nunez College’s auditorium. “And after you learn more about our men and women we expect you will become ambassadors’’ for law enforcement.

The chief, second-in command to Sheriff Jack A. Stephens, also said, “We have an effective enforcement side, and have added 14 more deputies recently (as a result of grant money from the federal stimulus bill). It’s making us that much more effective. When officers come here to talk to you will say “that guy’s bright and he knows his job.’’’

“I promise crime won’t be the reason any one decides not to move back to St. Bernard Parish.’’

The St. Bernard Parish residents, will learn through frank discussions with expert speakers and demonstrations of equipment what police work entails in the parish and they will have chances to ask questions, said Capt. Borchers, Crime Prevention Director for the Sheriff’s and coordinator of the Neighborhood Watch programs and Citizens Police Academy.

Residents will receive boating safety tips, hear from FBI representatives, tour Parish Prison and experience a firearms simulator which puts residents in the place of a sheriff’s deputy and lets them decide when a weapon would be used on a criminal suspect.

“We want you to know what you think of this and ask you to be honest,’’ Borchers said

More than 450 parish residents have graduated the academy since its inception in 1999.

This is the third class for the Sheriff’s Citizens Police Academy since Hurricane Katrina and more than 75 people graduated those two sessions, said Borchers.

Aug 18, 2010 - Training sessions are being held for St. Bernard Parish sheriff’s deputies to help them deal with a growing number of autistic individuals they may come across on the job, and several officers said they learned through the course ways to help recognize signs of autism and understand different methods to interact, as well as what not to do.

Also, Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said sheriff’s officials are inviting St. Bernard Parish families to register autistic members in a sheriff’s data base so that any time a deputy comes in contact with someone who has autism they would know how to speak with them and understand their reactions in situations.

Call the Sheriff’s Office at (504) 278-7632 to register someone. Leave your name and a daytime phone number – including the area code if different than 504 – as well as the name of the autistic person involved and an address in St. Bernard Parish. The calls will be returned and an appointment made to meet with individuals or families to gather information to register someone in the sheriff’s computer-aided dispatch system.

Some 50 families have called to set up appointments. Each will also receive a decal they can place on a vehicle or they home if they chose.

“I’ve learned a good bit,’’ said Sgt. Joey Alfonso, who works in the sheriff’s Special investigations Division that includes Street Crimes and Narcotics units. Alfonso said the two-hour course of lectures and videos being conducted by Sheriff’s Deputy Kirt Arnold and Jamie Landry-Zimmer – who is a parent and autism advocate – has pointed out things he didn’t know about autistic individuals.

“We deal with a lot of people on the street who are high on narcotics or in some way impaired,’’ Alfonso said. “You need to be able to question them and see what’s going on. In seeing these videos you realize people can have many other reasons for acting the way they do besides being impaired.’’

Capt. Brian Clark said the instructional course was good because, “It helps you to handle situations better. It’s important to have a good understanding of what’s going on.’’ Clark said he learned a lot about recognizing forms of autism and may make officers realize they have dealt with autistic people in the past but didn’t know it at the time.

After a training session, Deputy Reginald Crayton, a patrol officer, said it gave him “a better understanding of dealing with autism.’’

Pohlmann said that with the number of children diagnosed with autism – a serious developmental problem - growing in greater percentages nationally each year, the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office wanted to respond in a way that could help deputies deal in a sensitive way to what they may be seeing on the street. “More information is being gathered each year on autism awareness, Pohlmann said. National statistics indicate one in about 91 children are now diagnosed with autism and the number is growing percentage-wise each year.

“With that in mind the Sheriff’s Office is responding with training to help our officers treat autistic individuals with understanding and in ways that takes into consideration their special traits,’’ Pohlmann said, such as possibly not responding to questions or commands or may not understand rights and warnings or become anxious in some situations.

Deputies in enforcement areas such as patrol, detectives in the Criminal Investigation Bureau, agents in Special Investigations Division and corrections officers will be trained, Pohlmann said. About 100 officers have been through the course recently and more sessions are scheduled.

Pohlmann said training sessions “have been productive. Most of the guys have been attentive and seem to be getting something out of it.’’

Arnold, a 10-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Office, said some deputies have told him the course “has answered a number of questions on how to deal with people with autism.’’

Arnold said he knows individuals with autism and, “I have seen the way some people can react to them’’ when those people don’t understand the situation. “There is room for more knowledge in law enforcement in dealing with autistic people.’’

