Nov 29, 2011 - Two men swindled several thousand dollars from an elderly Chalmette man recently in a version of what is called the “drop the pigeon’’ scheme in which victims are enticed to withdraw money from their bank, which is then stolen, Sheriff-elect  James Pohlmann said.

Pohlmann said scams to cheat people – usually older residents – always crop up during the end-of-the-year holiday time when people are on the go and offered what they may see as a means of making quick cash and don’t realize they are being scammed.

“People should be particularly careful at holiday time,’’ Pohlmann said, “when they are out shopping or running errands and can be targeted by thieves who see them as distracted and vulnerable.

“Some criminals steal purses or pick pockets but others see a chance to swindle others in cash schemes like this one that defrauded a 77-year-old man out of a substantial amount of money,” Pohlmann said.
He said the two male suspects haven’t been arrested and likely are traveling around doing the same thing in other cities and parishes.

Another elderly man in Chalmette was hit by scammers at Christmas a year ago but fortunately sheriff’s deputies also prevented one swindle last year when they passed a victim as a scheme was being played out and made an arrest, Pohlmann said.

The method in which a victim is defrauded might seem like no one  would fall for it, Pohlmann said, but such fakery has worked for years and there is always a new victim. The actual trickery in the schemes is usually the same, with some variations, Pohlmann said.

“At some point the victim, who thinks he or she is helping someone who seems confused, is told they can receive money but must put up “good faith’’ cash of their own to show they can be trusted,” Pohlmann said.

“Typically the victim withdraws money from a bank, which is then stolen from them and they don’t realize it until the scammer has left the scene, with the victim holding a bag of useless paper instead of the promised money.’’

The culprits in the latest scheme were two men, one of whom the 77-year-old victim met in a Chalmette store parking lot on Paris Road who said he was looking for a certain church to donate a large sum of money, Pohlmann said. That man showed the victim two large rolls of money he claimed he would donate for the church to help families at Christmas.

The victim tried to help the man find the church, but eventually a second man who undoubtedly was part of the scheme came up to help.

The man who said he had money to donate eventually offered to give the victim and the third man the money to give to churches if they would put up money themselves to show they were trustworthy, Pohlmann said.

The victim reported that the second man involved went to a bank and came back claiming to have money in two envelopes to show the man who claimed he would donate his moey to a church.

The victim then dropped them off at a restaurant and he went to a bank and returned to show the others he had gotten “good faith’’ money.

From that point, while in the victim’s vehicle, the man who initially met the victim claimed he had combined his money and the money of the other two in a handkerchief and asked the victim to put it in his glovebox to divide up later with the third man.

Pohlmann said the man who claimed he wanted to donate money then exited the vehicle and the third man also said he had to leave but would meet up with the victim in an hour so they could divide the lump sum of money.

The victim drove home and opened the handkerchief to count the money, Pohlmann said. Instead, he found rolls of newspaper print cut up to the length and width of currency. He then reported the incident  to the Sheriff’s Office.

Anyone knowing the identity of either man involved in the frsud should call the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office at (504) 271-2501, or Crimestoppers at (504) 822-1111 and they may be eligible for a reward, Pohlmann said.

Nov. 27, 2011- It’s an easy choice for a St. Bernard Parish resident who has been drinking during the Christmas-New Year’s holiday season, Sheriff-Elect James Pohlmann said.

“Either call the Sheriff’s Office and take advantage of our free Holiday Ride Home program or risk going to jail for driving while intoxicated,’’ Pohlmann said.

“We don’t want to arrest anyone but we sure don’t want anyone injuring others or themselves by driving drunk, so we urge parish residents to take the free ride home,’’ Pohlmann said. “To do otherwise is not worth the risk.’’

He said just call the Sheriff’s Office at (504) 271-2501 and a sheriff’s deputy will pick you up and take you home, no questions asked. Non-residents who have been drinking in the parish can call and get a ride to a sheriff’s sub-station and make arrangements to be picked up there.

“We will take a resident home from wherever they are in the parish - a party or a bar, etc., but they must stay home and we will not take anyone to a separate party or another bar,’’ Pohlmann said.

For the 28th straight year the St. Bernard Sheriff’s Office is offering the free service at holiday time to help remove any temptation of trying to drive home after drinking, thus risking the lives of other motorists.

