Citizen Crime Watch Blog

Five booked in hazing case
Two Tulane students treated for burns
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
By Walt Philbin

Five members of a Tulane University fraternity were arrested Tuesday and five others are being sought on felony battery charges in an alleged hazing incident in which two pledges received second- and third-degree burns from boiling water and crab boil being poured on their bodies, police and other sources familiar with the investigation said.

New Orleans police said the victims were treated at a local hospital and released after the April 25-26 incident.

The victims and suspects were all students at the university, officials said.

Tulane suspended its chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity and will begin its own investigation, the university said in a news release issued Tuesday. Tulane would not say whether any disciplinary action was taken against the student suspects.

“This fraternity is no longer a recognized fraternity at Tulane,” the release said, adding that the university has “zero tolerance for any type of hazing or other incident which can potentially endanger the well-being of any student.”

Five of the fraternity members turned themselves in to New Orleans and Tulane police at campus police headquarters late Tuesday afternoon, police said. They were booked with aggravated second-degree battery, a felony, police spokesman Officer Garry Flot said. …

At some point during the hazing, crab boil and other things were poured on the pledges’ bodies and boiling water poured over that, tearing their skin in places, according to the sources. …

Booked were Joseph Lorono, 20 of New York; Randall Graham, 20, of Michigan; Nicholas Maddern, 22, of Massachusetts; Kevin Dunn, 20, of New York; and Jeremy Bendat, 22, of California.

Wanted suspects were Danny Lazzeri, 20; Joseph Stevens, 23; William Dougherty, 20; Oded Nissim, 20; and Preston Gelman, 20.

Aggravated second-degree battery carries a penalty of up to 15 years in prison and a maximum $10,000 fine.

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Email Blast
NOPD 2nd District

On the morning of April 9th, Second District Detectives and FBI Agents executed a narcotics search warrant at 4732 S. Liberty Street . Officers arrested two subjects inside the residence. They were identified as Cedric Terry (BM 6-26-77) and Calisha Jones (BF, 9-13-86). Confiscated pursuant to the warrant was approximately 1/2 ounce of crack cocaine, several bags of marijuana (which had been packaged for distribution), and a .380 caliber Bryco Jennings handgun.

Note: Cedric Terry has two previous convictions for possession of crack cocaine and was under house arrest at the time of this arrest.

Remember to report any suspicious persons or activities you see in your neighborhood by calling 821-2222. In an emergency, call 911 immediately.

Major Kirk Bouyelas
Second District Commander
New Orleans Police Department

Death leads to two heroin arrests
Feds to visit parents of drug-abusing teens
The Times-Picayune
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
By Brendan McCarthy

Two young men have been arrested and charged in a drug distribution ring that put heroin, cocaine and other drugs into the hands of local teenagers, including a 16-year-old Lusher High School student who died from an overdose last month, U.S. Attorney Jim Letten announced Tuesday.

The arrests and subsequent court filings lay bare a local network of buyers and sellers dealing with some of the most potent narcotics officials said they’ve seen in the area in decades. And the ongoing investigation also prompted federal officials to take an unusual step: Agents will visit the parents of children identified as drug buyers, letting them know their children use drugs.

The men allegedly responsible for dealing the drugs, David C. Battenberg, 27, of Metairie, and Diego A. Perez, of New Orleans, are charged in a federal criminal complaint with conspiracy to distribute and possess heroin, cocaine and other controlled substances.

The charges stem from a fast-tracked federal investigation initiated by the overdose death of 16-year-old Madeleine Prevost, a junior at Lusher High School who died in January from a toxic mixture of heroin and cocaine.

“The arrest of these two individuals on heroin distribution charges, which we announce today, signals something more important than the apprehension of drug dealers,” Letten said at a Tuesday morning news conference. “It signals the end of a drug distribution business which caused the loss of a child.” …

James Bernazzani, special agent in charge of the FBI’s New Orleans office, departed momentarily from his typical tough-on-crime rhetoric and called for loving intervention by parents of drug-abusing children. “This is not a time for punishment, this is a time for hugs. . . . Get them the treatment they need,” he said. “Love should rule the day, not anger.”

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Related:

Cyndi Nguyen, A New Orleans Mother’s Message To Teens About Drug Overdose: “I don’t think any parent could ever imagine burying a child”, WGSO.

Death leads to two heroin arrests
Feds to visit parents of drug-abusing teens
The Times-Picayune
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
By Brendan McCarthy

Two young men have been arrested and charged in a drug distribution ring that put heroin, cocaine and other drugs into the hands of local teenagers, including a 16-year-old Lusher High School student who died from an overdose last month, U.S. Attorney Jim Letten announced Tuesday.

The arrests and subsequent court filings lay bare a local network of buyers and sellers dealing with some of the most potent narcotics officials said they’ve seen in the area in decades. And the ongoing investigation also prompted federal officials to take an unusual step: Agents will visit the parents of children identified as drug buyers, letting them know their children use drugs.

[more]

Massacre suspect is in U.S. prison
Man to be returned to N.O. for his trial
The Times-Picayune
Saturday, January 12, 2008
By Gwen Filosa

The New Orleans man accused of single-handedly gunning down five teens on a Central City corner in June 2006 is now serving federal prison time for a weapons offense as he awaits trial in the quintuple murder in state court.

Michael “Mike Mike” Anderson, 21, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in September to a charge of felon in possession of a firearm. Judge Jay Zainey sentenced Anderson to 66 months in prison last month.

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Thanks to a good citizen, one more violent thug is off the street.

A 29-year-old man suspected of a series of muggings in the French Quarter was arrested Tuesday evening in Jefferson Parish, according to New Orleans police.

Ronald Martin, of Westwego, is accused of beating a couple and stealing the woman’s purse late last month.

A phone tip to the Metropolitan Crime Commission led Jefferson Parish sheriff detectives to a house in Bridge City, commission President Rafael Goyeneche said. …

The caller who provided the tip to Martin’s location will be paid $500.

Now that citizens and the police have done their job, will the D.A. and the court system do theirs? Greg Huber, one of the victims in the series of muggings Martin is charged with, is crossing his fingers (which is about all we’re allowed to do given the lack of opportunities for citizens to provide feedback on the functioning of the criminal justice system):

Now I guess we are onto phase two in the criminal justice system. Hopefully it will work.

One aspect of the criminal justice system which has to work is the jury system. We have to do our duty to serve when we’re called upon to ensure that responsible citizens make the right choices in deciding guilt or innocence of defendants.

The criminal justice system can’t work without citizen participation.

I called DIVA 92.3 yesterday after the drive-time DJ joked that he was going to take calls from listeners who had excuses another listener could use to get out of jury duty. Not funny! I told the DJ that New Orleans needs responsible citizens sitting on juries, especially now, and that the station ought to think more responsibly about the messages it communicates to listeners.

Here’s yet one more reason why citizens deserve to have their own radio station.