St. Bernard Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann, wearing a tie, discusses the Sheriff's Office in remarks to members of the Rotary Club chapter of St. Bernard.  Steve Cannizaro Photo.

Dec 28, 2008 - Quick response time to calls for public assistance and good cooperation with St. Bernard Parish residents in reporting suspicious activity is still the trademark of the Sheriff’s Office, Chief Sheriff’s Deputy James Pohlmann said in an end-of-the-year assessment given to the Rotary Club chapter in Chalmette.

Also, the reopening in 2008 of the parish Juvenile Detention Center and the Sheriff’s Office moving from a compound of trailer offices on the road to the port and into several buildings for specialized departments – such as the 911 Communications Center, the detective bureaus and the Civil and Tax Divisions - have marked major advances toward recovery, Pohlmann said in an informal session with Rotary Club members.

“Our Number 1 complaint from the public is always traffic enforcement, which we continue to work on but we are thankful it’s  the worst complaint,’’ Pohlmann said. “The message we like to send out is that if people come to St. Bernard to commit crime they will get caught and do serious time because we have a strong criminal justice system here,’’ he said.

Timely calls by the public to the Sheriff’s Office at 271-2501 when residents see something they think is suspicious has led to numerous arrests in cases, including burglaries, copper thefts and narcotics violations, which is extremely important since there are fewer residents in the parish since the storm and law enforcement needs that first line of defense against crime by alert citizens.

“Calls by people lead to arrests, no doubt about it,’’ Pohlmann said. “We are fortunate to have residents willing to report crime they see. We believe we are good at responding quickly to public calls. There is good cooperation between the community, businesses and the Sheriff’s Office.’’

“We are seeing mostly property crimes, many associated with people stealing property to sell and buy drugs to use,’’ Pohlmann told the Rotary Club, headed by school Board Hugh Craft.

Sheriff Jack Stephens has always stressed the best way to prevent violence in St. Bernard is to keep a strong presence in narcotics enforcement, not allowing groups to sell drugs on the streets which leads to turf wars, as well as aggressively fighting property crime. “If you get a handle on drugs you get a decrease in property crimes.’’

Residents should call 278-7628 to form Neighborhood Watch groups in their areas, and in the coming year the popular Citizens Police Academy, which helps residents learn more about law enforcement in St. Bernard and the various stages of the criminal justice system, will e restarted for the first time since the hurricane.

Sheriff’s sub-stations at the entrances to St. Bernard have been re-established; while there is a temporary trailer office on West Judge Perez in Arabi, property was purchased at Aycock Street and West Judge Perez to for a permanent sub-station, Pohlmann said. The sub-stations are a “barrier between our borders and activity of New Orleans,’’ serving a psychological purpose in letting people know they must pass a police station to get in or out of St. Bernard.

He said the list of reopened offices or those in new offices include: the sheriff’s Detective Bureau at the parish line on St. Claude Avenue in Arabi; the 911 Communications building on West St. Bernard Highway in Chalmette; the criminal records office where the public can get reports  in new quarters above the old Regions Bank building at Volpe Drive and East Judge Perez Drive in Chalmette and the Civil and Tax Division offices are now in the Sidney Torres Plaza Building (also site of the reopened Regions Bank) at 8301 West Judge Perez Drive at Jean Lafitte parkway in Chalmette. The Parish Prison and Juvenile Detention Center are open in their same spots and the old jail will be restored. Pohlmann said the old sheriff’s annex next to the Courthouse will rebuilt in the near future.

State Police are once again working in St. Bernard Parish handling various aspects of law enforcement and the Sheriff’s Office in 2008 restarted its Motorcycle Division to handle traffic enforcement with the leasing of two vehicles, with plans to add two more.

The Sheriff’s Office is also making good strides in trying to attract top notch employees by offering a starting salary of $32,500 for sheriff’s deputies and would-be candidates are invited to apply, Pohlmann said.

The Sheriff's Office also reminds the public that in accordance with Louisiana Law, the St. Bernard Sheriff’s Office previously mailed the 2008 Property Tax Notices via U.S. Mail on November 14, 2008. These notices were mailed to the address on file as provided to the St. Bernard Parish Tax Assessor’s Office.  The St. Bernard Sheriff’s Office encourages you to pay your Property Taxes promptly and by December 31, 2008 to avoid any additional penalties and interest.

