Nov 30, 2009 - A theft victim in eastern St. Bernard Parish and a friend caught and held two suspects for responding sheriff’s deputies on Monday, Nov. 23, Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

Two New Orleans men, Donald Reese, 42, and Obediah Robinson, 32, both of 4217 Claiborne Ave., were booked with theft over $500 after removing a sheet of aluminum from the property of the victim on Florissant Highway, Pohlmann said. Reese was also booked with theft of a boat motor from the same property, which happened a week earlier.

Both are being held in St. Bernard Parish Prison, Reese in lieu of $60,000 bond and Robinson in lieu of bond set at $35,000.

Pohlmann said the victim received a call from a another man on Nov. 23, telling him he was following two men on Florissant Highway who he had observed remove a large sheet of aluminum from the victim’s property and place it in a pickup truck.

The victim, who was on his way home, caught up pulled in front of the driver of the pickup and forced him to stop as the friend of the victim pulled behind them. The Sheriff’s Office was called and a deputy arrived to investigate.

When questioned, Reese said he had first been to the property the week before and an unidentified man there had told him he could take whatever he wanted and he removed a boat motor, thinking it had been abandoned. He said he later dumped the motor in weeds off Chef Menteur Highway in eastern New Orleans. He came back and had taken the aluminum sheet the second time, Reese said, maintaining he didn’t do anything wrong.

Pohlmann said the owner replied that no one else had permission to be on his property or allow others to take items. He also said he has had other items stolen from his property, including other sheets of aluminum.

Reese and Robinson were arrested and the taken piece of aluminum was returned to the owner.

In an unrelated matter, an employee of a Chalmette restaurant was booked with theft of $206 that fell out of a customer’s jacket and was removed from the floor and hidden, Pohlmann said.

Wardell Carriere, 55, 2128 Desire St., New Orleans, was booked with theft on Nov. 20 and has since been released on bond.

A customer of a restaurant said she believed she had accidentally lost cash from her jacket while leaving after her meal, which she said she discovered after driving away. She said she lost more than $200.

A check of the restaurant’s video surveillance system showed the woman leaving and the employee, Carriere, kneel down and pick up what appeared to be a paper item and place it in a pocket. The tape showed he then went into a bathroom and soon left the restaurant briefly.

Questioned, Carriere said he picked up a piece of trash from the floor and left the restaurant to throw it in a trash container outside.

When deputies went outside to look around the area of dumpsters they found money hidden under one, totaling $206, Pohlmann said. The cash was returned to the woman and Carriere was booked with theft.

Nov 24, 2009 - With an aim of stopping drinking-and-driving in St. Bernard Parish, the sheriff’s free Holiday Ride Home program will be offered for the 26th straight year beginning the day after Thanksgiving, with residents able to get a ride home by the Sheriff’s Office – no questions asked - if they have been drinking, Sheriff Jack Stephens said.

Non-residents can get a ride to a sheriff’s sub-station and make arrangements to be picked up there.

When Sheriff Stephens started the ride home program after taking office in 1984 it was the first of its type in the New Orleans area and has served as a means to reduce the number of inebriated motorists.

Roughly 20 people took advantage of the free ride program in 2008.

“If someone has had too much to drink during the holidays we don’t want them trying to drive home,’’ and risk injuring themselves or an innocent party in an accident, Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said. “We would much prefer they call the Sheriff’s Office at 271-2501 and receive a free ride home, no questions asked.’’

“We will take them home from wherever 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. Non-residents of St. Bernard who are visiting the parish can call the Sheriff’s Office and they will be picked up and taken to a sheriff’s sub-station where they can make arrangements to get a ride home to their parish, he said.

Signs will be placed at the entrances of the parish to remind motorists of the free holiday ride home program.

Also, the Sheriff’s Office will be working in conjunction with State Police to battle drunk-driving, with extra patrols and checkpoints set up to specifically look for motorists who have been drinking, according to Capt. Walter Dornan, head of the traffic division for the St. Bernard Sheriff’s Office.

“It’s not worth the risk to drive if you have been drinking,’’ Pohlmann said. “Instead, take advantage of the sheriff’s free ride home program.’’

Nov 24, 2009 - A 19-year-old man from the St. Bernard community has been booked with three counts of carnal knowledge of a 15-year-old girl he allegedly had sex with on three occasions, sheriff’s officials said.

Christopher Eagerton, 2100 Creedmore Drive, was taken into custody at his home recently after a warrant for his arrest was signed by a judge, following an investigation by the sheriff’s Juvenile, commanded by Maj. Darlene Poche.

The girl had acknowledged having a relationship with Eagerton during an interview with a detective in the Juvenile Division.

