Sep 28, 2009 - In adjoining classrooms at Joseph Davies Elementary School In Meraux, two sheriff’s deputes were stressing to fifth-graders that self-confidence and self-respect can help them stay true to core values and overcome peer pressure to use drugs, including alcohol and tobacco. 

St. Bernard Parish officers Lt. Lisa Jackson and Deputy Darrin Miller were instructing students and answering questions in some of the first classes of the newly re-started sheriff’s D.A.R.E., or Drug Awareness Resistance Education, program in St. Bernard Parish public and private schools for the first time since Hurricane Katrina. The program lasts 10 weeks, with one hour of instruction a week. Deputy Nicole Miller will also participate in the new program, appearing at parades and other events donning the costume of Daren the Lion, the international mascot of the D.A.R.E. anti-drug program.

At Davies, Jackson gave an example to kids of how to stand up for themselves in dealing with peers on the issues of drugs including alcohol and tobacco. Maybe a friend is at your home, she said. “If someone is doing something you know your parents don’t allow, you need to know how to respond,’’ she told the class of mostly 10-year-olds. “Tell them they have to leave,’’ Jackson said. “You don’t have to get angry but say what you mean and mean what you say.’’

And, more specifically, the students discussed how to tell someone under-age alcohol use isn’t appropriate. “I’d tell them I won’t do this’’ one boy said of the hypothetical situation. “I’d say, ‘you stop drinking and get out of my house,’’’ another student said. Another boy said he knows adults drink because “when I go to a gas station with my dad somebody is buying beer.’’ 

Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said sheriff’s officials thought the timing was right 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, Pohlmann said. He said 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. “We want to expand drug awareness information to children and throughout the entire parish with a series of Town Hall meetings for adults,’’ Pohlmann said.

Maj. Mark Poche, head of field Operations for the Sheriff’s Office, oversees D.A.R.E. as part of his duties. Besides Davies School, D.A.R.E. instruction is starting at Andrew Jackson Elementary, Rowley School, Lynn Oaks during the first semester and Gauthier, Prompt Succor, Willie Smith and Trist the second semester. “We teach them about peer pressure and bullies at school,” Jackson said. “We tell them they have to have confidence in themselves and respond to situations in a confident manner. It’s not just saying “No, no, no’’ to using drugs. You have to explain why. Show what the effects can be. It’s about decision-making.’’

Deputy Darrin Miller, a former deputy in the Juvenile Detention system, makes it a practice to walk the playground during some might   ask their parents. There’s also a question box in the classes, Miller said. “We get questions like ‘why is harmful for pregnant women to smoke’ and we answer them.’’ “I’ve worked with kids in the juvenile center when they were already in (the criminal) system,’’ Miller said. “I wanted to do this (D.A.R.E.) so I can work with them before they get in the system and maybe we can prevent them from ending up there.’’ Both he and Jackson underwent training sessions to teach the D.A.R.E. program, which like other types of teaching has guide books to develop lesson plans.

Fifth-grade teachers Julie Hitch and Vicky Lagman at Davies school said they support the aims of the D.A.R.E.  “It’s an appropriate age to to be hearing this information,’’ Lagman said. “They are talking to other kids about it. They are curious at this age. They ask questions (in the D.A.R.E. class and get the correct answers, so they are not misinformed.’’ Hitch said, “I think it’s very helpful’’ for the students to learn about dangers and get the right information.’’ She added, “It’s critical to get to them before they go to middle school’’ and are more likely to face temptations and peer pressure to do things that are wrong for them.

At Andrew Jackson, Principal Susan Landry supports D.A.R.E. and believes it fits in with the goals of her school, specifically to instill self-confidence and self-respect in students and use that as a means of earning the respect of others. “We encourage students to make good choices and do the right thing,’’ Landry said. “We teach children to like themselves and believe in themselves."

Sep 21, 2009 - Three Chalmette men were booked Thursday, Sept. 17, with felony theft of several thousand dollars worth of copper wire taken from a job site over a period of time, Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said. Booked with theft over $500 were Brenden Guerra, Michael Boudreaux and Joseph Richard, no ages or addresses available. All three are being held in St. Bernard Parish Prison. Boudreaux has a probation hold because of a previous conviction and can’t be bonded out while the others have bonds of $100,000 each. Sheriff’s detectives developed information leading to the men after reels of wire to be used in underground telephone lines were stolen from a job site in Chalmette. More than 4,500 feet of wire containing copper, worth several thousands of dollars, was stolen over a period of time.