Sheriff Jack A. Stephens started the program in 1984 and is the oldest of its type in the New Orleans area.

The sheriff, who will retire July 1 of next year, said the free ride home program was an idea borne out of the need to do something to try to prevent further holiday accidents that had happened in the past directly because of people drinking and driving while celebrating.

The ride home program began this year on Thanksgiving Day and runs through Jan. 2. Signs are being placed at the entrances of the parish to remind motorists they can call for a ride and to never drive drunk.

Roughly 20 people a year take advantage of the offer, Pohlmann said.

“We are proud of the Holiday Ride Home program,’’ Pohlmann said. “And why not? It was innovative when it was started and it shows we don’t want anyone injured by impaired drivers.’’

It’s hard to determine the impact the ride home program has on the number of people who drive despite drinking, Pohlmann said. “But we do our best to let people know of the free service and make sure we patrol vigorously looking for anyone who is driving drunk or on drugs.’’

The Sheriff’s Office will be working in conjunction with State Police to battle drunk-driving and checkpoints will be set up to specifically look for impaired drivers, according to Capt. Walter Dornan, head of the Traffic Division for the St. Bernard Sheriff’s Office.

Nov 25, 2011 - A St. Bernard Parish girl nearly 4 months old was hospitalized with two bilateral skull fractures caused by her father who threw her on a bed at home while angry, resulting in her striking her head on a wall at home and hitting the floor, Sheriff-Elect James Pohlmann said Friday, Nov. 25.

William Bertoniere, 24, 1612 Heights Drive in eastern St. Bernard, was booked Wednesday night with felony cruelty to a juvenile after he and the girl’s mother – who was at work at the time of the incident – brought her to Children’s Hospital.

The infant, who also had an injury to the femur in one leg, was hospitalized two nights but fortunately the skull fractures weren’t life-threatening and she was to be released, Pohlmann said.

Bertoniere was being held in St. Bernard Parish Prison in lieu of $50,000 bond set on Friday.

Hospital officials informed the Sheriff’s Office of the child’s injuries and the sheriff’s Juvenile Division investigated the incident, which happened about noon on Wednesday as Bertoniere was supposed to be taking care of her, Pohlmann said.

When questioned by authorities, Bertoniere said it started after he had finished bathing and dressing the child and was leaving a bathroom carrying her. While holding her he slipped and fell into the corner of a door, injuring one of her legs, he said.

The baby cried for a long period but Bertoniere didn’t seek medical help, Pohlmann said.

Bertoniere told sheriff’s detectives that at some point, as the crying continued, he “lost his cool,’’ and threw the girl on a bed, she struck her head against a wall and fell to the floor, Pohlmann said.

Bertoniere called the mother at work and told her of the injuries, then they met at a doctor’s office in Chalmette, and afterward brought the child to Children’s Hospital for emergency treatment, Pohlmann said. Hospital officials called the Sheriff’s Office upon examing the girl.

Bertoniere, after giving his statement to detectives and state Child Protection officials, was arrested and jailed, Pohlmann said.

Daren the Lion, mascot of the D.A.R.E. program and portrayed by Cpl. Jessica Gernados, is followed in a dance by 5th-graders.

Nov. 26, 2011- Parents must “stay engaged with their children,’’ including talking often with them and looking for warning signs in order to help prevent drug use but if the worse happens they must still “hug them and tell them you love them,’’ Sheriff-Elect James Pohlmann said at a D.A.R.E. program graduation ceremony.

More than 100 5th-grade students at Joseph Davies School in Meraux recently graduated the D.A.R.E., or Drug Awareness Resistance Education, program given by St. Bernard sheriff’s officers Lt. Lisa Jackson, commander of the program, and Deputy Darrin Miller.

The program, held in both public and private schools, was re-established in 2009, four years after Hurricane Katrina.

“Parents must stay engaged wih their children’’ on many levels and especially so when it comes to helping them avoid the peer pressure to get involved with drugs, alcohol or violence, Pohlmann told a large audience of students, parents, teachers and sheriff’s officiers.

“Learn the warning signs of drug use,’’ in young people, he said, including:

          - Loss of interest in things they used to do such as sports or reading. -Hanging around with new groups of friends unknown to parents.

          - Sudden attitude or mood swings.

          - Sudden problems connected with school and academics.