Eagerton was booked into the St. Bernard Parish Prison but has since been released on a $60,000 bond.

Nov 23, 2009 - The administrative offices of the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office at 8301 West Judge Perez Drive in Chalmette, including the Civil Division where fines and taxes are paid, will be closed Thursday and Friday, Nov. 26-27, for the Thanksgiving holiday.

The offices, in the Sidney Torres Plaza/Regions Bank Building at the corner of Jean Lafitte Parkway, will reopen on Monday, Nov. 30.

Sheriff's Deputy Nicole Miller, a truancy officer assigned to schools, is shown making separate arrests of two parents under a state law that makes parents accountable for their minor children's truancy problems at schools. STEVE CANNIZARO PHOTOS.

Nov 23, 2009 - In the second school year of a state law making parents responsible if their minor children habitually miss class, Sheriff’s Office truancy officers are still working on getting the message across to some parents and have had to make a number of arrests, Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

Parents have been booked on misdemeanor charges and, in at least one case, had to serve a short jail sentence in St. Bernard Parish Prison since the law went into effect with the 2008-09 school year.

More than 30 arrests were made the first school year the law was in effect and a number of the cases are still in court. Typically, parents have been booked with misdemeanor negligent supervision of minors or contributing to the delinquency of minors and the in the cases which have gone to court monetary fines are generally ordered.

Since the start of the current school year in August, two parents have been arrested when their under-age children have missed numerous school days, Pohlmann said. St. Bernard judges have also issued warrants for the arrest of several other parents, who haven’t been taken into custody at this time.

“We’re not trying to punish anyone and don’t look to arrest parents, but like any other law it has to be enforced,’’ Pohlmann said. Arrests aren’t ordered without a lengthy process in which parents are made to understand their responsibilities and hopefully children begin regularly attending school again, he said. “Children need to be in school. It’s best for them and for St. Bernard Parish.’’ A student who skips school can end up falling into criminal activity, which no one wants, he said.

For parents who are struggling to deal with children who don’t want to attend school there are programs to help them, Pohlmann said. Truancy officer Sheriff’s Dep. Nicole Miller works with parents and children and can be reached at (504) 301-4008. Counseling services are also available.

The second-year law, which applies to students through the age of 17, says parents or guardians are notified when a child has had several unexcused absences or have been tardy numerous times in a semester and the adults must acknowledge they have been explained the law and its consequences, officials said.

More unexcused absences after that can result in arrests of parents.

The St. Bernard school system and Sheriff’s Office have been working together to enforce the law through existing school system attendance enforcement and Sheriff’s Office truancy programs.

Schools Superintendent Doris Voitier has said that most of the time parents, once explained the law, understand its serious nature and possible consequences to them.

Post-Hurricane Katrina problems for families have contributed in making such matters worse, the superintendent said.

“Our intention (in enforcing the school attendance law) isn’t to punish anyone,’’ Voitier said, but rather to do “what’s necessary to get the child to school and become a productive member of society.’’

Lt. Lisa Jackson, head of the school resources and truancy programs of the Sheriff’s Office, said there were difficulties in getting some parents to understand the new law had to be complied with.

She and Miller said there are signs that parents of habitually absent and tardy students who didn’t take the new law seriously at first are now coming around.

“Some get the message’’ after discussions with authorities, said Jackson, who has more than 10 years experience in juvenile matters.

Parents have to understand that if children don’t go to school it’s easy “to lose them to the streets,’’ Jackson said.

“Some parents just didn’t think they could be held responsible’’ even after the law was explained to them, said Miller, who also has more than years experience in juvenile matters.

The parents who have been arrested have been held in jail overnight by judges before they could be bonded out, further illustrating the serious nature of the law, Miller said.

Nov 23, 2009 - Three separate theft and attempted burglary arrests were made recently based on alert residents calling the Sheriff’s Office when they saw suspicious activity, Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

He said the arrests continue a trend of crimes being stopped in the act because St. Bernard citizens took the time to immediately call authorities at 271-2501 when they saw something that looked out of place to them.

“Never hesitate to call the Sheriff’s Office if something seems suspicious,’’ Pohlmann said. “No one will be angry if it turns out to be nothing. And if there is something criminal happening you will be helping your neighborhood fight crime.’’

In the three incidents, all in November, a total of four men were arrested, one for attempted burglary and attempted theft from two of his neighbors’ homes, one for attempted theft of a vehicle and another case in which two men were booked with trying to steal 2,000 pounds of scrap metal at a Chalmette business, Pohlmann said.

