Jul 29, 2010 - St. Bernard Parish narcotics agents seized 41 prescription pills July 28 and arrested two men working in the oil spill clean-up, including a convicted St. Tammany Parish sex offender who had failed to register, as required by law, that he had moved into Chalmette from his last address in Alabama, Sheriff Jack A. Stephens said.

Also, agents arrested a couple on July 29 in connection with 90 Methadone tablets that were seized in an investigation in which the man allegedly had been selling the narcotic painkillers.

Sheriff Stephens, speaking on the arrest of the sex offender, said, “Possession of pills without a prescription is bad enough but we are particularly concerned when a convicted sex offender comes here to work and fails to follow the law and register with the Sheriff’s Office so that we know they are here,’’ Sheriff Stephens said.

Convicted sex offenders are required to notify local law enforcement within three days when they change addresses. Failure to do that is a crime itself.

Daniel Wilkerson, 47, who listed a Golden Meadow address when arrested, was convicted of a sex offense in St. Tammany Parish and had moved to Alabama, the sheriff said. But he had come to this area to work on a boat in the oil spill cleanup effort and has been staying in Chalmette for two months and should have registered his presence in St. Bernard, Sheriff Stephens said.

Wilkerson told officers he didn’t register as a sex offender in St. Bernard Parish because he didn’t consider himself a resident under the circumstances in which he was staying in the parish to work. But he was arrested for failure to register.

Wilkerson and Adam Frolich, 48, of Chalmette, who also worked on a boat in the oil spill clean-up, were both booked July 28 in connection with the seizure of 41.5 prescription pills, worth more than $200, the sheriff said. Neither had prescriptions for the pills, authorities said.

Narcotics agents from the sheriff’s Special Investigations Division, commanded by Col. Chad Clark, made the arrests.

The sheriff said Frolich, arrested on a boat docked in Hopedale in eastern St. Bernard, was booked with possession of 16 hydrocodone pain pills and possession of 14 Xanax, an anxiety medication.

Further investigation led to Wilkerson who was staying at a Chalmette motel, where 11.5 pills were found: 5.5 Xanax and 3 tablets each of pain pills and the muscle-relaxer Soma.

Wilkerson was booked with failure to register as a sex offender, two counts of distribution of pain pills and Xanax tablets and with possession of the three types of pills found in his motel room, the sheriff said.

Wilkerson is being held in St. Bernard Parish Prison in lieu of $75,000 bond and Frolich was jailed in lieu of $30,000 bond.

In the unrelated case, Aaron Gray, 43, and Sherie Migliore, 39, both of 431 Bayou Road in eastern St. Bernard, were both booked July 29 in connection with 90 Methadone 10 mg pills found when a search warrant was executed at their residence by sheriff’s SID agents.

Gray, who had received a prescription for 360 Methadone on July 19, allegedly had been selling the pills, worth $10 each on the streets, the sheriff said. Gray had 75 pills in a prescription bottle when he was arrested, while Migliore threw 15 pills down when agents entered a bedroom. She said Gray had given them to her to hold for someone who was going to come by to purchase them, the sheriff said.

Gray, who has a prior criminal record,  was booked with possession with intent to distribute the 90 Methadone pills recovered and is being held in St. Bernard Parish Prison in lieu of bond set at $75,000.

Migliore was booked with possession of the Methadone pills she had and with attempted distribution of Methadone because of her admission she was holding them for sale to someone else, the sheriff said. She has been released on bond but the amount wasn’t available.

Jul 28, 2010 - Being a little lazy, careless or thoughtless at times are human traits that normally aren’t physically harmful to others, but when they cross the line and become safety issues involving children they are criminal offenses, Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

That has been the case this summer when there have been three arrests of adults in St. Bernard Parish who have left children alone in vehicles in parking lots while they spent time shopping in stores or trying their luck in a video poker casino, Pohlmann said.

In all three incidents the adults were booked with child desertion for leaving young minors unsupervised.

Pohlmann said, “We definitely need parents, relatives and guardians to think more carefully about the possible dangers before leaving their children to whatever could happen.’’
“It seems obvious to me no one should leave their young children alone in a vehicle in a public parking lot,’’ Pohlmann said. “But that’s where the thoughtlessness or laziness factor seems to creep in’’, he said.

“People arrive outside a store and maybe one child is sleeping and they may be too lazy to wake up that child and bring them thinking it’s easier just to leave them asleep,’’ Pohlmann said. “Or maybe they think they will only be a minute (in a store) so why go to the trouble of taking children out and then putting them back in a vehicle later.’’

Whatever they are thinking, Pohlmann said, it comes down to the same thing: It’s dangerous for the children.

On a hot summer day, temperatures in a vehicle left without the air-conditioner on can zoom to 120 degrees, Pohlmann said. Nationally, each year children die of heat exhaustion when they dehydrate, their body temperature goes up and their brain is damaged in such situations.

Even without a heat factor, Pohlmann said, a child left in a vehicle is in danger of being kidnapped or sexually molested.