If you do receive a Tax Notice for property you no longer own, please notify our Civil Tax Office at 504-271-2504 during regular business hours – Monday to Friday – 8:30 A.M. to 4:00 P.M..

If you have moved and have not received your 2008 Tax Bill, you will need to call both our offices with your new mailing address and the Tax Assessor’s Office with your permanent address change. The Tax Assessor’s phone number is 504-279-6379 for the permanent address change. Please call our offices with your new address so we can send you a copy of the Tax Bill.  The St. Bernard Sheriff’s Office only maintains the address change for the current mailing. Your permanent address change must be made at the Assessor’s Office.

Please remember that Property Taxes become delinquent on December 31, 2008 for the Tax Year 2008. Interest from December 31, 2008 will be charged at the rate of 1% Per Month or any Portion thereof, under Louisiana R.S. 47:2101

Dec 23, 2008 - Two men staying in an abandoned house on West St. Bernard Highway in Chalmette have been booked with a business burglary that happened next door to the house on Dec. 17, Sheriff Jack Stephens said. In an unrelated case a man was booked with burglary of his neighbor’s residence.

Jerry Johnson, 37, and Terry Asevedo Jr., 28, were both booked with business burglary of a hair salon on West St. Bernard Highway and possession of stolen items from the shop, as well as trespassing at an abandoned house next door to the business. Both are being held in St. Bernard Parish Prison.

Sheriff Stephens credited sheriff’s detectives and patrol deputies with good police work in quickly making the arrests and recovering items. After the business was found burglarized on Wednesday morning, Dec. 17, sheriff’s detectives remembered seeing Johnson and Asevedo walking in the area the day and that they appeared to be homeless.  Detectives requested patrol units be on the lookout for Johnson and Asevedo, who both have a past criminal history. It was learned a sheriff’s deputy on patrol had already made contact with the two men the morning of Dec. 17, about 30 minutes prior to the business being found burglarized, when Johnson and Asevedo were walking near Paris Road and Judge Perez Drive.  Johnson was intoxicated and one of his hands was cut and bleeding when he was stopped by deputies, and Johnson required being sent to a hospital for treatment. Once released, Johnson  admitted knowledge of the hair salon burglary and said he was staying with Asevedo at an abandoned house next to the salon. A sheriff’s detective went next door from the business to the abandoned house and found the doors open, a mattress on the floor and, in plain view, items described as having been stolen from the hair salon as well as paperwork from the business, all of which the owner later identified.

Asevedo, who was being sought after Johnson’s arrest, was found later in the early morning hours of Dec. 18, sleeping in the abandoned house on West St. Bernard Highway, Sheriff Stephens said. He had cut marks on his hands. Asevedo said he was homeless and moved in with Johnson in the abandoned house.  Asevedo admitted breaking into the hair salon, cutting his hands in the process.

In the other incident, Rusty Alphonso, 25, 3604 Juno Drive, Chalmette, was booked with burglary of a neighbor’s residence on Sunday, Dec. 22, Sheriff Stephens said. He is being held in St. Bernard Parish Prison in lieu of $50,000 bond. Alphonso allegedly broke into the home of a neighbor who lived on Patricia Street and stole several items, some of which were later sold, authorities said. Information developed in an investigation led to Alphonso, who was also found to have three outstanding warrants for his arrest on burglary charges from New Orleans police.

ALERT * ALERT * ALERT

Dec 21, 2008 - St. Bernard Parish Sheriff Jack Stephens is asking the public’s help in  identifying a man who, while wearing a pullover ski mask, stole a purse from a Violet woman after entering her home on Thursday, Dec. 18, and tried unsuccessfully to enter one or two other homes in the same area. No one has been injured but the sheriff said “the potential for catastrophe is high,’’ and he said Sheriff’s detectives have saturated the neighborhood involved trying to find witnesses.

“We are devoting time and resources and we are going to clear this case,’’ Sheriff Stephens said on Friday, Dec. 19. Anyone with information about the man can call the group Crimestoppers at (504) 822-1111 and be eligible to receive a reward if an arrest is made or can call the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office at (504) 271-2501.