The two-hour training course he has started giving other deputies covers basic facts about autism and handling an autistic person, such as how to speak with them and know what their reactions mean. Each deputy is receiving a card with tips about such facts.

Videos being shown to deputies developed by other law enforcement departments show officers on traffic stops and other situations involving autistic people and the right and wrong ways to deal with them. Also, there are facts given about physically handling an autistic person so officers don’t injure them.

The actions of an autistic person can make a deputy believe they are impaired on alcohol or another substance, Arnold said. Or “they may appear to be acting deceitful or not responding to an officer’s question,’’ because they may display a lack of eye contact.

Working with Arnold in the training is Jamie Landry-Zimmer, a St. Bernard Parish mother and autism advocate with experience in the subject.

She speaks with deputies at the sessions to explain autism and what to look for in autistic individuals and during the videos highlights specific points officers should take from what they are seeing.

Landry-Zimmer explained at one session that “autistic people don’t respond (in some situations) the way most people typically would. Their brains work differently.’’

Also, sometimes there is difficulty with auditory processing with autistic people who can experience sensory overload, causing them to not understand what they are being told or questioned about, she said. Officers should take time to allow them to process what they are being told.

From being involved in the courses, Landry-Zimmer said it’s obvious “the officers are hungry for the information. They have questions and ask about causes and treatments for someone with autism.’’

For the officers involved, she said, “I think it’s a powerful tool for them to be able to educate the public about autism.’’

Landry-Zimmer said she is working with the Sheriff’s Office to conduct a St. Bernard community awareness and education night for the public and family members of autistic individuals to attend.

Aug 17, 2010 - Two young men who were caught Monday, Aug. 16, burglarizing a vacant Chalmette house that was for rent caused in excess of $10,000 damage by cutting water pipes which flooded the carpeting inside and cutting air-conditioning copper wire outside, Sheriff Jack A. Stephens said.

The owner of the house in the 2700 block of Packenham Drive had completed renovations and the place was for rent at the time of the incident.

“I’m glad our officers caught these punks in the act and they are in jail now,’’ Sheriff Stephens said. “People like this have no respect for the property of others or the hardship they cause. They think only of the next dollar they can make selling what they steal,’’ the sheriff said.

Joshua “J.C.”Gibbens, 25, 6221 Pasteur Blvd., New Orleans, and Wayne Scardino, 17, 2920 Packenham Drive, Chalmette, were both booked with residential burglary and criminal damage over $2,000 about 5 p.m. Aug. 16.

Gibbens, who was also booked with resisting an officer by flight, resisting arrest and on a warrant charging theft in Ouachita Parish issued in January, was being held in St. Bernard Parish Prison in lieu of bond set at $30,000, Scardino was jailed in lieu of $25,000 bond.

Scardino was arrested at the scene while Gibbens fled and was caught hiding under a bed in a residence next door at 2703 Packenham Drive. The woman who lived at that house, Erika Breland, 21, was booked with obstruction of justice for lying to officers and telling them no one else was in the home. She was released from the jail but the bond amount wasn’t available.

Officers from the sheriff’s Special Investigations Division commanded by Col. Chad Clark and sheriff’s detectives commanded by Chief of Detectives Col. John Doran, converged on the house after a call to the Sheriff’s Office about two subjects apparently cutting wire from an air-conditioning unit in the rear of the residence, Sheriff Stephens said.

Cpl. Johnell Young arrived first, telling the suspects not to move. But both ran, although Scardino stopped shortly while Gibbens hopped several fences as detectives and SID agents gave chase.

At the residence next door, Breland denied anyone had come inside but officers heard noise upstairs and went in and found Gibbens under a bed, where they had to remove him. Breland was also arrested at that time.

Besides the air-conditioning damage, the burglarized house was heavily damaged and water was coming from the foundation, Sheriff Stephens said. When officers entered, they found broken water pipes with water flooding a large portion. There were also large holes in the sheet rock throughout the residence where pipes had been cut and all carpeting was damaged.
 

Aug 14, 2010 - Two Georgia men suspected of major thefts at various Home Depot stores in the area were arrested in Chalmette on Aug. 12 with $947 in stolen goods, Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

Also, in a separate case a father and son were booked with a burglary near their home on Bayou Road in eastern St. Bernard Parish and are suspects in a burglary of another near-by break-in.

In the theft case, Wesley Montgomery, 42, of Hamptopn, Ga., and Jeffrey J. Williams, 43, of College Park, Ga., were arrested by St. Bernard sheriff’s deputies at the Home Depot store in Chalmette and booked with theft over $500, Pohlmann said.