He asked, “Why take that chance with your child, just to save a few minutes not having to remove them and later put them back into a car when you take them inside?”

In two of the three arrests in St. Bernard this summer, the minors - as young as less than a year old - were left in vehicles when it was 90 degrees or hotter outside and probably much hotter in the vehicles because both times the engines were off. One time the windows were completely up and in the other the windows were partially raised.

One case involved a New Orleans firefighter – who should have known better, Pohlmann said, who left his sleeping baby in a car with the windows up for about 20 minutes as he and another son shopped in a supermarket. A passer-by reported seeing the child to a sheriff’s deputy working an off-duty security detail.

When deputies forced open a door the child was initially unresponsive but was treated at the scene by medical technicians. The father had to be paged in the store and when he came out said he didn’t want to wake the child and that’s why he left him. He was immediately arrested, Pohlmann said.

“When someone like that - who undoubtedly has received some emergency training and knows the dangers of heat exhaustion - does that there is no excuse for their behavior,”” Pohlmann said. “Certainly not because they were too lazy to wake the child and carry him inside.’’

The second day-time arrest was a man who left two children in a vehicle more than 10 minutes while buying something in a pawn shop. Sheriff’s deputies called to the scene booked him.

In the third arrest, two children were left in a vehicle at night while their father played in a video poker casino.

While heat exhaustion wasn’t a factor, the father was arrested because of the danger posed in leaving open the possibility of the children being taken by a stranger or getting out of the car and being struck by a motorist.

Connie Reeb, 32, pled guilty to manslaughter in 2008 shooting death of man she lived with and alleged physically abused her.

Jul 28, 2010 - A St. Bernard Parish woman was sentenced to five years in prison and a 3-year probation period after pleading guilty Tuesday, July 27, to manslaughter in the 2008 shooting death of a man she lived with, whom she alleged physically abused her.

Connie Reeb, 32, who lived in Violet with Ralph Brossette, 35, when she was arrested on Nov. 24, 2008, acknowledged to sheriff’s detectives that she shot Brossette as he slept after coming home from a casino. She was booked with second-degree murder and was jailed until February 2009 when released on $250,000 property bond posted by several people.

State District Judge Jacques Sanborn accepted Reeb’s guilty plea to a plea-bargained charge of manslaughter. She was sentenced to 10 years in prison, with five years suspended, leaving her to serve five years.  She also will be on active probation for three years afterward.

Because Reeb is now several months pregnant, the judge agreed to delay execution of the sentence until the birth of the child so that she isn’t the responsibility of the state during that period. Reeb will regularly meet with probation officials, come before the judge again in September, and begin serving the 5-year-year prison sentence after childbirth.

Reeb acknowledged to sheriff’s detectives she shot Brossette, claiming he had been physically abusing her and said she was afraid for her young daughter and son.

Brossette, who Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said had a lengthy criminal history, was found on a bed after Reeb called to report a shooting the morning of Nov. 24, 2008. The couple lived in a rented house on Meraux Lane in Violet.

The woman initially told sheriff’s detectives, commanded by Chief of Detectives Col. John Doran, that she walked into their bedroom from a bathroom and saw an unknown man shoot Brossette, the sheriff said.

But under questioning, Reeb admitted she shot Brossette to the head as he slept after he came home about 6:30 a.m. from a casino.

A revolver with six spent casings inside was recovered in the backyard, Pohlmann said.

St. Bernard Parish Sheriff Jack A. Stephens, wearing a cap, and Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann, seated next to him, discuss storm preparations on Friday, July 23, with more than 30 sheriff’s division heads and other personnel. STEVE CANNIZARO PHOTO

Jul 23, 2010 - St. Bernard Parish Sheriff Jack A. Stephens, in a meeting to discuss the approaching storm, said he doesn’t expect any evacuation or curfew for the parish but said there could be street flooding from rain and a possible traffic checkpoint in the eastern part of the parish if there is water outside the levee protection system.

“Our department is ready and is working in cooperation with parish government,’’ Sheriff Stephens said in a meeting he and Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann had with more than 30 division heads and other personnel from the Sheriff’s Office on Friday afternoon, July 23.

The storm, which could be a tropical storm initially but would likely decrease in intensity as it comes ashore, is expected to move quickly and possibly affect St. Bernard by late Saturday night or Sunday morning, the sheriff said.

“We don’t anticipate a curfew or mandatory evacuation’’ in areas inside the levee system, which is all but the easternmost part of St. Bernard, which could receive some street flooding, the sheriff said. If necessary, a traffic checkpoint would be set up by the Sheriff’s Office at Verret on the La. 46 Extension in eastern St. Bernard.

If rains cause some street flooding on low-lying streets in western St. Bernard, barricades would be put out to prevent motorists from going on those streets.

Pohlmann said, “We have reviewed and updated the sheriff’s hurricane plan, prepared our Marine Division, inspected our sandbag inventory and tested boats and equipment including generators and communications systems,’’ Pohlmann said. More than 60,000 sandbags made by trusty prisoners are stockpiled by the Sheriff’s Office for residents, businesses and public agencies in case they are needed, Pohlmann said.