In an unrelated matter, Dominique Jones, 25, 3116 Angelique Drive,  Violet, was booked Thursday, Sept. 17, with attempted robbery with a knife and aggravated battery after he cut a Violet man while trying to rob him early that morning. The victim, 48, was treated at a hospital for lacerations to the forehead and left cheek. The incident happened just before 3 a.m. in the 5600 block of East Judge Perez Drive in Violet on Sept. 17. The victim said he was attacked from behind but fought off the robber, who fled on a bicycle. Sheriff’s detectives developed information leading to his arrest, including finding that Jones, who has a lengthy criminal history, allegedly told others he intended to rob the victim. Jones is being held in St. Bernard Prison in lieu of $75,000 bond.

Sep 16, 2009 - A malnourished and injured 14-year-old boy removed from his father on Wednesday, Sept. 9 while living in a recreational vehicle in a rural section of eastern St. Bernard Parish has been released from a hospital and was reunited with his mother who came in from Arizona and she has been awarded custody of the minor by a St. Bernard Parish judge.  The father, booked Sept. 9 with felony cruelty to a juvenile has been released on $25,000 bond.

Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said the boy, who weighs just 60 pounds was is in the custody of the state Department of Social Services when he was hospitalized with an injured foot for which the father never sought treatment. Also, the boy, who was living in squalid conditions in his father’s recreational vehicle, apparently hasn’t been in school or seen a doctor in the more than four years he has lived with his father in the New Orleans area.

The father, Daniel Ballard, 30, was booked into the St. Bernard Parish Prison in lieu of bond set at $25,000 and would face up to 10 years in prison if convicted of cruelty to a juvenile. Ballard has now posted a commercial surety bond and has been freed.

The boy’s mother, who has maintained she has only spoken to the boy by phone and hasn’t known where he and the father have lived since she sent the teen to stay for what was supposed to be a temporary stay with the father before Hurricane Katrina, came from her home in Arizona to St. Bernard Parish after the boy was found. The woman, whose name wasn’t released, went to court in St. Bernard on Monday, Sept. 14 with state child protective service representatives and she was awarded custody of the boy by a judge. The mother and son went home afterward.

No further charges are anticipated, Pohlmann said, adding the boy's name was not listed anywhere as a runaway or a kidnapping victim. He also said Ballard has outstanding arrest warrants in New Mexico and Ohio but both are for minor offenses for which the states will not seek extradition.

Sep 12, 2009 - A malnourished, injured 14-year-old boy is improving in a hospital after being removed from his father on Wednesday, Sept. 9.  The young boy was living in a recreational vehicle in a rural section of eastern St. Bernard Parish.  The Sheriff’s Office is continuing an investigation of the parent, who has been booked with felony cruelty to a juvenile.

Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said the boy, who weighs just 60 pounds despite being 14 years old, is in the custody of the state Department of Social Services.  He is receiving treatment for an infection of his right foot, for which the father never sought medical treatment. The boy apparently hasn’t been in school or seen a doctor in the more than four years he has lived with his father in the New Orleans area.

The boy’s mother is expected to arrive within days from her home in Arizona to see the teen-ager.  She has only talked with the boy on a cell phone but hasn’t seen him or know of his location since she sent him on a plane to the father in Louisiana before Hurricane Katrina. "Until we look at documents and see some facts, we can only go by what the boy and the father are telling us," Pohlmann said. “We want to get to the bottom of this and make sure this juvenile ends up in a good environment.’’ The boy's name is not listed anywhere as a runaway or a kidnapping victim. He also said Ballard has outstanding arrest warrants in New Mexico and Ohio but both are for minor offenses for which the states will not seek extradition.

The boy gave detectives from the Sheriff’s Juvenile Division his mother's phone number.  She told sheriff’s detectives she has been in contact with the boy off and on over the past few years.  He was supposed to visit the father for several months while she was ill but she has claimed to sheriff’s detectives since the teen’s removal from his father’s custody that the father wouldn’t say where they had moved and she couldn’t find them on her own. The woman said by telephone that Ballard often tightly restricted phone conversations and would never reveal their whereabouts.