The arrests followed a call from store officials about two men in a van with a Georgia license plate, saying they and the vehicle matched a description Home Depot stores in the New Orleans area had been told to be on the lookout for because of theft allegations, Pohlmann said.

He said Montgomery and Williams, in a van with Georgia plates, were seen unloading material in the store parking lot and they returned to the store $947 worth of goods officials alleged was stolen from other Home Depot stores, then they got the credit placed on a gift card that could use to buy other items.

Store officials, realizing the returned material was allegedly stolen, called the Sheriff’s Office as the men tried to buy goods with the fraudulent gift card which had the credit for the returned stolen items, Pohlmann said.

The men also allegedly tried to shoplift some items from the Chalmette store, Pohlmann said, and it was found they also had an additional 28 rolls of Tyvek housing material in their vehicle when they were arrested, which Home Depot stores will try to determine where that came from, Pohlmann said.

Williams and Montgomery were booked into St. Bernard Prison and both are being held in lieu of $25,000 bond.

In the separate burglary arrests on Aug. 12, Claude Norton II, 45, and his son, Claude Norton III, 23, both of 2900 Bayou Road, were both booked with burglary of a home under renovation near their home, possession of stolen electrical wire and criminal damage to property, Pohlmann said. The son was also booked with public intimidation for threatening a deputy sheriff after his arrest.

Numerous rolls of stolen wire were recovered in the arrests, which immediately followed the Sheriff’s Office being notified of the burglary, Pohlmann said.

The two are also suspects in a second burglary of a nearby residence discovered after the first burglary, Pohlmann said.

Both were jailed but there wasn’t any information available on their bonds.

Rapper “Juvenile’’ leaves a house in St. Bernard Parish after his arrest the night of last Feb. 25. With him is Cpl. Leander Morgan of the sheriff’s Special Investigations Division. STEVE CANNIZARO PHOTO.

Aug 13, 2010 - Music rapper "Juvenile,'' of New Orleans, whose real name is Terius Gray, pleaded guilty in St. Bernard Parish on Thursday, Aug. 12, to a charge of misdemeanor possession of marijuana stemming from his arrest last Feb. 25 and he received a suspended 3-month sentence, placed on 6-months probation and was fined $250 and court costs, which typically are more than $100.

Gray, 34, who has had numerous hit songs nationally under the name “Juvenile’’ had been arrested on the marijuana charge in Arabi at a house he was using as a recording studio at 208 Livingston Avenue.

State District Judge Manny Fernandez accepted Gray’s guilty plea, then sentenced him to three months in St. Bernard Parish Prison but suspended execution, placed Gray on six months inactive probation and fined him $250 and court costs. Gray had been free on bond of $1,750.

The rapper and music producer Leroy Edwards, 42, were both arrested on marijuana possession charges by agents of the sheriff's Special Investigations Division, commanded by Col. Chad Clark, after an anonymous complaint called to the Sheriff's Office about marijuana smoke coming from the house on Livingston Avenue, Sheriff Jack A. Stephens said at the time.

Edwards, however, failed to appear for his scheduled trial date with Gray in Chalmette on Aug. 12. A warrant was issued for his arrest but Edwards came to court on Aug. 13 and the warrant was withdrawn and a new trial date of Sept. 20 was schedule, court officials said.
 
When sheriff’s agents went to the house “Juvenile’’ was using, Edwards was found to be in possession of a small amount of marijuana and several others inside the house were also questioned. “Juvenile”, who was eating food at the time, explained the house is owned by someone he knows who was allowing him to use it as a recording studio as he worked on a new CD. He said he had been going there for several months.
 
Officers decided to seek a warrant from a judge to search the house, which had both audio and video recording equipment inside. Once a warrant was signed and agents began a search, “Juvenile’’ acknowledged there was a bag of marijuana - which turned out to be a variety of expensive marijuana that weighed less than an ounce - in the kitchen, Sheriff Stephens said.
 
Juvenile said it was his personal property, which when he agreed to put that in writing, all but he and Edwards were freed to leave without arrest.

The St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office is trying to identify a woman – shown in this store surveillance photo - who used a credit card, a debit card and a gasoline card she either stole or found to fraudulently charge items at six businesses in the Chalmette area in July. The cards were the property of an elderly Chalmette woman, Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said. Anyone with information about the woman in the photo should call the Sheriff’s Office at (504) 271-2501.

Honorees are shown with their Life Saver Award certificates.