Sheriff Stephens said one fear in any storm, especially for parish government which is heavily involved in the BP oil spill clean-up, is that winds and higher than normal tides “will create more contamination problems’’ as oil possibly goes to areas where it hasn’t been seen up to now.

Anthony Taranto, 46

Jul 22, 2010 - More than 260 narcotic prescription pills worth more than $10,000 on the street, including 121 of the rarely seen powerful pain pill Oxycontin, were seized by Sheriff’s Traffic Division deputies operating an insurance checkpoint in Chalmette and a man carrying $2,500 cash and a woman were arrested, Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

The driver of the vehicle, Anthony Taranto, 46, of Metairie, who was suspected of selling the prescription pills Oxycontin, Xanax and Oxycodone, were arrested mid-day Wednesday, July 21, at East Liberaux Street and LaPlace Drive in Chalmette. Arrested with him was passenger Karey Tedesco, 35, also of Metairie.

Taranto is jailed in lieu of $50,000 bond and Tedesco is in jail in lieu of $12,000 bond. He was booked with possession with intent to distribute the three types of drugs, as well as two counts of distribution of pills to the woman, who is booked with possession of 7.5 pills found on her. The $2,500 Taranto had in cash was seized.

Authorities said the fact that Taranto, who admitted to traveling to Tennessee to obtain prescriptions from a doctor there, indicates the state’s one-year-old prescription drug monitoring system – which requires pharmacies to enter computerized records when prescriptions for narcotic pills are filled – seems to be successful. It seems to be  making it harder for people in Louisiana to go from doctor to doctor describing fake symptoms to each in an attempt to obtain narcotic prescriptions to abuse and sell pills without doctors knowing the patient had already received narcotics from other physicians.

St. Bernard Parish Sheriff Jack A. Stephens was one of the people who pushed for starting up the monitoring system as a means to reduce the availability of dangerous pills.

The Sheriff’s Traffic Division, commanded by Capt. Walter Dornan, had set up an insurance checkpoint on July 22. Sheriff’s Deputy Cpl. Brandon Licciardi, working the checkpoint, questioned the driver, Taranto, about not wearing a seat belt and noticed he and the woman passenger seemed nervous, Pohlmann said. When he asked both to exit their vehicle, the deputy saw the woman reach in the center console and put something in a back pocket.

Asked about it, she acknowledged she had a handful of pills given her by Taranto, Pohlmann said. She had 5.5 Xanax, an anxiety drug; and two Oxycodone, a painkiller.

Taranto said he had prescriptions for medications that were in the vehicle in three bottles, all written by a doctor in Tennessee. Pohlmann said they were filled just two days earlier and already had substantially fewer pills than the amount originally written for, an indication Taranto had possibly been selling them to others for recreational use.

Deputies found a bottle with 121 Oxycontin, a drug with heroin-like effects that was heavily abused in the New Orleans area in the early 2000s, often injected as a substitute for heroin and leading to several overdose deaths. But it has rarely been seen in St. Bernard Parish in recent years, said Pohlmann and Col. Chad Clark, head of the sheriff’s Special Investigations Division that includes the Narcotics Unit.

The pills were 80-milligram strength each and would sell on the street for about $80 each, making the total worth nearly $9,700, authorities said.

The amount written by the doctor was for 180 pills, meaning 59 Oxycontin were missing in just two days, Pohlmann said.

The other recovered prescriptions, for the separate drugs Oxycodne and Xanax, also had a substantial number of pills missing in the two days since the prescriptions were filled by Taranto.

Recovered in a second bottle were 90 Oxycodone tablets from a prescription written for 240, meaning 150 were gone, Pohlmann said. Also, 52 Xanax tablets were found in a third bottle, from a prescription written for 90, with 38 gone.

Pohlmann said the total street value of the seized drugs was well over $10,000.

Jul 21, 2010 - A Chalmette woman was arrested Wednesday morning, July 21, in connection with her 2-year-old daughter being hospitalized with an apparent drug overdose and it’s suspected she swallowed part of narcotic pills found in her mother’s home, Sheriff Jack A. Stephens said.

Tiffany Tommaseo, 22, 2824 Pirate Drive, was arrested on a warrant issued by a judge charging her with improper supervision of a child and three counts of possession of prescription pills found in her home on Tuesday, July 20. She was arrested about 10 a.m. on Wednesday and jailed in St. Bernard Parish Prison. No bond has been set.

The daughter, taken to Children’s Hospital on Tuesday, remained in the Intensive Care Unit for observation on Wednesday, the sheriff said.  The girl was in serious condition when initially taken by ambulance to the hospital after her grandmother brought her to St. Bernard Health Clinic with a medical problem, Sheriff Stephens said. Later in the day, hospital officials told sheriff’s investigators they believed the girl had a narcotic overdose, the sheriff said.