Kristopher Cavignac, 18, 3604 Despaux Drive, Chalmette, was booked Nov. 11 with attempted burglary of one neighbor’s house and attempted theft at the home of another neighbor after a call to the Sheriff’s Office about a suspicious person. Cavignac, being held in St. Bernard Parish Prison, was out on bond from a previous arrest in September on a theft charge when he was arrested again.

Cavignac was seen in a neighbor’s yard and had tried to make entry through a window, Pohlmann said. He also allegedly tried to steal shoes from under a carport of a different neighbor. He confessed to the burglary attempt, Pohlmann said.

On Nov. 19, Michael Lubrano, 34, 3124 Tournefort St., Chalmette, was booked with attempted theft of a vehicle after a call to the Sheriff’s Office about suspicious activity in the 300 block of East Girod Street in Chalmette. He has seen been released on $25,000 bond.

A woman, who is Lubrano’s wife, was reported to be sitting in a parked vehicle outside a home for about 30 minutes. When questioned by deputies, she gave an explanation for being parked there and eventually was allowed to leave.

But sheriff’s deputies soon found a witness who said a man had gotten out of the vehicle the woman was in before officers arrived and he walked to a second parked vehicle, holding what appeared to be tools and with a light strapped to his head. A look at the second vehicle by deputies showed its steering column had been tampered with in an apparent attempt to start the vehicle and steal it, Pohlmann said.

The owner of the damaged vehicle was alerted and said it hadn’t been touched when he last saw it.

Deputies and sheriff’s detectives went to Lubrano’s residence, where the wife gave permission to search the vehicle she had been found inside and tools were located. Also, Lubrano was spotted outside the residence and questioned by officers.

After further investigation Lubrano was booked with attempted theft of the damaged vehicle on East Girod Street.

In the third arrest incident, Kyle Vansickle, 23, 2609 Mary Ann Drive, Meraux, and Justin Abadie, 19, 3513 Laplace Drive, Chalmette, were both booked Nov. 8 with theft of scrap metal after an anonymous caller to the Sheriff’s Office said they were loading iron into a pickup truck at a business on East Solidell Street in Chalmette.

They were caught in the act by responding deputies as they removed scrap iron from a container at a business, Pohlmann said.

Vansickle and Abadie were booked with theft of goods worth up to $500 and have since been released on bond.

Nov 18, 2009 - The St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office, in accordance with Louisiana law, has mailed the 2009 Property Tax notices via U.S. mail to parish property owners and the taxes must be paid by Dec. 31, 2009, to avoid any additional penalties and interest.

These notices were mailed to the address on file as provided to the St. Bernard Parish Tax Assessor’s Office. Property owners should have received these notices by now.

If anyone receives a Tax Notice for property they no longer own, please notify the sheriff’s Civil Tax Office at 504-271-2504 during regular business hours – Monday through Friday – 8:30 A.M. to 4:00 P.M.

If a property owner has moved and doesn’t receive their 2009 Tax Bill, they need to call both the Sheriff’s Office to give their new mailing address so the tax bill can be sent to them and they must call or visit the St. Bernard Tax Assessor’s Office on the first floor in the Parish Courthouse on West St. Bernard Highway in Chalmette to give the permanent address change.

The Tax Assessor’s number is 504-279-6379.

The St. Bernard Sheriff’s Office only maintains the address change for the current mailing. The Assessor’s Office keeps the permanent address.

Property Taxes become delinquent on Dec. 31, 2009, for the tax year 2009. Interest from Dec. 31 will be charged at the rate of 1% per month or any portion thereof, under Louisiana R.S. 47:2101.

Casey Dumas, 31, killed by deputy

Nov 13, 2009 - Sheriff Jack A. Stephens said he believes it was proper use of deadly force when a deputy shot to death a man on Friday morning, Nov. 13, after the man choked and slapped his estranged wife in a domestic dispute and later aimed a handgun at the responding officer outside the woman's Arabi home.
 
Casey Dumas, 31, of Chalmette, a pipefitter who has been arrested numerous times on alcohol-related crimes such as driving while intoxicated, battery on police and resisting police, died at the scene of the 1:30 a.m. shooting outside 846 Lebeau Street, in Old Arabi between St. Claude Avenue and the Mississippi River.

The deputy, Cpl. Marco Spicuzza, a 12-year veteran, shot Dumas twice, once in the center of the chest and once near a shoulder, when Dumas ignored several commands to drop a gun he first placed in his mouth, then aimed at the deputy, at a distance of several feet, Sheriff Stephens said in a news conference on Nov. 13.

Several people including a neighbor, the wife, Robin Menzato, who had been separated from Dumas for about a month, and the woman’s 19-year-old daughter from a previous marriage, all said they heard the deputy tell Dumas to drop the weapon, Sheriff Stephens said.