Aug 12, 2010 - Law enforcement officers can go their entire career without being involved in directly saving a life.

But two young Sheriff’s Office corrections officers – along with a St. Bernard parish government employee – by chance came together at the same place on June 8 when a smoky fire threatened the life of an elderly Chalmette woman.

As Sheriff’s Deputy David Culpepper called in the 8 a.m. fire at 2100 Rosetta Drive, Sheriff’s Deputy Jonathan Smith and Louis Pomes, assistant director of Public Works for St. Bernard government, ran into the home and carried out a 79-year-old woman who was literally paralyzed by fear. The parish Fire Department then arrived and extinguished the blaze without damage to surrounding houses.

For their actions, the three were honored with the Life Saver Award by the Kiwanis Club of St. Bernard/Arabi on Tuesday, Aug. 10.

The reward is “in recognition of courageous service to our community,’’ said Chalmette businessman and club President Sam Catalanotto.

“The Kiwanis Club didn’t envision this award as being for life-saving heroics, but as an award in recognition of the everyday heroic efforts of our deputies and firefighters in St. Bernard Parish,’’ Catalanotto said at a luncheon honoring the officers. “They are the first ones in the door, or the first ones on the scene, always willing to put their lives on the line so the community of St. Bernard continues to be safe.’’

In this instance, by including Pomes for the award, it was the first time the club had given an award to anyone outside of a member of the Sheriff’s Office or Fire Department, Catalanotto said. “We were asked by the Sheriff’s Office to consider it and we did.’’

Smith, Culpepper and Pomes, along with Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann - second in charge to Sheriff Jack A. Stephens - and the officers’ supervisor, Parish Prison Warden Col. David Mowers, all attended the awards ceremony.

Pohlmann said, “A law enforcement officer may go their entire career and never be in a situation in which they actually save someone’s life. And you never know how you will react when you are in that situation.”

Pohlmann, saying the men acted quickly and unselfishly, added, “We are proud of you guys. You did a great job.’’

The three recipients said they were grateful for the honor.

Culpepper and Smith, who both have worked about two years in the Corrections Division of the Sheriff’s Office, were driving in Chalmette when they noticed smoke and hurried to the scene, finding the house engulfed in flames.

“You could see the flames from the corner,’’ said Culpepper, who was the first to notice the fire. Pomes was with a work crew on a nearby street and also went to see about the blaze.

Several people living in the home had evacuated when the deputies and Pomes arrived.

Smith and Pomes were told a woman was still inside and they went in to find her.

“When we pulled up you could see flames in the front window,’’ Smith said afterward. “I didn’t know how much time we had’’ until the house would have been too smoky to enter.

Pomes said despite the thick smoke he and Smith found the woman in a back room, where she was in distress. “She couldn’t move. He (Smith) and I picked her up’’ including a portable chair she uses, and carried her outside. “The deputy was very brave.’’

Catalanotto said any business interested in joining with the Kiwanis in this worthwhile project or anyone interested in learning more about joining the Kiwanis service organization can call him at (504) 296-9501 or Robbie Showalter at (504) 279-8544.

Aug 8, 2010 - Several neighbors and friends of Tommy and Kathy Nunez gathered at their Chalona Drive home in Chalmette to discuss parish events and mark the National Night Out Against Crime on Tuesday night, Aug. 3.

“We discussed some situations,’’ Tommy Nunez said. Residents are always concerned about trends in crime, he said, but “I think sheriff’s deputies are doing a good job. I see they have people pulled over sometimes. It looks like they are staying on it.’’

Across St. Bernard Parish, hundreds of people gathered at more than 40 parties for the National Night Out Against Crime, the largest number of such gatherings in St. Bernard since Hurricane Katrina. Sheriff’s deputies attended each event to give crime prevention tips and answer questions.

Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann, attending many gatherings, said at one, “I feel we are winning the fight against crime’’ in St. Bernard, evidenced by extremely low numbers of violent incidents – especially random incidents involving people who don’t know one another. There have also been high rates of solves in home and auto burglaries.

He encouraged people to always call the Sheriff’s Office at (504) 271-2501 if they see anything suspicious in their neighborhoods,

Pohlmann said, “People I met (at events) were complimentary about the level of law enforcement in St. Bernard Parish. I tell them ‘I’ve been a part of the Sheriff’s Office here for 27 years and I’m proud of the men and women of the department.’’

It was the fourth year since the hurricane that the Sheriff’s Office has participated in the national National Night Out Against Crime celebration.

And residents seemed hungry for information about how to combat crime in St. Bernard and suggestions on how they can help.