Sheriff’s Narcotics Unit agents found several types of narcotic pills in the mother’s home, including Suboxin -  a drug used for treating heroin addiction and is also being illegally distributed – the painkiller Vicodin and the muscle-relaxer SOMA, Sheriff Stephens said. A prescription bottle for a different type of drug was found in the mother’s name but no prescriptions were found for the pills that were present, the sheriff said.

Tommaseo was treated and released from University Hospital in New Orleans on July 20 after the agents found her in her home having a medical problem involving a possible drug overdose, Sheriff Stephens said.

The Sheriff’s Office conducted an investigation into whether the child ingested a portion of the pills found in the home and the probe resulted in the woman’s arrest on a warrnt issued by state District Judge Perry Nicosia.

Sheriff Stephens said the mother dropped the child off at a day-care center on the morning of July 20 but officials at the center later attempted to reach her to tell her the girl was lethargic and appeared to be having a problem, the sheriff said. When the mother wasn’t able to come get the child the girl’s grandmother arrived and brought her to St. Bernard Health Center, from which she was transferred to Children’s Hospital.

The Sheriff’s Office was notified of the situation and both the Juvenile Division and the Special Investigations Division which includes the Narcotics Unit responded to investigate, Sheriff Stephens said.

St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Deputy Sgt. Kirt Arnold, who will train other deputies in understanding and dealing with autistic people .

Jul 16, 2010 - 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 wants to respond in a two-fold manner, Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

Training sessions will soon be held for sheriff’s deputies who are in enforcement divisions such as patrol, the adult and juvenile sectors of the detective bureau and corrections, to teach understanding and dealing with persons with autism, Pohlmann said.

Also, 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 to speak with them and understand their reactions in situations.

Pohlmann, second in command to Sheriff Jack A. Stephens, said, “More information is being gathered each year on autism awareness. National statistics indicate one in 110 children are now diagnosed with autism and the number is growing percentage-wise each year.

“With that in mind the Sheriff’s Office will respond 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.’’

These are things that would be helpful for sheriff’s deputies to know when dealing with someone, Pohlmann said.

He said that’s why St. Bernard residents with autism or their family members are invited to register an autistic person in a sheriff’s data base so that the information can be made a part of the sheriff’s computer-aided dispatch system, enabling a deputy to know in advance that certain type of dealing is required.

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 Sheriff’s Deputy Sgt. Kirt Arnold, who will teach the course of training for other deputies, will call back to get in touch with individuals or families and make an appointment to meet with them to gather information.
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.

He said he has endeavored to learn about autism to relate to the world of those who have been diagnosed with it. “There is a 14 percent increase per year in autism cases diagnosed so it’s a fact people need to be aware of and address.”

Arnold, a 10year veteran of the Sheriff’s Office, said the two-hour training course he will give other deputies will cover basic facts about autism and handling an autistic person, such as how to speak with them and know what their reactions mean.

“There is room for more knowledge in law enforcement in dealing with autistic people,’’ Arnold said. There will be video clips including traffic stops (involving autistic people) “showing the right and wrong way’’ to deal with them, he said.

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, Arnold said.

Also, he said there are facts to learn about physically handling an autistic person so they don’t injure them.

Autism is one of a group of serious developmental problems called autism spectrum disorders (ASD) that appear in early childhood — usually before age 3. Though symptoms and severity vary, all autism disorders affect a child's ability to communicate and interact with others.
The number of children diagnosed with autism appears to be rising. It's not clear whether this is due to better detection and reporting of autism, a real increase in the number of cases or both, experts say.
While there is no cure for autism, intensive, early treatment can make a big difference in the lives of many children with the disorder.
Children with autism generally have problems in three crucial areas of development — social interaction, language and behavior. But because autism symptoms vary greatly, two children with the same diagnosis may act quite differently and have strikingly different skills. In most cases, though, severe autism is marked by a complete inability to communicate or interact with other people.
Some children show signs of autism in early infancy. Others may develop normally for the first few months or years of life but then suddenly become withdrawn, become aggressive or lose language skills they've already acquired.

St. Bernard Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann, seated left, and Col. Chad Clark, head of Special Investigations Division, seated right, answer questions from residents at a Night Out Against Crime neighborhood party in Chalmette in 2009. The next Night Out Against Crime is Tuesday, Aug. 3. STEVECANNIZARO PHOTO

Jul 15, 2010 - St. Bernard Parish residents are encouraged to take part in the 27th annual celebration of the National Night Out Against Crime, scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 3, Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

Participation, such as holding a block party or any type of gathering of neighbors, is a good way to promote neighborhood spirit and help remind people to look out for suspicious activity in their area and to call the Sheriff’s Office at (504) 271-2501 if they see something wrong, Pohlmann said.

“Many places celebrate National Night Out Against Crime by holding gatherings in public parks or other large areas to accommodate a large crowd,’’ Pohlmann said. “In St. Bernard, we basically keep the celebration specific to neighborhoods. We prefer people get together as neighbors.

“If you sit outside together, say hello or waive to people who pass, it sends a message that you care about your neighborhood.’’ 