The father, Daniel Ballard, 30, is in the St. Bernard Parish Prison in lieu of bond set at $25,000 and would face up to 10 years in prison if convicted of cruelty to a juvenile. Ballard, who said he cuts grass for money, and his son apparently have lived in eastern St. Bernard Parish, in an RV-trailer park for just over a month. Ballard has said little to investigators. The boy was apparently injured when a speaker fell on his leg while he and the father were moving equipment at a storage facility on the West Bank.  The leg got infected but Ballard said the boy didn’t want to go to a doctor. The boy also injured an elbow in the past but wasn’t taken to a doctor. Ballard also initially claimed to be home-schooling his son but the teen hasn’t been in a school since he has been in his father’s custody. 

St. Bernard Parish Ward K Constable Tony Guerra found the boy injured and living in deplorable conditions on Wednesday, Sept. 9,  while serving an eviction notice at the RV site. He questioned the father about why the boy wasn’t in school and about the injured leg and wasn’t satisfied with the answers. Guerra called the Sheriff’s Office to report what he saw and sheriff’s deputies and detectives came out to investigate. Guerra said, “I could see inside the place and it was horrible,’’ when the boy answered the door. “I could see he was limping,’’ he said of the teen-ager and he also noticed what appeared to be an untreated armed injury that hadn’t healed properly.

Pohlmann said the boy told detectives the injury was due to a past motorcycle accident but the father never sought medical help and the bone didn’t properly set. A Sheriff’s report of what investigators found at the residence said there was a "very strong, foul odor emanating from the inside of the trailer" and "numerous pieces of what appeared to be animal feces throughout the trailer floor." It also said, “there was no food in the trailer, no running water and only the air conditioner had electrical power.’’

Ballard and his son were also living with six dogs and one cat inside the cramped mobile home. The pets were taken to St. Bernard's animal shelter. Detectives believe Ballard had only recently gotten the RV he and the boy were living in. The two previously lived in a trailer park on Airline Drive in Jefferson Parish before they moved to the Fanz Mobile Home Estates park in eastern St. Bernard last month.

Sep 12, 2009 - A malnourished, injured 14-year-old boy is improving in a hospital after being removed from his father on Wednesday, Sept. 9.  The young boy was living in a recreational vehicle in a rural section of eastern St. Bernard Parish.  The Sheriff’s Office is continuing an investigation of the parent, who has been booked with felony cruelty to a juvenile.

Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said the boy, who weighs just 60 pounds despite being 14 years old, is in the custody of the state Department of Social Services.  He is receiving treatment for an infection of his right foot, for which the father never sought medical treatment. The boy apparently hasn’t been in school or seen a doctor in the more than four years he has lived with his father in the New Orleans area.

The boy’s mother is expected to arrive within days from her home in Arizona to see the teen-ager.  She has only talked with the boy on a cell phone but hasn’t seen him or know of his location since she sent him on a plane to the father in Louisiana before Hurricane Katrina. "Until we look at documents and see some facts, we can only go by what the boy and the father are telling us," Pohlmann said. “We want to get to the bottom of this and make sure this juvenile ends up in a good environment.’’ The boy's name is not listed anywhere as a runaway or a kidnapping victim. He also said Ballard has outstanding arrest warrants in New Mexico and Ohio but both are for minor offenses for which the states will not seek extradition.

The boy gave detectives from the Sheriff’s Juvenile Division his mother's phone number.  She told sheriff’s detectives she has been in contact with the boy off and on over the past few years.  He was supposed to visit the father for several months while she was ill but she has claimed to sheriff’s detectives since the teen’s removal from his father’s custody that the father wouldn’t say where they had moved and she couldn’t find them on her own. The woman said by telephone that Ballard often tightly restricted phone conversations and would never reveal their whereabouts.