Sheriff’s deputies continually hit on one theme that St. Bernard deputies care what happens in the parish.

Drug arrests mean those people aren’t on the streets to commit burglaries and thefts to get the money for more drugs, they said, adding if you put a dent in the drug trade you stop property crimes as well.

 “Drug dealers need to go to jail. Users need help,’’ Pohlmann said. “You can’t just arrest yourself out of the drug problem.’’

Large parties were held in some locations, such as at the Pentecostal Church in Chalmette, where Pastor Otto Martin members of the church and neighbors responded to a call to come out and hear about crime prevention efforts and get to know each other.

Lexington Place subdivision in Meraux, South Lake subdivision in Violet, Landry Court in Meraux,  the Heart of Chalmette Neighborhood Association and other areas had a large number of participants.

Capt. Charles Borchers, crime prevention director for the Sheriff’s Office and head of the Neighborhood Watch program, said the parish continues to see an increase in residents having parties for the Night Out Against Crime.

“People are focusing on neighborhood safety,’’ Borchers said. “We at the Sheriff’s Office want to work hand-in-hand with the people and we think participation by the public in such things as National Night Out Against Crime, Neighborhood Watch and the Citizens Police Academy offered by the Sheriff’s Office is a show of their support to work with us,’’ Borchers said.

Anyone who wants to form a Neighborhood Watch group in their area can call Borchers at (504) 278-7628.

Aug 6, 2010 - Continuing to look for motorists driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office will conduct a sobriety check point the night of Monday, Aug. 9, Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

The check points, which require extra manpower, have yielded arrests for driving while intoxicated, drug possession and citations for violations of the open container law and have been conducted about once a month for more than a year, Pohlmann said.

Aug 6, 2010 - A St. Bernard Parish sheriff’s deputy drew his weapon but didn’t fire when a Chalmette man tried to run over him after the officer saw the man make a hand-to-hand sale of crack cocaine from a vehicle to a man on a street, Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

Kendall Harris, 24, 423 E. Liberaux Drive, was booked with attempted murder of Sheriff’s Deputy Josh Clement about 1:435 a.m. on July 30, Pohlmann said.

He said the officer, while on patrol, saw Harris drive up to a Chalmette home with his lights off and make a hand-to-hand sale of something from the passenger side window to a man who came out of a house and met him on the street.

When the officer made a traffic stop on Harris, the motorist put his hands up in the vehicle but as the deputy got out of his patrol car Harris drove off, trying to run over him, Pohlmann said.

As Clement evaded Harris’ vehicle, he drew his weapon but didn’t fire, instead pointing it at the driver and running along side the car, making several loud commands for him to stop until he eventually did.

When other sheriff’s deputies responded, Clement and others had to forcefully remove Harris from his car and an officer had to jump in to put the car in park when it began rolling again.

Pohlmann said deputies found two $20 bills on the driver’s seat where Harris had been sitting, allegedly money he received from the street sale.

Officers went to the door of the man who had come outside to meet Harris and, when questioned, admitted buying $40 worth of crack cocaine from him, Pohlmann said. The man, whose name wasn’t released, was booked with possession of crack cocaine.

Harris, in addition to the attempted murder charge, was booked with distribution of crack cocaine, flight from an officer and resisting arrest. Harris is being held in St. Bernard Parish Prison in lieu of bond set at $150,000.

Gilroy Merrill, 43

Aug 6, 2010 - Nearly one ounce of crack cocaine worth $2,300 was seized and a quantity of heroin was also recovered in two separate cases totaling six arrests, Sheriff Jack Stephens said.

Some 23.5 grams of crack, worth $100 a gram for a total of more than $2,300, was taken in the arrest of two men in Violet on Wednesday, Aug. 5.

Gilroy Merrill, 43, 6425 Jules Brown Drive, Violet, was booked with possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine after he was seen by sheriff’s narcotics agents throwing to the ground a clear bag containing a rock-like substance as the deputies moved toward him. The substance later tested positive for cocaine, the sheriff said.

Also arrested was Arnold “Blackie’’ Weathers, 51, 6424 Louis Elam Drive Violet, booked with possession of drug paraphernalia – a metal crack pipe he threw to the ground and admitted was his. The arrests took place near Weathers’ home.

Merrill was released from St. Bernard Parish Prison on Friday, Aug. 6 on bond of $7,500. There was no bond information available on Weathers.