This is the fourth year since Hurricane Katrina that National Night Out Against Crime is being observed in St. Bernard. Participation in the event has grown steadily and this year more than 35 groups in various neighborhoods have registered with the Sheriff’s Office and will have a sheriff’s deputy come out to discuss crime prevention tips with the group and answer questions.

Pohlmann said 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.
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. Call Borchers to start a new Neighborhood Watch group.

“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 build spirit among residents and resolve to keep your eyes open for anything suspicious in their neighborhood. 

“We need residents to look out for one another and be willing to report possible criminal activity in a timely manner so deputies have a good chance of catching thieves in the act or trying to get away,’’ Borchers said.

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

In St. Bernard, events are scheduled at homes in communities throughout the parish and in places including the entrances to some sub-divisions, at the Winn-Dixie super market parking lot on Paris Road in Chalmette and at a Pentecostal Church on Palmisano Boulevard at East St. Bernard Highway in Chalmette.

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 brainchild 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.

Jul 16, 2010 - Some 11 grams of crack cocaine, worth $1,100 total, was seized and two New Orleans men arrested, both of whom were currently on parole for possession with intent to distribute cocaine, Sheriff Jack Stephens said.

Arrested were: Teddy Magee, 31, no address available, who was driving a vehicle that was stopped in a parking lot on St. Claude Avenue in Arabi; and the passenger, Willie Stewart, 42, 1508 N. Prieur St.

Agents of the sheriff’s Special investigations Division, commanded by Col. Chad Clark, made the arrests the evening of July 12, Sheriff Stephens said.

A search of their vehicle turned up a clear plastic bag containing a rock-like substance that tested positive for cocaine, the sheriff said.

Both Magee and Stewart were booked into St. Bernard Parish Prison with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and Magee also was booked with driving with a suspended license.
 
It was later learned both men are currently on parole for a prior conviction for possession with intent to distribute cocaine.

Because of the violation of their paroles both had a probation hold placed on them and can’t be bonded out at this time.

Sheriff’s Office believes the photo, which comes from a resident’s surveillance camera, shows Daniel Uribe, one of three men arrested. While three were booked in two burglaries, Uribe also was booked alone in two other burglaries, including the one shown on the surveillance tape.

Jul 14, 2010 - Continuing a trend of breaking up burglary rings, sheriff’s detectives and patrol deputies have solved four vehicle break-ins by arresting three Meraux men in connection with two in which stolen electronic devices were recovered, and one of the men was booked alone with two other break-ins, Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

The Sheriff’s Office has solved more than 25 home, business and vehicle burglaries in the last month, arresting more than 15 people either for burglary or possession of recovered stolen property, Pohlmann said.

“We continue to concentrate on crimes in which people prey on decent residents by stealing from them, often to satisfy their need for drugs which fuels so many of the property crimes today,’’ Pohlmann said.

The three Meraux men, all in their late teens, are Daniel Uribe, 19, 2516 Myrtle Grove Drive; Jerral Ronquille, 18, 2208 Bartolo Drive; and Joshua Beauvais, 18, 2214 Bartolo Drive, all booked with two counts of vehicle burglaries committed July 10-11 and two counts of felony possession of stolen property that was recovered, Pohlmann said.

Several cell phones, GPSs, an IPOD and a charger were found in a bag when they were stopped by patrol deputies about 5 a.m. on July 11 while walking at East Judge Perez and Paul Drive in Meraux, not far from their residences. The Sheriff’s Office had received a phone call about suspicious people, three men on Paul Drive looking into parked cars.

The three were dressed in all-black clothing and had conflicting stories on why they were out so early, Pohlmann said. He said the arrests highlight the importance of people calling the Sheriff’s Office at (504) 271-2501 if they see anything suspicious in their neighborhood as it is happening because a timely call can lead to an immediate arrest.

Deputies soon learned vehicles had been burglarized on Etienne Drive and Emilie Oaks Drive in Meraux, near where the three were stopped, and items in the bag matched property stolen in the burglaries, Pohlmann said.

Following up on the arrests, sheriff’s detectives began looking for possible links to two car burglaries in the 2700 block of Charles Drive in Chalmette about 5:30 a.m. on July 9.

A surveillance camera at a residence on Charles filmed a man opening the doors of two vehicles, sitting inside both and looking around before getting out and walking away. No property was reported missing.

Det. Sgt. Donald Johnson, acting on information developed, booked Uribe on July 14 with two more counts of burglary as the man who went into the vehicles on Charles Drive, Pohlmann said.

Uribe, now booked with four counts of burglary, and Beauvais remain jailed in St. Bernard Parish Prison in lieu of bonds. The amounts weren’t available.

Ronquille was released on bond but the amount wasn’t available.

Jul 13, 2010 - A Violet man has been arrested for having sexual relations with a juvenile girl on at least two occasions since this past January, Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

David Anderson, of Acorn Drive, was arrested Friday, July 9 and booked with two counts of carnal knowledge of a juvenile, Pohlmann said. An arrest warrant had been signed by a judge in St. Bernard Parish, based on an investigation by detectives in the sheriff’s Juvenile Division, commanded by Maj. Darlene Poche.