The father, Daniel Ballard, 30, is in the St. Bernard Parish Prison in lieu of bond set at $25,000 and would face up to 10 years in prison if convicted of cruelty to a juvenile. Ballard, who said he cuts grass for money, and his son apparently have lived in eastern St. Bernard Parish, in an RV-trailer park for just over a month. Ballard has said little to investigators. The boy was apparently injured when a speaker fell on his leg while he and the father were moving equipment at a storage facility on the West Bank.  The leg got infected but Ballard said the boy didn’t want to go to a doctor. The boy also injured an elbow in the past but wasn’t taken to a doctor. Ballard also initially claimed to be home-schooling his son but the teen hasn’t been in a school since he has been in his father’s custody. 

St. Bernard Parish Ward K Constable Tony Guerra found the boy injured and living in deplorable conditions on Wednesday, Sept. 9,  while serving an eviction notice at the RV site. He questioned the father about why the boy wasn’t in school and about the injured leg and wasn’t satisfied with the answers. Guerra called the Sheriff’s Office to report what he saw and sheriff’s deputies and detectives came out to investigate. Guerra said, “I could see inside the place and it was horrible,’’ when the boy answered the door. “I could see he was limping,’’ he said of the teen-ager and he also noticed what appeared to be an untreated armed injury that hadn’t healed properly.

Pohlmann said the boy told detectives the injury was due to a past motorcycle accident but the father never sought medical help and the bone didn’t properly set. A Sheriff’s report of what investigators found at the residence said there was a "very strong, foul odor emanating from the inside of the trailer" and "numerous pieces of what appeared to be animal feces throughout the trailer floor." It also said, “there was no food in the trailer, no running water and only the air conditioner had electrical power.’’

Ballard and his son were also living with six dogs and one cat inside the cramped mobile home. The pets were taken to St. Bernard's animal shelter. Detectives believe Ballard had only recently gotten the RV he and the boy were living in. The two previously lived in a trailer park on Airline Drive in Jefferson Parish before they moved to the Fanz Mobile Home Estates park in eastern St. Bernard last month.

Sep 12, 2009 - A fire started in an apartment in Violet led to the arrest of a man who was asleep when firefighters broke open the front door.  Sheriff’s deputies entered and found in plain view on the dining room table 10 aluminum foil packages containing substances which tested positive for heroin, along with drug paraphernalia. Travis Brock, 29, 5012 E. Jude Perez Drive, Apt. A in Violet, suffered smoke inhalation and received medical treatment when a fire broke out on a stove in his residence early in the morning on Saturday, Sept. 5.

Firefighters made entry through the front door and extinguished the blaze.  Brock, who was sleeping in a bedroom, was awakened and taken by ambulance for medical treatment at University Hospital in New Orleans. He said he didn’t know how the fire started, saying he fell asleep while his girlfriend was cooking. When asked by sheriff’s deputies about the packets of alleged heroin and drug paraphernalia in the apartment, he denied any knowledge of them. After Brock was released from the hospital he was arrested and booked with possession of heroin with intent to distribute and possession of drug paraphernalia and is being held in St. Bernard Parish Prison in lieu of $25,000 bond set in the case.

In the separate burglary case on Wednesday, Sept. 9, three were arrested: Jeramey Wallgren, 32; John Campbell, 26, and Brittany Ebey, 23, all of 3220 Decomine St. in Chalmette, after a neighbor’s home was burglarized.  The men were booked with residence burglary, the woman was booked with being a principal to burglary and all three were booked with possession of stolen property. Wallgren and Campbell were being held in St. Bernard Parish Prison in lieu of bonds set at $75,000 each and Ebey is being held in lieu of $35,000 bond.

Sheriff’s detectives working the case, acting on information they received, questioned the woman, who acknowledged taking part in the burglary. The men were arrested shortly afterward. Numerous items including jewelry, a computer, a television and an X-Box game system and about 100 video games were stolen but all items were recovered, including some in a pawn shop in Picayune, Ms., and a video game business in Slidell.

Sep 11, 2009 - Two men were extradited from Texas to Chalmette Thursday evening to face armed robbery charges in an unusual July 18 restaurant heist in which two people were tied up but the robbers left behind a bag of stolen money in their haste to leave when they were interrupted, Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

Darbin Maurisio Casto Santos, 22, and Selvin Torres Rodriguez, 24, arrested near San Antonio on Aug. 27 while riding in a sport utility vehicle used in the robbery of the Gold Star Diner, were brought back by two St. Bernard Parish sheriff’s deputies, Det. Lt. Richard Mendel and Cpl. Leander Morgan of the sheriff’s Special Investigation Division. The arrested men, now held in he St. Bernard Parish Prison, were stopped for traffic charges in Texas in a gray Dodge Durango used as the getaway vehicle and with the same license plate number a witness to the robbery copied down as two men fled the diner after the robbery was foiled.