“It appears to be a good shooting,’’ Stephens said, meaning it fits the rule of deadly force being used by a law enforcement officer only when his life or a third party’s life is in danger from an attacker.

The sheriff said it seems Spicuzza took appropriate action when his life was in danger after Dumas aimed a Glock handgun at him, which was recovered at the scene, from a short distance.

Spicuzza has been placed on administrative duty and will undergo a psychiatric evaluation and go before a sheriff’s review board before he can be reinstated to duty on the streets, the sheriff said.
 
Stephens, sheriff of St. Bernard since 1984, said during his tenure there has been only one other case of a deputy killing someone, which happened about 10 years ago after an armed robbery of a Chalmette store in which the assailant fled to a canal in Arabi and was shot to death as he fired at officers.

Deputy Spicuzza responded to a domestic complaint call after 1 a.m. from a woman who said her husband had choked and slapped her. A neighbor confirmed seeing the argument outside and told Dumas she would call the Sheriff’s Office if he didn’t leave the wife alone.

Dumas, who had been living with his parents in Chalmette, left the scene but called back to the occupants, making threats to burn down the house with his wife inside. He made the threats even after the woman's daughter told him over the phone he should stay away because a sheriff’s deputy had arrived, with Dumas saying he was still going to come back, Sheriff Stephens said.
 
Deputy Spicuzza heard Dumas arrive in a vehicle out front and went onto the front porch and down the steps to speak with the husband, Stephens said.

The deputy saw Dumas approach with something in his hand. As Dimas got closer he produced a black pistol, which Dumas then put into his mouth, the sheriff said.

He said the deputy drew his weapon and ordered Dumas to drop his weapon but Dumas continued to approach in an "aggressive manner" with the gun in his mouth and then removed it and pointed the gun at the deputy. With the weapon pointed at him, Spicuzza fired at Dumas, hitting him in the chest and right shoulder, with Dumas coming into contact with Spicuzza, who then wrestled him to the ground and secured Dumas’ gun, the sheriff said.

Medical attention was given at the scene but Dumas died there.

There hasn’t been any official report from the Sheriff’s Office on whether Dumas may have fired his gun at any time.

Domestic violence calls continue to be a situation in which law enforcement officers are killed in the line of duty each year, the sheriff said. Out of concern for victims of domestic violence, the Sheriff’s Office has partnered with the Battered Women’s Shelter in St. Bernard to make sure victims are aware of options and to prosecute cases.

When passions run high in domestic situations, the sheriff said, “reason is thrown out of the window in cases like this.’’

The wife wasn’t seriously injured in the initial incident with Dumas, the sheriff said.

Nov 9, 2009 - Sheriff Jack Stephens Authorizes Sandbags in Preparation for Tropical Storm Ida Nov 9, 2009 - St. Bernard Parish Sheriff Jack Stephens has authorized the immediate distribution of free sandbags to any St. Bernard Parish resident who wants them for their home or business.

Sandbags will be given out through at least 4 pm Monday. The sheriff's sandbag barn at the Port of St. Bernard is entered from a road at 9000 W. St. Bernard Hwy. in Chalmette.

Sheriff’s deputies and trusty prisoners will be handing out the sandbags.

Nov 8, 2009 - Registered sex offenders in St. Bernard Parish got an unexpected Halloween trick-or-treat surprise from the Sheriff’s Office – a sign on their front door saying, “Stop. No Candy at this Residence’’ by order of the sheriff.

The Sheriff’s Office participated this year in Operation Safe Streets with the U.S. Marshal’s Service in New Orleans, a project to ensure all registered sex offenders were in compliance with all state and local laws governing their activity.

A flier telling potential trick-or-treaters, “Stop. No candy at this Residence’’ by order of the sheriff was prepared by St. Bernard Sheriff’s Office Capt. Jeff Roderfeld of the Detective Division. He runs and updates the OffenderWatch program on registered sex offenders in St. Bernard Parish and deals with offenders who register when they change addresses or move into the parish. OffenderWatch, which informs the public where registered sex offenders live in neighborhoods and gives information on their convictions, is found on the St. Bernard Sheriff’s Web Site at www.sbso.org or on the Louisiana State Police Web Site.

Members of the St. Bernard sheriff’s Special Investigations Division visited the listed address of every registered sex offender in St. Bernard Parish on Halloween, placing a copy of the flier on each person’s front door and making sure they lived at the address they last gave the Sheriff’s Office.

All registered sex offenders were in compliance with laws, officials said.