In an unrelated case, a woman and three men were booked in connection with one gram of heroin valued at $100 on Tuesday, Aug. 4 after a mid-afternoon disturbance in a bathroom of a restaurant, Sheriff Stephens said.

Jessica Boyd, 20, and Joshua Bye, 20, both of Bay St. Louis, were both booked with possession of heroin, possession of drug paraphernalia in the form of a syringe and with disturbing the peace. They were both being held in St. Bernard Parish Prison in lieu of bond set at $10,000 each.

Daniel Angelo, 22, 2912 Lloyds Ave., Chalmette, and Robert Allnet Jr., 21, of Bay St. Louis, were both booked in the same incident with attempted possession of heroin and attempted possession of drug paraphernalia, the syringe. There was no bond information available on Angelo and Allnet.

The four were arrested in Arabi by sheriff’s detectives and narcotics agents after a disturbance in the bathroom of a restaurant and were found walking away from the scene, the sheriff said.

He said Boyd acknowledged buying heroin in New Orleans and said their auto had stalled while coming back to St. Bernard and they stopped at a restaurant, where she and Bye did heroin in a bathroom before leaving.

Photo from a home surveillance camera in Chalmette shows a man, later arrested, pulling on door handles of a vehicle during an auto burglary in July.

Aug 3, 2010 - The image was stark: A security camera outside a Chalmette residence recently recorded a lone young man going to several vehicles in driveways and on the street in the early morning hours, opening unlocked doors and going inside to see what he could steal.

A man believed to be the same person seen on the video was found and arrested several days later, with two other young men, as they walked on a street carrying a bag full of electronic equipment and other items they had just stolen from unlocked vehicles in Meraux. A witness had called the Sheriff’s Office to report seeing them looking in vehicles and pulling on door handles.

Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said that scenario fits a trend that has been going on lately in which nearly all vehicle burglaries and auto thefts in St. Bernard Parish involve unlocked moveables that are easily entered.

Sheriff’s deputies investigating burglaries of vehicles or auto thefts aren’t usually seeing broken glass, which would indicate a forced entry at the scene, Pohlmann said. Victims reporting such crimes acknowledge the doors were unlocked or sometimes can’t remember if they locked them.

“Burglars are trying to strike quickly and move to another target,’’ getting whatever they can from an unlocked vehicle such as money, GPSs, cameras, a laptop computer and such,’’ Pohlmann said. “They are looking for unlocked doors to get in easily without breaking glass that would cause noise and draw attention.’’

Pohlmann said residents who are coming home from work, running errands or going somewhere to eat or shop may just get out of their vehicles, put up the windows, but don’t remember to lock their car or truck, even when they have something valuable inside.

He said it would severely reduce the chance of becoming a victim of auto burglary or theft if people took the time to lock all vehicles, especially at night.

“Don’t make it easy for people who look to steal whatever they can,’’ Pohlmann said. “It may be inconvenient to remove something like a computer or camera when you make a stop or have to lock and later unlock doors, but it will make a difference in whether you are likely to be a victim.’’

And, as always, Pohlmann said, anyone seeing suspicious activity such as people looking in vehicles or trying door handles should quickly call the Sheriff’s Office at (504) 271-2501 to report it and give a description of those involved so responding sheriff’s deputies can look for them.

Aug 1, 2010 - Sheriff Jack A. Stephens said work is progressing ahead of schedule on the $5 million Sheriff’s Annex administration building at its old location behind the Parish Courthouse and could be completed by December – becoming another major step in the recovery of St. Bernard Parish.

Sheriff Stephens said the new administrative building “will be more convenient for public and law enforcement because it will bring all the elements of the parish criminal justice system closer together.’’

Barring bad weather, the new building could be completed in November, earlier than the original estimate of sometime in December, the sheriff said.

The work, funded by FEMA and some insurance proceeds, began in April after demolition of the original two-story Katrina-damaged Annex, which dated to 1963 and housed the old Police Jury government until the late 1970s when the Sheriff’s Office functions moved there. Devier Construction LLC is the contractor for the Annex.

The new building, in which the third-floor foundation was laid July 30, will have 11,000 square feet, with two stories of office space elevated 8 feet off of the ground.

Currently, the Sheriff’s administrative offices operate out of 8301 W. Judge Perez Drive in Chalmette in the Sidney Torres Plaza/Regions Bank Building.

The sheriff also said the Sheriff’s Office is negotiating with FEMA in hopes of being able to demolish the old jail building next to the Annex and rebuild it as another site to house prisoners, in addition to Parish Prison on Paris Road at St. Bernard Highway