The heist unraveled when a retired FBI agent, who had gone to eat lunch at the diner, surprised four men robbing the place when he went to the rear of the building, where the robbers had tied up the owner and were holding his daughter. The ex-agent was also tied up but he managed to free himself enough to run forward to the dining room and, in the confusion, two robbers fled out the front. Two robbers went out the back of the diner and are still at-large. A bag of stolen money was left behind.

Carlos Garay

Sep 10, 2009 - A Honduran man was arrested for attempted murder in Chalmette in a plot to kill a married couple shot in a Chalmette parking lot last Feb. 3 after leaving a store, Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

Carlos Garay, 31, arrested Tuesday, Sept. 8, was identified as the driver of a vehicle in which three men allegedly lay in wait in the parking lot of a Home Depot store in Chalmette and one man fired several shots at the couple as they tried to drive out of the lot. The couple, who were wounded but not seriously, had moved to Chalmette from El Salvador and told authorities they were targeted after seeing a man in the Home Depot store who allegedly killed the male victim’s brother in El Salvador in the 1990s.  Garay’s truck was recovered in Chalmette the day after the shooting but he and the others fled the area.

Garay, who had been living in eastern New Orleans, was arrested after sheriff’s detectives received a tip he would be working in Chalmette on Sept. 8. Garay is being held in St. Bernard Parish Prison in lieu of a $500,000 bond set in his case. The alleged shooter and orchestrator of the attempted murders has been identified as Jose “Alex’’ Rojas, no age available – said to be the man the couple saw in the store and knew years earlier in El Salvador. He is wanted on the attempted murder charge. The shooting victims claimed Rojas murdered the male victim’s brother in El Salvador about 15 years ago but said they hadn't seen him since until they came face to facer with him in the Home Depot store in Chalmette the night of Tuesday, Feb. 3. A third man involved in the incident has never been identified.

Anyone with information or Rojas or the unidentified man can call the St. Bernard Sheriff’s Office at (504) 271-2501.

Daniel Ballard

Sep 10, 2009 - An injured, malnourished 14-year-old boy weighing just 60 pounds and who hasn’t attended school nor seen a doctor in more than four years was removed from the custody of his father by St. Bernard Parish sheriff’s detectives and the parent was arrested for cruelty to a juvenile, Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

Daniel Ballard, 30, was arrested Wednesday, Sept. 9, after a St. Bernard Parish constable who was serving an eviction notice to the father at his recreational vehicle at a trailer-RV site in eastern St. Bernard noticed the boy wasn’t in school and had an untreated leg injury, a swollen, infected right foot.  Ward K Constable Tony Guerra called the Sheriff’s Office and said the boy was also living in a deplorable residence, as well as having the injured foot and appearing malnourished.

“I could see inside the place and it was horrible,’’ Guerra said Thursday, Sept. 10.  He saw inside when the boy had answered at the door. “I could see he was limping,’’ he said of the teen-ager. Guerra said he had previously left an eviction notice at the RV and went back to serve a “a show cause’’ document on why the father shouldn’t be held in contempt for not leaving the site. “I asked the father why he (the son) wasn’t in school and he said he was home-schooling him,’’ Guerra said Thursday, Sept. 10. “I knew that wasn’t true.’’ Guerra said he “wouldn’t have slept right’’ if he hadn’t reported what he saw to the Sheriff’s Office.

When sheriff’s deputies and detectives investigated, the father said the boy was injured when a speaker fell on his leg while they were moving equipment but the father said the boy didn’t want to go to a doctor, Pohlmann said. It was learned the boy hadn’t been in school or to a doctor in the more than four years since the father has had him in the New Orleans area. The boy also injured an arm months ago and the father didn’t have him medically checked out then either.