Nov 8, 2009 - St. Bernard sheriff’s detectives and special agents have arrested three people and recovered more than $40,000 in boats, motors and other marine-related items stolen in a series of thefts since August, mostly in the eastern part of the parish.

The wide-ranging investigation by the sheriff’s Marine Division headed by Capt. Brian Clark, the Special Investigations Division led by Col. Chad Clark and sheriff’s detectives led by Col. John Doran, is continuing, Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

Three male teen-agers, two of them adults and one a juvenile, have been arrested so far in the case, which involved at least five thefts of marine items in the Delacroix Island area, the St. Bernard community and in Meraux – some at camps kept by people who live outside St. Bernard Parish, Pohlmann said.

Boats, trailers, expensive boat motors, fishing equipment and GPSs were stolen and have been recovered, some abandoned on waterways or in the marsh, leading to speculation the thefts were committed to use the equipment rather than to sell.
 
More arrests are expected; at least two warrants are being prepared for judges’ signatures. Anyone with further information can call the Sheriff’s Office at (504) 271-2501. Others involved in the thefts should consider coming forward and cooperating before they are arrested, officials said.

Tyler Campo, 17, 2213 Gina Drive, in eastern St. Bernard, was booked with four counts of theft and Robert Jackson, 18, 2213 Guilliot Drive, also in eastern St. Bernard, was booked with three counts of theft. A 15-year-old boy from the St. Bernard community whose name wasn’t released because he is a minor was booked with two counts of theft. All three have been released on bonds, but the amounts weren’t available.

Nov 5, 2009 - St. Bernard Parish residents Bill Justi, Stephanie Lepine and Normal Lovell all said they took the Sheriff’s free 8-week Citizens’ Police Academy course to get answers to questions they have had about certain aspects of law enforcement.
On graduation night for the class, on Wednesday, Nov. 4, they said they came away understanding a lot more about what police work entails and what happens in St. Bernard Parish.

“I’d felt safe here all my life,’’ said Justi, but he said he “wanted to see what the Sheriff’s Office does.’’ Justi, who lives in Arabi, said he found the course that includes information on all facets of the Sheriff’s Office and the criminal justice system to be “very informative and satisfying.’’

Lepine said the Citizens’ Academy classes “answered a lot of the questions I’ve thought about.’’

Lovell said she leaves the course with more understanding about law enforcement as it relates to the community. Some things she heard in the past she may have disagreed with, she said. “Now I’ve seen why some things happen,’’ Lovell said.
It was the second graduation of a Citizens’ Police Academy class since Hurricane Katrina. The first was last April.

More than 300 St. Bernard Parish residents are alumni of the Citizens Police Academy, which was started in 1999 and is geared toward fostering good relations between the community and law enforcement.
St. Bernard Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said he believes graduates “become ambassadors for law enforcement in St. Bernard Parish’’ because it gives people a vested interest in what happens in the parish.
Pohlmann said, “We want our residents to know what is going on with our department and be part of the effort to keep St. Bernard a safe community.’’

The class includes information on diverse topics such as most aspects of law enforcement, hands-on use of equipment including a firearms simulator that had citizens decide whether they would use a weapon in certain situations, as well as a SWAT Team equipment demonstration, a tour of the parish prison and boating safety tips from the sheriff’s Marine Division.

Steve Hartman, acting U.S. Marshal for the New Orleans area, was a featured speaker at the graduates, telling the class they should be proud of their willingness to protect their community and that they had been exposed to what goes on in a Sheriff’s Office. “You found out the organization is made up of people like yourselves, doing their best to serve their community.’’

Hartman told them, “You are fortunate to have a professional organization such as the Sheriff’s Office’’ which works closely with other law enforcement groups including his, the U.S. Marshal’s Service, which is the oldest federal law enforcement group in America, having been established by President George Washington.

John Palmer of Arabi, who took the Citizens Police Academy class and was asked by fellow members to address the graduation, said many in the group told him they will recommend that friends and family take the course. “I think that’s high praise for the Sheriff’s Office,’’ said Palmer.

Class members Russell Banks Jr. of Violet and Sara Gutierrez of Chalmette presented cards of appreciation to Capt. Charles Borchers, head of Crime Prevention for the Sheriff’s Office, and Capt. Marty Melerine of the Crime Prevention Unit. “We had a wonderful time,’’ Banks said.

Gutierrez said her son, George, is in law enforcement, and she now has more of an appreciation for what he has accomplished after she has taken the Citizens’ Police Academy Course. “I now know the life he has lived.’’

The next Citizens Police Academy course will be in 2010, Borchers said. To register, a St. Bernard resident can call (504) 278-7628. Several people have signed up already, he said.