The man, believed to be in his 20s, has tried to strike two or three times, making it inside one home on Guerra Drive about 5:30 a.m. on Dec. 18, when he demanded a purse from a woman resident who confronted him in her home, with him possibly knowing she had a large amount of cash in the purse. The resident said he wore a pullover ski mask on his face.

Sheriff Stephens also said a man wearing a ski mask tried to enter a home at night on Ashley Drive in Violet on Sunday, Dec. 14 but a woman resident shut a door on him after she heard the beeping of an alarm system. He didn’t get inside.

Also, sheriff’s officials are looking into reports of a similar incident in Violet on Thursday night, Dec. 11 in which a man knocked at a door but went away when a resident saw he was wearing a ski mask and yelled at him. 

In all three incidents the man approached a home when women were alone inside, which the sheriff said could be coincidental or results from him casing an area to know when women are alone.

The suspect is described as 5-7 to 5-9. In one incident the victim, who saw the man’s arms, said he is black but in another incident the victim said he wore gloves and she couldn’t tell his race.

Dec 21, 2008 - A man who allegedly had sex with several 14-year-old girls in St. Bernard Parish last summer and apparently gave one an incurable venereal disease has been sentenced to 40 years in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of forcible rape and three counts of carnal knowledge of a juvenile.

Jonathan Hampton, also known as “Gentilly,’’ was initially jailed by the Sheriff’s Office on July 28 on a forcible rape charge involving a teen-age girl from another state.  She was visiting relatives in St. Bernard.  Eventually Hampton had other sex charges filed against him.

Hampton, who initially said he hadn’t forced anyone to have sex,  pleaded guilty to forcible rape on Tuesday, Dec. 16.  State District Judge Wayne Cresap of St. Bernard sentenced Hampton to two consecutive 20-year sentences, for a total of 40 years to serve, on charges involving two 14-year-old girls. Hampton was also sentenced to three 10-year terms on the three charges of carnal knowledge of juveniles.  Those sentences are to be served concurrently, meaning at the same time, as the two 20-year sentences.

The girl from another state was hospitalized at Children’s Hospital in New Orleans for several days after she was diagnosed with an incurable form of a venereal disease. The sheriff said the girl reported the incident, which allegedly happened in Violet between July 5-17 at the home of a friend of a relative of the teen-ager, after she began having symptoms of venereal disease. Later, two more 14-year-olds were identified as alleged sex victims of Hampton and were tested at the same hospital. They had a lesser type of venereal disease, authorities said.

Detectives from the Sheriff’s Juvenile Division, commanded by Maj. Darlene Poche, found the girls after Hampton allegedly admitted he had been with others, Stephens said

Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann, left, and Capt. Brian Clark, head of the sheriff's Marine Division, look at one of the new search and rescue boats that are shallow draft and can be used in low-water situations in marshes or during street flooding in rain events. Steve Cannizaro Photo.

Dec 21, 2008 - Twice in December the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office Marine Division has rescued people whose watercraft became grounded during rapid tide drop caused by winds. In both situations, in which hypothermia became a concern for the stranded, the people were unfamiliar with the effects of wind on tides in St. Bernard waters and weren’t prepared for emergencies, such as carrying cell phones, signaling devices, blankets, food or liquids, Sheriff Jack Stephens said. A cell phone can be invaluable, he said.

“While St. Bernard Parish can be a paradise for those who like to boat in cold weather for fishing or hunting purposes it calls for planning in advance, including taking precautions for emergencies and being aware of the effects of winds on tides,’’ Sheriff Stephens said.

“It’s all about planning,’’ said Capt. Brian Clark, head of the sheriff’s Marine Division and a 25-year veteran of the state Wildlife and Fisheries Department who was involved in looking for both groups that got their watercraft grounded. According to Clark, “In winter things change. Pay close attention to weather forecasts and anything involving expected winds from the West, Northwest, Southwest or North. Be prepared for cold fronts with winds causing rapid tide drop that drain the marshes. You can expect a 1-4 foot drop in heavy winds.’’

“We’ve been getting so many calls for public assistance,’’ Clark said.  Just in time for winter, however, the Sheriff’s Office has just received two shallow draft vessels it purchased for search and rescue operations that allow going into law water marsh situations or, if necessary, during street flooding caused by rain events. “With the addition of these boats we now have the capability for all types of search and rescue situations,’’ said Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann. The 18-footers, with air-cooled engines, can run almost through pure mud if needed.