Talk regularly with your children and be familiar with their friends said, who just won a runoff to become sheriff next July 1.

If parents see signs of possible problems, don’t be hesitant to ask what is happening and, if necessary, use home drug-test kits to make sure they aren’t on drugs, he said.

If they are or aren’t using drugs, “Hug them and tell them you love them,’’ then if necessary find out about possible treatment options.

Pohlmann told parents the Sheriff’s Office plans to “expand drug education into the high school next year,’’ and adding another D.A.R. E. officer.

He also said he “would like (drug education) to be part of our educational curriculum, taught in school by teachers and graded’’ as a course.

Pohlmann has said sheriff’s officials thought the timing was right in 2009 to bring back the D.A.R.E. program to a new generation of youngsters in St. Bernard schools. “It’s important we try to reach them at an impressionable age’’ before they begin making wrong decisions that hurt their chances for success in life, he said.

He says he firmly believes the message of building self-confidence and self-respect in themselves is one every child should hear repeatedly, adding the D.A.R.E. program is just the beginning.

Children took part in songs and dances involving the D.A.R.E. program themes of resisting peer pressure. Essay winners were also announced.

Donna Schultz is Principal at Davies and Assistant Principal is Tiffany Glapion.

Maj. Mark Poche, head of field Operations for the Sheriff’s Office, attended the graduation at Davies along with other Sheriff’s Office representatives including Lt. Lisa Jackson, Capt. Richard Jackson, Deputies Darrin Miller, Chris Chambers, Daniel Bostic and Cpl. Jessica Gernados, who portrayed Daren the Lion, international mascot of the D.A.R.E. program.

Nov. 21, 2011- After a contentious campaign, Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann defeated Parish Council member Wayne Landry by nearly 2,500 votes in the race for sheriff of St. Bernard Parish on Nov. 19 and he will take over from retiring Sheriff Jack Stephens on July 1 of next year.

Pohlmann, a 28-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Office, said he believes the vote reflected that the people of St. Bernard had confidence in the Sheriff’s Office’s ability to maintain safety in the parish.

“I knew at the end if the day I’d be graded on the job the men and women of the Sheriff’s Office do in this parish,’’ Pohlmann told the media and his supporters at his campaign headquarters in Chalmette after the victory.

Based on the election results, which showed him with 60 percent of the vote and Landry with 40 percent, Pohlmann said, “I believe the grade was an A.”

“I believe the people of St. Bernard have confidence and trust in the Sheriff’s Office.’’

Pohlmann, who as chief deputy has run the day-to-day operations of the Sheriff’s Office for nearly four years, said there will be changes at the Sheriff’s Office under his administration, including uniform hiring and promtion procedures, a close examination of the department budget and a uniform policy on outside details worked by deputies.

“We will change the way we do business’’ in certain aspects, Pohlmann said, “but we will have the same emphasis on stopping crime and continuing St. Bernard as the safest parish the New Orleans area.’’

Now that he is sheriff-elect, Pohlmann said, “We will form a committee to devlop a plan of transition.’’ Col. Chad Clark, who finished third in the Oct. 22 primary election, endorsed Pohlmann afterward and has returned from the leave of absence he took from the department during the election, will be a part of that transition team.

Earlier in the day on Nov. 19,, before polls closed, there was a rare election day hearing held to consider allegations brought during the week by Landry, who contested 598 votes in the early election ballotting – saying they were cast by people who lived outside the parish. But all of the challenges were dismissed by the parish board of election supervisors and state officials.

Final voting returns showed:

Pohlmann   7,554   60   percent

Landry       5,111   40   percent

Nov 17, 2011 - Trying to solve a mystery, St. Bernard sheriff’s detectives are seeking the identity of the owner of an expensive piece of heavy equipment used in a marine environment that was found abandoned in a wooded area in Violet and was partially burned, Chief Deputy Sheriff Jmes Pohlmann said.

The equipment, weighing several hundred pounds and worth several thousand dollars, is called a marine bit or bumper and is used in a marine situation such as a ferry landing or in river work, Pohlmann said.

But authorities haven’t had any reports of a theft that would match the equipment.

Pohlmann said anyone with information about the equipment or may know who owns it is asked to call the Sheriff’s Office at (504) 271-2501.