Ballard, now being held in St. Bernard Parish Prison in lieu of bond set at $25,000, had been living in St. Bernard for apparently slightly over a month after living in various other parishes. He said he is a grass-cutter. If convicted of cruelty of a juvenile, he could face up to 10 years in prison. Detectives said Ballard couldn’t answer basic questions, such as when the boy had last attended school and if there was a copy of his birth certificate.

"Instinctively, the detectives knew something was wrong, something was amiss there," said Col. John Doran, chief of detectives at the Sheriff's Office.

The boy is being treated for the foot and arm injuries. The Sheriff's Office did not disclose the boy's location, but said officials with the state Department of Social Services are involved. Sheriff's officials said neither Ballard nor the boy have disclosed much information, and that the boy did not allege any specific abuse when detectives talked with him. An investigation has shown the boy has been with Ballard in the New Orleans area since just before Hurricane Katrina, in summer 2005, Pohlmann said.

No birth certificate for the boy or any legal custody documents have been found. According to Doran, the boy lived with Ballard and his mother in Ohio before 2002. Ballard then moved to the New Orleans area, and the mother moved to Arizona with the boy and his sister. In summer 2005, the mother, whose name was not released, put the boy on a plane to New Orleans to be with Ballard. Since then, Pohlmann said, the mother has tried on and off to locate the boy but has been unable to track him down. The mother, when contacted by he Sheriff’s Office, said she has spoken with the boy on the phone at times but didn’t know where he and Ballard were in Louisiana because Ballard tightly controlled what they discussed. If she asked too intrusive of a question, Ballard would hang up the phone, she alleged.

Sep 4, 2009 - A traffic stop in Arabi on Wednesday night, Sept. 2, yielded what is suspected to be 14 units of the drug LSD, along with a small amount of marijuana and a smoking device with marijuana residue, sheriff’s officials said.

Rose Colley, 28, of Marrero, was stopped about 10 p.m. by sheriff’s deputies when her vehicle crossed several times over the white line on the roadway while she was traveling east on St. Bernard Highway. Colley, who had a suspended drivers’ license and had outstanding warrants for her arrest in New Orleans and St. John Parish, gave permission for a search of the vehicle. In the search, a plastic container was found which held 14 pieces of the candy Sweettarts, which had an unknown substance on top. When questioned, Colley said it was the drug LSD, which is rarely found in St. Bernard Parish. The substance will be sent to a crime lab for analysis. She also turned over to officers a small bag of vegetable matter that tested positive for the presence of marijuana. A smoking device with marijuana residue was also found.

Colley was booked into St. Bernard Parish Prison on charges of possession of LSD with intent to distribute, possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia and traffic charges. She is being held in lieu of $10,000 bond.

Timothy Johnson

Sep 4, 2009 - Timothy Johnson 49, whom authorities said let his grandchild’s father die of a drug overdose in the back seat of a car in March rather than call 911 has been sentenced to the maximum five years in prison after pleading guilty to negligent homicide. Ryan Eisler, 31, of Madisonville, father of Johnson’s grandchild, was found dead March 22.  Eisler was in his 2005 Suzuki Forenza in the 3500 block of Pakenham Drive around the corner from Johnson’s residence. A man cutting grass that morning saw the body in the vehicle.

Johnson, who previously lived on Jackson Boulevard, has been in the St. Bernard Parish Prison since his arrest March 23.  Johnosn entered his guilty plea on Sept. 1. State District Judge Jacques Sanborn of Chalmette sentenced Johnson to the five-year sentence. Johnson was on 3-year probation for a past conviction and didn’t call for medical help when Eisler went into respiratory distress involving heroin because he apparently was afraid he would get in trouble, St. Bernard Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann. He said Johnson put the victim in the car, parked by a vacant lot on a near-by street and turned on the car’s flashers before walking home, leaving Eisler to die in the back seat.

“Instead of rendering help the subject callously let the other man die by placing him in a vehicle and disassociating himself from the situation,’’ Pohlmann said. Eisler had gone to Johnson’s residence and allegedly had been using heroin. An autopsy found the death was consistent with a drug overdose. Negligent homicide is committed when someone dies because of criminal negligence and disregard for their welfare.

Sep 3, 2009 - St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s detectives will go to Texas to bring back two men arrested for an unusual armed robbery of a parish restaurant.  Two people were tied up by the robbers and then left behind a bag of stolen money in their haste to leave when they were interrupted.