Clark and Pohlmann said those heading out to get to fishing or hunting areas by boat should follow simple precautions:

Tell people where you are going and when you are expected back and try not to deviate from that in case a search is required.
Have the right safety gear aboard including a wearable flotation device for each person in case the vessel capsizes or someone is thrown overboard.
Carry at least one flotation device that can be thrown to someone who lands in the water and use that instead of jumping in after them because, in a panicked state, the person suddenly in water can easily bring someone down with them.
Always have a signaling device such as a flare or at least a working flashlight.
Carry a fully charged cell phone and pay attention to your surroundings so you can accurately say where you are.
Carry liquids and food.
Dress warmly, bring blankets and always have something that can be used to start a fire in the marsh to provide heat overnight.

Dec 18, 2008 - A 25-year prison sentence has been given to one of the leaders of a narcotics trafficking network that distributed multiple-pounds of cocaine in the New Orleans area and Mississippi until dismantled by St. Bernard Parish and federal law enforcement agencies over a 3-year period.

Jason Broom, 32, who has been in jail since his arrest last April by St. Bernard Parish authorities, pleaded guilty Tuesday, Dec. 16 to possession with intent to distribute cocaine. State District Judge Wayne Cresap of St. Bernard sentenced Broom, who still faces federal charges. Broom pleaded guilty on the day he was set for trial.

St. Bernard Parish Sheriff Jack Stephens said about 30 people from the crime organization which included Broom have been arrested in the last three years by the St. Bernard Parish sheriff’s Special Investigations Division headed by Col. Chad Clark or federal drug enforcement agents. The crime group distributed multiple pounds of cocaine, sometimes in kilos, which are 2.2 pounds, authorities said.

Additional arrests will soon be made in the investigation, with more arrest warrants now being prepared based on new information in the continuing case, the sheriff said. He also said many members of the group are currently serving prison sentences and trials are pending for others.

The sheriff, who has stressed enforcement of narcotics laws is a cornerstone in preventing murders over the drug trade, said he welcomes the lengthy prison sentence for Broom and hopes for the same for others in the drug organization he was involved in.  “We are trying to send a message that if you come to St. Bernard Parish and deal drugs you will be caught and will go to prison’’ Stephens said.

Sheriff Stephens also encourages anyone who knows of drug-dealing or use to call the Sheriff’s Office drug tip line at (504) 271-DOPE. Information can be left anonymously, he said.

Dec 14, 2008 - Under a new state law, parents who allow their children to habitually miss school, such as five times in one semester, can be arrested and even face a jail sentence and so far three arrests have been made in St. Bernard Parish this school year, according to school system officials and the Sheriff’s Office.

Parents have started to realize the consequences of the law as the fall semester has played out and compliance is improving, according to St. Bernard Superintendent of Schools Doris Voitier and sheriff’s deputies involved in the school truancy program.  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.

Three people, a pair of parents in one case and in a separate case a single parent, have been arrested in St. Bernard this semester over not cooperating under the new law when their children habitually missed school for unexcused reasons, officials said. The cases are pending in court.

The new law, which applies to students through the 8th grade, says parents or guardians are notified when a child has had three unexcused absences or have been tardy in a semester and the adults must attend a meeting with school officials at which they sign to acknowledge they have been explained the law and its consequences, officials said. Upon a fifth unexcused absence or tardiness, the parents or guardians can be cited, meaning they can be arrested. The charge is improper supervision of a minor by a parent or legal guardian and it is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine and community service for the first infraction and a jail sentence of up to 30 days and a fine on the second violation.

“When we feel our efforts and the (sheriff’s) truancy officer’s efforts aren’t having any effects on parents we refer them to the judicial system,’’ for arrest, said Voitier. She and Louis Baudin, school system supervisor of child welfare and attendance, said most of the time parents, once explained the law, understand its serious nature and possible consequences to them. “A lot of times (parents) don’t realize it can go to that extreme (of being arrested),’’ Baudin said. Post-Hurricane Katrina problems for families have contributed in making all 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.’’

There are numerous programs to try to help parents and their troubled children who don’t want to attend school, Voitier said, including counseling and even psychiatric care services through the LSU Medical school.