Anderson has been released from jail on July 12 on bond of $45,000.

Pohlmann said an investigation was started in April after the girl, who is a juvenile teen-ager, told officials at a parish school that Anderson and she had sex on at least two occasions in January and April. The girl also said the man had touched her inappropriately prior to that.

Anderson brought the girl to his home that is under renovation in Violet, where the sex acts occurred, Pohlmann said.

In an unrelated case, a 26-year-old Chalmette man was booked July 10 with aggravated incest with his juvenile teen-age half-sister.

The man, whose name wasn’t released to protect the identity of the sex victim, is being held in St. Bernard Parish Prison in lieu of bond set at $255,000.

Pohlmann said sheriff’s deputies were called to the victim’s home on July 10 and her father told them his daughter said she had sex with her half-brother on two occasions in July. The sheriff’s Juvenile Division was called for further investigation.

The 26-year-old half-brother, who also lived at the same address, was arrested when he returned home later.

Jul 9, 2010 - An Algiers man was caught in St. Bernard Parish with two pounds of marijuana worth $2,000, Sheriff Jack Stephens said.

Bobbie Barthelemy, 51, was arrested the afternoon of Wednesday, July 7, by agents of the sheriff’s Special Investigations Division as he was apparently trying to deliver the marijuana in eastern St. Bernard Parish, the sheriff said.

Agents, commanded by Col. Chad Clark, observed Barthelemy drive a truck into a store parking lot and conducted a stop, the sheriff said.

A strong smell of raw marijuana was present about the vehicle and agents were granted permission to conduct a search in which a shopping bag was found under a tool box in the bed of the truck, Sheriff Stephens said.

He said two one-gallon zip-lock bags were found, each containing a large amount of vegetable material that tested positive for marijuana. The bags totaled two pounds of marijuana.

Barthelemy was booked into St. Bernard Parish Prison on a charge of possession with intent to distribute marijuana. He has since been released on bond but the amount wasn’t available.

In an unrelated arrest, a man from St. Amant, La., who was working as an oil spill clean-up worker for a contractor of the BP oil company in the Delacroix Island area of eastern St. Bernard, was found on the job to have about 20 narcotic pills of various types without a prescription, as well as a quantity of marijuana, Sheriff Stephens said.

John D. Atencio, 38, was arrested the morning of Sunday, July 4, after he was seen stumbling about at a work area in the 5700 block of Delacroix Highway and an investigation led to the discovery of the drugs in a vehicle, the sheriff said.

Atencio was booked with several counts of possession of a controlled dangerous substance, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and with disturbing the peace.

He has been released on $15,000 bond.

Agent Jason Saltamachia of the sheriff’s Special Investigations Division was working a Sheriff’s Office-approved security detail at a BP oil spill clean-up workers’ area at 6:30 a.m. on July 4 when he saw Atencio stumbling about near a group of other workers and noticed he had a dazed appearance and was possibly impaired, Sheriff Stephens said.

Atencio was entering a vehicle when approached by the sheriff’s deputy and he reacted by removing an orange prescription bottle from  a pants pocket and tossing it into the vehicle and closing the door, the sheriff said.

The deputy questioned him about whether he was impaired and asked about the bottle that was tossed, the sheriff said. The suspect answered with slurred speech, saying he had taken pills before arriving at work and had thrown his prescription bottle in the vehicle.

Atencio granted permission for a search to validate his claim of a prescription and the deputy found a bottle that listed a prescription for Oxycodone tablets but contained a variety of pills, including hydrocodone in various strengths, the drug Soma, and the drug Soboxin. Also found was a small amount of marijuana and rolling papers.

Atencio was then booked on the possession charges.

David Maes, 19, booked with three burglaries including one in which $25,000 in stolen items were recovered.		Sheriff’s detectives Trey Delaune, in bed of truck, and Sgt. Donald Johnson, at right, load recovered items that were stolen in a Chalmette burglary in which more than $25,000 was taken. STEVE CANNIZARO PHOTOS.		Kayla Caronna, 22, booked with possession of stolen property in connection with the largest burglary

Jul 8, 2010 - Two men have been booked with two burglaries in St. Bernard Parish and one of them was also booked with committing a third burglary in which about $25,000 in stolen property was recovered by sheriff’s detectives on Wednesday, July 7, Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

David Maes, 19, who listed a Marrero address but apparently had been staying in a trailer park in Chalmette, has been booked with 3 burglaries including the one in which stolen property worth $25,0000 including, three computers, two television sets, firearms, jewelry, X-boxes, DVDs and other items were recovered in the trailer.

The property, taken in a recent burglary on Ventura Drive in Chalmette, has been retuned to its owners. Still missing was stolen cash.

Pohlmann said Maes, being held in St. Bernard Parish Prison in lieu of $25,000 bond, is also a suspect in several recent burglaries in New Orleans.

Kayla Caronna, 22, 2913 Lyndel Drive, Chalmette, was booked July 7 with possession of stolen property in connection with the Ventura Drive burglary. She is jailed in lieu of $10,000 bond.