The men, who will be extradited to St. Bernard Parish for prosecution in the July 18 robbery of the Gold Star Diner, were arrested Aug. 27 near San Antonio.  They were riding in a stolen vehicle used in the robbery, St. Bernard Parish Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

The license plate number of the SUV was copied by a witness as robbers left the Gold Star Diner, in the 1100 block of Bayou Road, after tying up the owner and a customer but forgetting the loot. Two unidentified men remain at-large in the robbery. The plate number was the key because the robbers, who got a new plate after the 2006 gray Dodge Durango was stolen in Houston before it was brought to St. Bernard, kept the vehicle and didn’t change the plates after the heist, apparently believing they had gotten away without anyone seeing the license number.  St. Bernard authorities have been told that extradition of the men can proceed and sheriff’s detectives will go to bring them back, probably next week.

Darbin Maurisio Casto Santos, 22, and Selvin Torres Rodriguez, 24, were in the SUV, with the same plates on it, when they were stopped by sheriff’s deputies in Medina County, Texas, near San Antonio, on traffic violations Thursday night, Aug. 27. Both were taken into custody when it was found the vehicle was stolen and had been used in an armed robbery in Louisiana.  St. Bernard officials learned of the arrests on Friday, Aug. 28, and worked to get arrest warrants signed by a judge based on the vehicle and a video of the robbery which clearly showed the faces of the robbers. State District Judge Manny Fernandez signed the arrest warrants, holding the men on armed robbery charges.

The robbery unraveled when a retired FBI agent, who had gone to eat at the diner, surprised the four men by going to look for service in the rear of the building, where the robbers had tied up the owner and were holding his daughter. The ex-agent was tied up but he managed to free himself enough to run forward to the dining room and, in the confusion, the robbers fled and left the bag of stolen money, Pohlmann said. Another customer went outside and got the Texas license plate number on the Dodge Durango two of the men drove away in. Two robbers went out the back of the diner.

Ivy Bourgeois

Sep 3, 2009 - A joint investigation by the Plaquemines and St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Offices led to the arrest Wednesday, Sept. 2, of a Chalmette man who allegedly tried to lure into a truck a 10-year-girl near Braithwaite on the East Bank of Plaquemines.

Ivy Bourgeois, 26, 3520 Decomine St.Chalmette, was booked Wednesday with attempted kidnapping of the girl, who wasn’t injured. The girl said a man in a white truck tried to lure her into the vehicle about 5 p.m. but she refused and ran home to tell her mother, who reported the incident.

 A man who lived in the area told investigators he had received a flier for a grass-cutting operation from a man in a white truck and the number on the flier was traced to a Chalmette residence, authorities said. Further investigation by sheriff’s officials in Plaquemines and St. Bernard parishes led to the alleged truck used in the incident and to Bourgeois as a suspect. The girl was able to identify both Bourgeois and the truck in photo lineups she was shown. Bourgeois was taken to the Belle Chasse lockup.

Sep 2, 2009 -  Continuing a crackdown on motorists who drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs, the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office will conduct a sobriety checkpoint on Wednesday, Sept. 2, Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

 This is the fourth time this year a sobriety checkpoint has been set up by the Sheriffs Office. The last time, in mid-July, four people were arrested for driving under the influence, including a man who had an open alcohol drink in his car and bolted from the checkpoint when sheriff’s deputies approached him, then nearly struck a deputy before driving away at a high speed and had to be tracked to his Chalmette home where he was arrested.

“We are taking this seriously,’’ Pohlmann said of sobriety checkpoints. “We don’t want people driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and risking their lives and the lives of others. “Having a designated driver if you are with a group or taking a cab home if you are out alone is a much better alternative than getting arrested driving drunk.’’

	Darbin Maurisio Castro Santos
	Selvin Torres Rodriguez

Sep 2, 2009 - Extra effort by the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office to send detectives to Houston to look into an unusual July armed robbery of a parish restaurant has paid off with the arrest of two men in Texas found riding in a stolen vehicle used in the robbery, Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

The license plate number of the SUV was copied by a witness as four men left the Gold Star Diner in eastern St. Bernard on July 18.  The suspects allegedly tied up the owner, his daughter and a customer, but forgot a bag of stolen money in their haste to leave. The license plate number turned out to be the key because the robbers, who got a new plate after the 2006 gray Dodge Durango was stolen in Houston before coming to St. Bernard, didn’t change the plates after the heist - apparently believing they had gotten away without anyone copying the number.