St. Bernard Parish Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said the Sheriff’s Office is also following the new law and officers assigned to the truancy program are trying to achieve the goal of students being in school. “We’re not trying to punish anyone either but the law must be enforced for the good of the students,’’ Pohlmann said.

Lt. Lisa Jackson, head of the school resources and truancy programs of the Sheriff’s Office, and Sheriff’s Deputy Nicole Miller who serves as truancy officer said there were difficulties in getting some parents to understand the new law had to be complied with. They said they see signs that parents of habitually absent and tardy students who maybe didn’t take the new law seriously at first are now coming around. “I think the word is getting out’’ that several parents have been arrested and the same could happen to others if they don’t see to it their children attend school, Jackson said. “Some are realizing it’s not a game and their kids have to be in school,’’ said Jackson, who has 13 years experience in juvenile matters.

Now, some parents who have had problems with children not wanting to attend classes are calling the truancy program to say they need help handling their children because they don’t want to get in trouble themselves, Jackson and Miller said. “I see a difference’’ in some parents’ attitude since the beginning of the fall semester when the law went into effect, said Nicole Miller, who has worked 11 years for the Sheriff’s Office in the juvenile system. “They know parents are now accountable for their kids missing school.’’ The parents who have been arrested have been held in jail overnight before they could be bonded out, further illustrating the serious nature of the law, Miller said.

Dec 13, 2008 - A 38-year- old Violet man already arrested on sex charges involving juvenile girls including his own daughter has been re-arrested on three counts of aggravated rape of his former step-daughter that allegedly happened about 10 years ago when she was a minor, Sheriff Jack Stephens said.

The man, whose name isn’t being released to protect the identity of the alleged victims, was arrested twice over seven days and he is now being held in St. Bernard Parish Prison pending another appearance before a judge. He was out on bond when re-arrested. He was arrested after investigations by detectives of the sheriff’s Juvenile Division, commanded by Maj. Darlene Poche.

The man was first booked Dec. 4 with aggravated incest involving his juvenile daughter and with indecent behavior with the juvenile sister of his girlfriend.  After his release on a $50,000 bond, he was re-booked with making harassing phone calls, and has now been booked with three counts of aggravated rape of his former step-daughter. She is an adult but the rapes allegedly occurred about 10 years ago when she was a juvenile.  The investigations started when a teen-age girl reported to a counselor at her school that she had been touched inappropriately by her sister’s boyfriend. The girl’s legal guardian was informed and the Sheriff’s Office was called to investigate.

The same day, the arrested man’s juvenile daughter, who knew the alleged victim, gave the girl a note saying she believed her story, saying she also had allegedly been sexually abused several years by the same man, who is her father. After further investigation, the 38-year-old man was booked Dec. 4 with sex crimes involving both juvenile girls.  Sheriff Stephens said that after the man’s release on bond he allegedly made harassing phone calls and was re-arrested and authorities investigated allegations from his former step-daughter that resulted in the rape charges.
 

Dec 11, 2008 - A rare December snowfall on Thursday morning blanketed the New Orleans area, including windy flurries across St. Bernard Parish, but few traffic problems were reported, Sheriff Jack Stephens said.

For a couple of hours, beginning before 8 a.m., rare snow flurries covered roadways, vehicles and buildings and made road conditions dangerous. Sheriff Stephens said one vehicle accident was reported during the snowfall and there weren’t any injuries. “Drivers were obviously being cautious under the circumstances,’’ the sheriff said.

The snow, which later turned to sleet and then rain, stayed on rooftops and lawns throughout most of the day and snowmen made by children or adults could be seen in various areas, including one at the intersection of Judge Perez Drive and Paris Road crafted by the trio of Norman Poe, Deborah Doane and Elvis Kersey of Chalmette. 

The last time snow fell in Chalmette was on Christmas Day 2004.

Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said he and Parish President Craig Taffaro Jr. were in communication about the weather throughout the day and no major problems occurred. “The Sheriff’s Office was prepared for road closures if needed,’’ Pohlmann said.

The bridge over Paris Road in eastern New Orleans was closed for a while during the day to avoid traffic problems.

Dec 9, 2008 - A 38-year- old Violet man has been arrested for alleged aggravated incest involving his juvenile daughter and with indecent behavior with the juvenile sister of his girlfriend, Sheriff Jack Stephens said.