Maes and Brian Perez Jr., 19, of Violet, were both wanted on warrants signed by a judge charging both with two counts of burglary of residences on East St. Bernard Highway in Meraux and on LaPlace Drive in Chalmette, which happened prior to the Ventura Drive break-in, Pohlmann said.

Perez was booked into St. Bernard Prison recently and is being held on $15,000 bond.

Maes wasn’t caught until the night of July 6 when he and Kelly Teel Jr., 29, 1905 Laura Drive, Chalmette, were both arrested by a sheriff’s deputy on patrol while they were riding a motorcycle reported stolen in Jefferson Parish. Both were booked with possession of stolen property. Maes falsely gave his name as James Maes and he later was booked with misrepresentation.  Teel is jailed in lieu of $12,000 bond.

It was the next day that sheriff’s detectives tied Maes to the Ventura Drive burglary, Pohlmann said.

Jul 8, 2010 - A 14-year-old boy visiting a relative in St. Bernard Parish was booked Thursday, July 8, with aggravated rape of an 11-year-old boy which happened July 6, Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

The suspect, whose name can’t be released because he is a minor, was taken to the St. Bernard Juvenile Detention Center in Chalmette. He was also booked with battery and theft in connection with the same incident, which was investigated by the Juvenile Division of the sheriff’s Office, Pohlmann said.

He said the acts happened while the victim was playing at the home of a friend. The older boy came over and initially got into an argument with a brother of the victim and struck him, after which the victim opened a door so his brother could get out, Pohlmann said.

But as the 11-year-old also tried to leave after his brother did so, the 14-year-old shut and locked the door, then dragged the younger boy to a sofa and allegedly committed a sex act on him, Pohlmann said.

He said the 14-year-old also stole a video game owned by the victim.

An arrest warrant was signed by a judge and the 14-year-old was arrested in Violet at the home of a relative where he was staying during a visit from Mississippi.

Jul 3, 2010 - Sheriff Jack A. Stephens said he is pleased with the overwhelming success of “Operation Medicine Cabinet,’’ an effort by the Sheriff’s Office to encourage residents to turn in prescription medications no longer needed to prevent them from falling into the hands of others.

Nearly 3,000 prescription pills – ranging from narcotics to medicines such as blood pressure tablets – have been turned in to the Sheriff’s Office to be destroyed since the program was announced in March, Sheriff Stephens said.

“This has been an unqualified success and we continue to urge residents to call us at our (504) 271-DOPE hotline’’ to get rid of old medications they don’t want or need,” Sheriff Stephens said.

“We hope this will help prevent some people, particularly teen-agers, from getting access to prescription drugs they might otherwise have stolen from their parents, relatives or from the homes of friends,’’ the sheriff said.

Studies have shown many teen-agers start using drugs by taking prescription tablets from those around them, including such drugs as Vicodin, Xanax and Valium, the sheriff said.

“Operation Medicine Cabinet’’ is an attempt to reduce the availability of prescription drugs among those who don’t have a legitimate medical reason for having them, Sheriff Stephens said.

If residents call the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office at (504) 271-DOPE, arrangements will be made to have unneeded prescription drugs turned in and destroyed, according to Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann and Col. Chad Clark, commander of the Special Investigations Division which includes the sheriff’s Narcotics Unit. The 271-Dope hotline is handled by SID.

“A collection program for leftover prescription medications makes sense so that they don’t end up being stolen by your children or friends of your children who visit your home,’’ Pohlmann said. All prescription drugs turned in to the Sheriff’s Office will be incinerated, he said.

Several older residents have also turned in medications left over after the death of a spouse, Pohlmann said.

“Don’t toss them in the trash where they can be removed by someone,’’ Clark said. “And don’t flush them in a bathroom. Such drugs already are polluting water supplies and trace amounts are being found in fish and in water supplies.’’

Clark also said, “We are asking everyone to spend a little time going through their medicine cabinet and do an inventory to see what you need and what is unnecessary or even outdated.” Also, if possible, find a way to better store prescription drugs so they don’t end up in the hands of others.

He said that in talking with teen-agers who are addicted to prescription medications, “they often say they have raided their parents’ medicine cabinet and even friends’ parents’ medicine cabinets.’’

The group Partnership for a Drug Free America has estimated that each day 2,500 youngsters across the nation abuse prescription drugs for the first time and that teen-agers now abuse prescription medications more than any illegal drug except marijuana.

Jul 2, 2010 - Two arrests involving four people netted more than a half-pound of marijuana seized and two guns found and two other arrests centered on guns including a confiscated weapon identified as stolen and a man arrested for pulling a gun outside a daiquiri shop, Sheriff Jack Stephens said.

More than four ounces of marijuana and a gun were found and three New Orleans residents were arrested June 29 after they were stopped in a vehicle following suspicious actions in a Chalmette store.

Lt. Raymond Theriot, a sheriff’s detective, made a check of the license plate as the three were leaving in a vehicle and it showed the registered owner had outstanding warrants for their arrest, Sheriff Stephens said.