The equipment is presumed stolen and abandoned, Pohlmann said. It was found by sheriff’s deputies who saw smoke coming from a wooded area and saw smoldering wood underneath the item that was used to burn its center. Why it was left there is unclear.
 

Nov. 16, 2011- The St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office now has a permanent home for the administrative functions of the department and a new seat for parish law enforcement.

With the cutting of a ribbon to mark the completion, the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office Annex in Chalmette was formally opened on Tuesday, Nov. 15. The elevated building is directly behind the old Parish Courthouse at Pakenham Drive at 2 Courthouse Square, the same location of the previous Sheriff’s Annex, built in the early 1960s and torn down after damage from Hurricane Katrina.

As well as employees of the department, officials from St. Bernard Parish government – which owns the building – and those involved in its construction, were present for the ceremony.

Parish President Craig P. Taffaro, Jr. said the building represents “one of the most important pieces of the (parish’s) recovery. It says to the public we are back and we are no longer in a recovery but in growth.’’

Taffaro also said the Annex building is one of the most important projects because it is an illustration of a true test of partnership between FEMA and government, “with a project evolving from a repair project to a replacement to an elevation project.”

Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said the new building is a home for the Sheriff’s Office after six years of being in different trailer offices and buildings since the hurricane.

“I am absolutely glad to be back in our home,” Pohlmann said. “We have plenty of space to conduct operations for the Sheriff’s Office.

“Also, this improves services to the public because it offers a centralized place again for residents to do business rather than having offices located in several buildings,” Pohlmann said. He thanked parish government and the other partners with the project.

All administrative services the Sheriff offers will be housed in this building, including: the Civil Division, the Records Division, Property and Evidence and offices for the Sheriff, Chief Deputy, Deputy Chief, Internal Affairs and others.

Pohlmann said the public will be able to come to one location to get occupational licenses or pay taxes or fines at the Civil Division, headed by Civil Sheriff JoAnn Lane, or get traffic accident reports from the Records Division, commanded by Col. Pete Tufaro.

The 3-story Annex cost $4.4 million to build and has a multi-layer state-of-the-art security surveillance and access control system to protect the people and contents in the building. It is elevated, with integrated parking and bullet-proof glass. The 15,000-square-foot building is made of concrete panels to complement that of the 34th Judicial District Courthouse, which is located in front of the Annex.

Many employees of the Sheriff’s Office, as well as several St. Bernard Parish Council members and officials connected with the construction of the building were on hand for the ribbon-cutting event.

The project was built by Devier Design Build. Kyle Associates LLC is the project manager and project engineer, and Fauntleroy, Latham, Weldon, Barre’ Architects, APC is the design architect.  Stacey Danner is this project’s manager for CDM and Dennis Tauzin has oversight over all for FEMA-funded recovery projects for St. Bernard.

Deputy Chief Harold Hughes and Col. Pete Tufaro oversaw the progress of the project for the Sheriff’s Office.

Taffaro also thanked the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, which advocated for the development, and the partnerships of the officials with the Sheriff’s Office officials and parish government as well as the outside partners on the Annex.

Desmond Woodberry, 19, one of two men arrested for possession of car stolen in New Orloeans carjacking. Also identified by victim as gunman who stole her car.

Nov. 15, 2011 -A car stolen from a woman at gunpoint in New Orleans on Monday morning, Nov. 14, was recovered in Arabi later that day and two 19-year-old men and four juveniles, including three teen-age girls, were booked with possession of the stolen car, Chief Deputy James Pohlmann said.

Also, New Orleans police said Tuesday night they were seeking an arrest warrant from a judge for one of the adults after the victim identified him from a photo line-up as the one who pointed a gun at her, Pohlmann said.

That man, already held in St. Bernard Parish Prison in lieu of bond, would have a hold placed on him as a fugitive if a judge signs a warrant alleging carjacking.

“We pride ourselves on arresting people who commit crimes in other places but wind up in St. Bernard afterward,’’ Pohlmann said, pointing to several arrests in recent years of people wanted for serious crimes but were caught when they ended up in St. Bernard – often coming there because they believed they were still in New Orleans.

Pohlmann said sheriff’s detectives, working on information from New Orleans police that the carjackers might be headed to St. Bernard, found the stolen car about 3 p.m. Nov. 14, parked on one of the first streets in St. Bernard, outside an apartment complex in the 1200 block of Mehle Avenue.