The man, whose name isn’t being released to protect the identity of the alleged victims, was arrested Dec. 4 and has been released from jail on a $50,000 bond. He was arrested after an investigation by detectives of the sheriff’s Juvenile Division. A teen-age girl who is a minor reported to a counselor at her school that she had been touched inappropriately by her sister’s boyfriend.  The girl’s legal guardian was informed and the Sheriff’s Office was called to investigate.

The same day, the arrested man’s juvenile daughter, who knew the alleged sex victim, gave the girl a note saying she believed her story, saying she also had allegedly been sexually abused several years by the same man, who is her father. After further investigation, the 38-year-old man was booked Dec. 4 with sex crimes involving both juvenile girls.

Dec 8, 2008 - A Meraux couple was booked with child desertion in the early hours of Friday, Dec. 5 for leaving their 2-year-old son in a child seat of their unlocked vehicle, with the motor running and a window down outside a Paris Road business while they played video poker inside, Sheriff Jack Stephens said.

Randy Blanchard, 27, and Jennifer Blanchard, 27, both of Meraux, were being held in St. Bernard Parish Prison without bond set, following their arrest about 2 a.m. on Dec. 5.  They were both booked with child desertion.

The Sheriff’s Office was called after their boy was seen in his child seat in their vehicle, which was left with the motor running. The infant was checked by emergency medical technicians.

Sheriff Stephens said the couple was found in the video poker room of a business and acknowledged they had taken the narcotic pills Xanax and hydrocodone.  When asked why they left the child unattended they said they weren’t going to be in the business for very long. But Sheriff Stephens said the amount of time the child is left alone is irrelevant because a minor child, especially an infant, shouldn’t be left alone at all, let alone in an unlocked vehicle with the motor running. The vehicle could have been stolen with the baby in the child seat, the sheriff said.

After the couple’s arrest, the child was turned over to the custody of someone with the permission of the mother.

Anthony Hookfin Jr., held on $1 million bond after being booked with two counts of first-degree murder in the Dec. 4 shooting deaths of two men in St. Bernard Parish

Dec 8, 2008 - An 18-year-old from Violetcould face the death penalty after being booked with first-degree murder in the Dec. 4 shooting deaths of two men outside a bar in eastern St. Bernard Parish after he was challenged over being too young to be in the lounge, Sheriff Jack Stephens said.

Anthony Hookfin Jr., 2304 River Queen Drive, whom the sheriff said made a taped confession after his arrest about 4 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 5 – some 10 hours after the shootings - allegedly killed the men after one told him he was too young to be inside and made him leave the bar. The incident was at Barracuda’s on East St. Bernard Highway.

After leaving, Hookfin allegedly walked several blocks, got a gun kept near a relative’s home, then returned to the lounge.  When he was again told he couldn’t stay, Hookfin allegedly said he had his I.D. outside and when two men followed him, the teen-ager allegedly shot and killed them both.  Michael Whitehead, 51, of the Kenilworth community in eastern St. Bernard Parish, and David H. Ward, 41, of Coalgate, Okla., who had been working in St. Bernard Parish for several months while doing construction work on levees, both staggered back into Barracuda’s after they were shot and collapsed to the floor.  Ward, was treated at the scene but died there, and Whitehead later died at University Hospital in New Orleans.

They were the fifth and sixth homicides in St. Bernard Parish in 2008.

“This was a cold-blooded act,’’ with the alleged killer going to get a gun before he returned to the scene, Sheriff Stephens said. The sheriff also said the deaths were senseless and occurred solely because the teen-ager felt he had been disrespected in being told to leave, even though he was too young to be in the bar.  Hookfin was tracked down through the efforts of sheriff’s detective commanded by Col. John Doran.  “Our department receives the cooperation and support from the community and we were able to get help from residents’’ in identifying the shooter, Sheriff Stephens said.  The teen-ager was found hiding in the bedroom of a girlfriend.

Hookfin, after first denying being the shooter, admitted under questioning he shot them and made a taped confession. The teen alleged to investigators that he felt threatened by the men at the bar.  Hookfin was booked with first-degree murder because there were multiple killings and the teen now faces a possible death sentence if convicted. The gun involved, possibly a .380-caliber semi-automatic, hasn’t been recovered.