Theriot called in a description of the vehicle and the license plate number and requested a sheriff’s unit in the area conduct a traffic check. The vehicle was stopped as it was being driven out of the parking lot and sheriff’s deputies smelled a strong odor of marijuana coming form inside, the sheriff said.

Further investigation turned up a clear plastic bag containing several smaller bags of marijuana, with a total weight of 4.5 ounces. A semi-automatic handgun and two scales were also found.

Booked with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm while in possession of a controlled dangerous substance were: Letesha Mathieu, 22, 2522 N. Rampart St.; Dave Avery, 23, 2315 Laharpe St.; and Kelly Rogers, 22, 6725 Bundy Road. Mathieu was also booked with no driver’s license. There was no bond information available on the three.

In the other marijuana arrest, Roland Turner, 48, 1901 Goldfinch Drive, in the Poydras area, was booked June 23 with possession of about four ounces of marijuana with intent to distribute, possession of a firearm while in possession of a controlled dangerous substance, being a convicted felon in illegal possession of a firearm and with illegal use of a controlled dangerous substance in the presence of a minor.

He was jailed but has been released on bond.

Agents of the sheriff’s Special investigations Division commanded by Col. Chad Clark made the arrest.

Turner, who disregarded a stop sign, was also seen throwing a hand-rolled cigarette from his vehicle which, when picked up tested positive for the presence of marijuana. There was also a strong smell of marijuana in the vehicle.

Turner was informed there had been a complaint of possible drug sales being conducted from his residence, the sheriff said. Turner agreed to a search of the residence, admitting there was marijuana there. Twelve clear plastic bas containing marijuana was found, along with a handgun, Sheriff Stephens said.

After his arrest, agents learned Turner had two previous convictions involving cocaine.

In an unrelated case, a Chalmette couple arrested in May with nearly a pound of marijuana, an AK-47 assault rifle and a handgun in their residence, were re-booked June 29 on an arrest warrant charging them with illegal possession of a stolen firearm. It had been learned the handgun found in May had been stolen and the assault rifle, which had an attached bayonet, is suspected of being stolen, Sheriff Stephens said.
 
Dwight Walker, 29, and Brittney Butler, 24, both of 3708 LaPlace Drive, Chalmette, had been arrested May 20 for possession with intent to distribute the marijuana and possession of the firearms while in possession of a controlled substance.

They were both out on bond when they were re-booked June 29 on the stolen guns charge.

The fourth arrest involving a gun was a St. Bernard man who pulled a weapon outside a daiquiri shop in Meraux early June 27 after an unidentified man punched him in the face as he exited a vehicle and was heading toward the bar, authorities said.

Numa LeBouef, 28, 2021 River Park, St. Bernard community, was booked with aggravated assault, possession of a firearm at an alcohol beverage outlet and disturbing the peace. He was jailed but later released on $35,000 bond.

The incident happened about 12:30 a.m., outside a daiquiri shop in the 3100 block of East Judge Perez Drive in Meraux.

An unknown man struck Lebouef in the face, then fled and wasn’t caught,  LeBouef later told sheriff’s deputies he didn’t know the man’s name but had been involved in a previous incident with him on a prior day.

Several witnesses alleged that after being hit, LeBouef went back to his vehicle, got out a handgun, then turned toward a crowd in the parking lot - pointed the gun at the ground - and racked a round in the chamber but didn’t fire. After that, LeBouef put the weapon back in the vehicle he had taken it from, according to witnesses.

LeBouef was arrested on the scene, the sheriff said.

Jul 1, 2010 - Three Chalmette males, including two teen-agers, were arrested July 1 by St. Bernard Parish sheriff’s detectives in connection with eight residence burglaries near their homes and numerous stolen items were recovered including three guns, three televisions, a computer and a speaker box, Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

The arrests continue a streak in the last month in which detectives commanded by Chief of Detectives Col. John Doran, and patrol deputies commanded by Maj. Mark Poche, have solved more than 20 burglaries and arrested more than ten men, Pohlmann said.

“It often happens when you catch burglars they are responsible for more than one crime ands usually the break-ins are committed to fuel a drug habit,’’ Pohlmann said.

Booked with eight counts of burglary was Keith McKinnis, 17, 2211 Octavia St., while two others were booked with possession of stolen property taken in those break-ins: Jeremy Graham, 21, and Tyrone Williams, both of 2213 Octavia St.

McKinnis, who was a suspect in recent burglaries committed on Octavia and nearby Veronica Drive in Chalmette, was arrested after a break in the case: a woman who confronted him as he broke into her home Wednesday night, June 30, was able to identify him from a photo lineup and stolen property was found at his residence, Pohlmann said.

He said further investigation led to the arrests of Graham and Williams and the recovery of stolen property found in a storage area at their residence.

The case is still under investigation and more burglaries may be cleared, Pohlmann said.

Two rifles, a shotgun, three televisions, a computer, and a speaker box identified as stolen were recovered either at McKinnis’ place or in the storage area at the home of the other two.

Stolen property recovered is being returned to the owners, Pohlmann said.