Officers watched the vehicle to see if anyone came back to it and saw the six involved try to drive away about 5 p.m.

The vehicle was stopped a block away on Angela Street and the driver, Desmond Woodberry, 19, of Chalmette, was captured after a chase of several blocks, Pohlmann said.

Woodberry and the other adult, Tremaine Wilkerson, 19, of eastern St. Bernard, were booked into St. Bernard Parish Prison on possession of stolen property charges and with contributing to the delinquency of the other four teens, Pohlmann said. Woodberry was also booked with resisting arrest by flight from police.

Woodberry is jailed in lieu of $35,000 bond and Wilkerson is being held in lieu of $10,000 bond.

The girls and the boy were also booked with possession of stolen property and placed in the parish Juvenile Detention Center but were later releasee to the custody of their parents.

NOPD officials notified St. Bernard detectives the night of Nov. 15 that the woman who was carjacked identified Woodberry as the gunman and police were going to judge for an arrest warrant alleging carjacking.

When sheriff’s deputies learned the group of six they found in the car had been in one of the apartments on Mehle they obtained a warrant from a judge Monday night to search it. A BB-gun that looked like a real handgun was found, Pohlmann said.

New Orleans police impounded the recovered vehicle to do a forensic investigation as part of the carjacking investigation, Pohlmann said.

Pohlmann said St. Bernard authorities were told a woman was sitting in a car in the 1900 block of Dauphine Street in New Orleans, near Elysian Fields Avenue, about 11 a.m. when a man with a gun approached and ordered her out. She said she saw two males.

Roy Richard of Chalmette, a member of the class who spoke to the group at graduation.

Nov. 14, 2011- Roy Richard of Chalmette, representing the 2011 class of Citizens Police Academy in St. Bernard Parish, told about 40 graduates he and they learned a good deal about law enforcement in the parish from the series they went through for more than two months.

Speaking of the sheriff’s deputies who spent time explaining to the class what law enforcement is about, Richard said, “These men and women put their lives on the line for this parish each day.’’

After the graduation exercise on Nov. 9 at which Richard spoke to the class, he also said, “I liked the toys’’ of the Sheriff’s Office which instructors showd off, including a bomb robot for handling suspicious items, SWAT team weapons, bullet-proof vests and other items.

He also enjoyed the firearms simulator, which uses computerized videos to puts civilians in the shoes of an officer and lets them decide if they want use lethal force on a criminal suspect.

Beverly Dwyer of Chalmette said, “I enjoyed (the classes) better than I thought I would.’’

She said learning about law enforcement in St. Bernard “made me feel better about the parish.’’

And Dwyer, referring to the deputies who were the instructors, said, “I can see that their normal is protecting and serving.’’

Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann told participants he hoped they received insight into how law enforcement works in the parish and encouraged them to get involved in a Neigbohrhood Watch program in their community to help keep their area safe.

“I hope you become our ambassadors and tell people you know about the St. Bernard Parish sheriff’s Office,’’ Pohlmann said. “I told you when you started Citizens Police Academy we have the best trained and hardest working deputies we have ever had.’’

“We may not be a big parish but we have depth of training among our deputies and depth in equipment,’’ Pohlmann told the group that met once a week at Nunez Community College from the beginning of September through graduation night on Nov. 9.

Guest speaker was Chief Deputy Steven M. Hartman of the United States Marshal’s Service for Southeast Louiaiana.

“I’ve never seen a department and community with so much in common,’’ Hartman told graduates. “As a community the Sheriff’s Office can’t be successful without you or you without the Sheriff’s Office.’’

Coordinated by Capt. Charles Borchers, who is director of Crime Prevention for the Sheriff’s Office, this was the 13th session of Citizens Police Academy since it began in 1999.

Borchers can be reached at (504) 278-7628 to discuss crime prevention tips, organize a Neighborhood Watch group or learn about upcoming free programs given by the Sheriff’s Office.

Citizens Police was started as a mechanism for the public to learn about police work in St. Bernard, interact with officers and ask questions about any concerns. More than 500 residents have participated since its inception.

There are numerous features to the Citizens Police Academy such as: hearing from sheriff’s commanders on various phases of law enforcement including patrol work, narcotics enforcement; detective duties; SWAT team demonstrations; receiving boating safety tips; hearing from law enforcement agencies from outside St. Bernard; touring Parish Prison and experiencing a firearms simulator. Hands-on use of equipment is a part of the program.