Hookfin, a native of New Orleans, has been living in St. Bernard Parish off and on since before the hurricane after his mother was shot and wounded by his father who is now in prison. He has only minor arrests in his past.

Both Ward and Whitehead, who knew each other, were regular patrons at the bar. Neither worked for Barracuda’s, but Ward may have had had some unofficial status as a security person there because he was the one who challenged Hoofkin being in the bar, saying he was under-age and had to leave.

Dec 8, 2008 - With Christmas coming, new bicycles are likely to follow. And after the New Year, those new and current bikes in St. Bernard Parish can be registered free with the Sheriff’s Office to make it easier to get them back to their owner if they are ever stolen or lost and then recovered, Sheriff Jack Stephens said. For the first time since the hurricane the sheriff’s free bicycle registration program will return to St. Bernard in January. The starting date will be announced shortly.

“We believe the bicycle registration program will again be a useful tool to identify bicycles that are recovered after they have been stolen and abandoned or they have been misplaced away from home,’’ Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said. “More than 2,500 bicycles were registered with the Sheriff’s Office prior to the hurricane,’’ Pohlmann said, “but it’s likely almost all of them were destroyed in the flood and have been replaced by now and should be registered.’’

Under the registration program, bicycles 20 inches or above can be brought to the sheriff’s sub-station in the 5400 block of Paris Road, near the parish boundary with New Orleans, to be registered. The station is open seven days a week. “If possible you should bring a receipt for its purchase,’’ said Capt. Errol Schultz, who has run the bicycle registration program since the early 1990s. The serial number on the bicycle will be used for its registration and kept on file, and owners will receive a copy, he said. “We have had many bicycles returned to their owners over the years because we were able to identify them based on their registration, Schultz said. “We want to be able to do the same from now on.’’
 

Dec 1, 2008 - A Chalmette man and his young granddaughter who failed to return home Sunday from a jet skiing trip out of Bayou Bienvenue were rescued at dawn Monday at the base of a transmission tower about one-quarter mile from where they had launched, after spending a cold and windy night under a tarp they found, the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office and state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries said.

Michael Nohrenberg, 54, and his granddaughter, Kalie Nohrenberg, 11, who was visiting from the Houston area, waded to the transmission tower after their jet ski was stuck in mud in low water, but they couldn’t make it further because of higher water.

They were treated by emergency medical technicians and released after they were found about 6:30 a.m. and taken to the Bayou Bienvenue launch site, just off Paris Road on the border of St. Bernard and Orleans parishes. They didn’t require hospitalization.

“Thank you guys for coming and getting us,’’ the elder Nohrenberg told officers and agents from the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and U.S. Coast Guard who searched throughout the night of Sunday, Nov. 30, looking for the pair after they were reported missing.

Nohrenberg, who moved to Chalmette from Texas and does contracting work, is deaf and had recently suffered a heart attack, officials said.

Numerous boats from the Sheriff’s Office Marine Division and the Department of wildlife and Fisheries, as well as a Coast Guard helicopter were used in the search which covered Bayou Bienvenue, the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet, Bayou and Lake Borgne. 

Nohrenberg said he intended to give his granddaughter a ride on the jet ski and they went out in mid-afternoon on Sunday, Nov. 30. But the jet ski quickly became stuck in mud in low water, then the two waded to the base of the transmission tower about one-quarter mile from the Bayou Bienvenue boat launch. They found a tarp there and used it to keep warm during the night to ward off hypothermia.

Nohrenberg’s girlfriend had reported him and his granddaughter overdue from the jet ski trip.

Officials of the Sheriff’s Office and Wildlife and Fisheries said they were grateful the search was a success but said lessons can be drawn by other boaters.

Anyone going out on water should be aware of their surroundings and be prepared in case something goes wrong, including bringing blankets and flare devices as well as cell phones and drinking water, St. Bernard Parish Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

“Go in pairs, if possible, and always have a flotation device,’’ Pohlmann said.

Lt. Eddie Skena of Wildlife and Fisheries said the stranded Chalmette man was lucky to find a piece of tarp to “to maintain body heat’’ because hypothermia is a major concern in such a situation.

“I didn’t think this would end well’’ given the situation, Skena said, adding that fortunately it turned out okay.