The vehicle was reported stolen in Houston and its title stolen in a burglary of the owner’s residence. The fact the Sheriff’s Office sent two detectives, Chief of Detectives Col. John Doran and Maj. John Gutierrez, to Houston to talk with police, the theft victim and officials at the title company that issued new plates helped ensure Texas authorities understood the vehicle was wanted in connection with an armed robbery and that the case was being pressed.

Pohlmann said “We went the extra yard on this because we take it seriously when a restaurant is robbed at gunpoint and the owner and others threatened and tied up. We sent detectives to Houston after learning the vehicle had been reported stolen there and new plates obtained there. Pohlmann added, “We worked with the Houston auto theft and burglary divisions and told them finding the vehicle was important because it was used in an armed robbery.’’

Darbin Maurisio Casto Santos, 22, and Selvin Torres Rodriguez, 24, were in the SUV, with the same plates on it, when the driver was stopped by sheriff’s deputies in Medina County, Texas, near San Antonio, on traffic violations Thursday night, Aug. 27. Both were taken into custody when it was found the vehicle was stolen and had been used in an armed robbery in Louisiana. St. Bernard officials learned of the arrests on Friday, Aug. 28, and worked to get arrest warrants signed by a judge based on the vehicle and a video of the robbery which clearly showed the faces of the robbers.

State District Judge Manny Fernandez signed the arrest warrants for the men, who had been held in Texas for possession of stolen property and on immigration holds, sheriff’s officials said.

Four men entered the Gold Star, in the 1100 block of Bayou Road, with two apparently acting as lookouts. When the owner came out to speak to two of the men two guns were pulled and the owner and his daughter were taken in a back area where they were forced to hand over money and the father tied up. But the robbery unraveled when a retired FBI agent, who had gone to eat at the diner, surprised the four men by going to the back to look for service. The would-be robbers tied him up but he ran forward to the dining room and, in the confusion, the robbers fled and left the bag of stolen money.  Another customer went outside and got the Texas license plate number on the Dodge Durango that two of the men drove away in. It wasn’t known how the other two robbers got away.

Sheriff’s officials speculated someone working recently on the boats that sail from the fishing villages of eastern St. Bernard had told people in Texas the restaurant might be a target for robbery.

Sep 01, 2009 - Three Violet men were booked Monday, Aug. 24, with attempted burglary within minutes after the victim called the Sheriff’s Office, Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

The victim, who lives on Fourth Street in Violet, later identified all three as those he saw trying to burglarize a shed behind his residence, saying he had got a look at them through his window and when he went outside and yelled at them before they fled.

“This again shows the importance of crime victims or anyone witnessing a suspicious activity calling the Sheriff Office (271-2501) in a timely manner,’’ Pohlmann said. “Many arrests have been made in the last year because of quick calls to the Sheriff’s Office, especially when the caller can give a description of what a suspect is wearing or a vehicle they are driving. It amounts to residents being a part of fighting crime in their area.’’

Booked with attempted burglary were: Joseph Javon, 21, 3024 Guerra Drive; Daris Brown, 19, 6537 C Street; and Keithrone Griffin, 18, 6524 Louis Elam St. Joseph and Griffin are in St. Bernard Parish Prison in lieu of bond, while Brown was freed on bond. All three were arrested at Brown’s residence within minutes of the victim calling the Sheriff’s Office about 2:15 p.m. on Aug. 24.  Sheriff’s Deputy Ryan Ajan and Sheriff’s Detective Donald Johnson, after meeting with the victim, began searching the area.  The victim also began looking around using his vehicle.

Joseph was seen standing on a porch of a residence.  The victim said he appeared to be one of the men he saw on his property. Officers spoke to Joseph, who said he wasn’t sure if anyone else was inside the residence. But two men came to the door when the deputies knocked and all three were held for questioning. The victim identified all three as the ones he saw trying to burglarize his shed and they were arrested.