One of the targets the officers fired at in low-light conditions.

Nov. 11, 2011- More than likely, if police officers are physically attacked – or have a gun drawn on them – it’s going to happen at night, especially if they surprise someone in the act of committing a crime, St. Bernard Parish Chief Deputy James Pohlmann said.

“Eighty percent of all shootings involving police, either being shot or having to exchange fire with a suspect, occur at night,’’ Pohlmann said. For that reason, one of the training regimes for sheriff’s deputies involves what is called, “low light firearms’’ practice, basically target shooting in the dark or dim light and from different stances or positions.

“You have to be prepared’’ for a nighttime confrontation, Pohlmann said. St. Bernard deputies have been involved in shootings at night.

In the past weeks, deputies have been working in different situations involving using weapons in low light situations, led by department Director of Training Maj. David DiMaggio and other firearms instructors Det. Lt. Raymond Theriot and Agent Tommy Duplessis of the Special Investigations Division.

“You need to be tested in different environments,’’ DiMaggio said. “As officers you have to work in darkness, rain, cold and heat.”

Night time changes everything.

“Lethal weapons are harder to see. Distances are harder to gauge and colors are harder to distinguish,’’ Theriot said.

Duplessis said officers must practice such things as trying to get a flashlight on an area to provide light with one hand while simultaneously firing.

“Thy have to position themselves and not give their positions away,’’ Theriot said.

Training includes shooting from different positions, including walking, standing and kneeling.

As to be expected, “You can see a difference in accuracy’’ when officers try to hit targets in the dark, DiMaggio said, although some weapons can be mounted with flashlights.

Training sessions were held at a shooting range run by the Slidell Police Department, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Louisiana National Guard at Camp Villere in St. Tammany Parish.

Anthony Thoulion, held in Mississippi and will be booked with carnal knowledge of a juvenile in St. Bernard Parish

Nov. 09, 2011 - A registered sex offender was being held in Mississippi on Wednesday, Nov. 9, and faces sex charges in St. Bernard involving a 15-year-old Picayune area girl he brought to the parish on Oct. 31, Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

The girl was found by authorities at a Metairie shopping mall on Nov. 5 and has been reunited with her family, Pohlmann said.

Anthony Thoulion, 33, was wanted in St. Bernard Parish on arrest warrants issued by a judge alleging three counts of felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile, Pohlmann said. Thoulion allegedly had sexual relations with the minor in a house he is renovating in St. Bernard, Pohlmann said. It is also alleged Thoulion brought the girl to an apartment in New Orleans after they left St. Bernard.

Thoulion was found in Pearl River County by Mississippi authorities who wanted to question him about the teen-ager’s disappearance from home on Oct. 31, Pohlmann said. Thoulion, who knew a relative of the 15-year-old girl, met her in October, detectives in the St. Bernard sheriif’s Juvenile Division said.

Sheriff’s detectives intend to bring Thoulion back to the parish to be booked on the warrants alleging felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile, Pohlmann said.

Thoulion and the girl also allegedly stayed at an apartment in New Orleans after leaving St. Bernard. He apparently told her to leave New Orleans because he learned he was under investigation in connection with the girl’s disappearance from her home, Pohlmann said.

She called a friend in Jefferson Parish and went to a shopping mall in Metairie where Jefferson Parish authorities found her Nov. 5, Pohlmann said.

The St. Bernard sheriff’s Juvenile Division interviewed the teen-ager and she has gone back to her home in Mississippi, Pohlmann said.

Sgt. Michelle Rogers Canepa of the Juvenile Division obtained warrants for Thoulion’s arrest on the three counts of felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile.

Several years ago, Thoulion had pleaded guilty in St. Bernard Parish to a charge of simple rape of a woman, but no information on the date of the plea was available.

He served time in prison for the conviction and moved to St. Charles Parish where he registered with authorities as a sex offender in January 2010, Pohlmann said.

But St. Charles officials later obtained a warrant for Thoulion’s arrest for non-compliance of laws involving registered sex offenders when he left that parish and apparently moved to the Picayune area.

Thoulion also is wanted in St. Charles on a warrant alleging theft and is wanted in Jefferson Parish on a warrant alleging possession of stolen property, Pohlmann said.