Well, it’s been a quiet week in…
…you know how the rest of it goes. But it has been a quiet week, crimewise, in the French Quarter and Marigny Triangle, particularly compared to the chaos of last week when all hell broke loose. There have been a couple of car thefts and a couple of car break-ins, but no major attacks on residents of our neighborhoods.
LeRichelieu suspect apprehended: The big news, however, is that the NOPD did arrest a suspect in the robbery 4.18.07 at LeRichelieu Hotel. Tyrone J. Barnes was arrested Tuesday evening, 4.24.07, and booked for simple robbery and second-degree battery.
According to the NOPD report, a California man and his wife were standing on the front porch of the hotel at about 6 a.m. waiting for a cab to take them to the airport. The perpetrator approached the man from behind and applied a neck hold with one arm. He stuck his other hand in the victim’s pocket. The victim resisted and their struggle carried them through the front entrance of the hotel into the lobby where they fell to the floor. The victim and his wife were yelling for help as the perpetrator was attempting to pull free. The victim, however, was holding the perpetrator’s hand in his pocket to prevent him from taking his money. In an attempt to break free, the perpetrator began to bite the victim. A hotel employee pulled the perpetrator off of the victim. As he was pulled away, the perpetrator held on to approximately $250 from the victim’s pocket. He
retained possession of the money and fled. The victim sustained severe bite wounds to his back and both arms. But in fleeing, the perpetrator dropped his own wallet containing his driver’s license.
Based on the information in the wallet and a positive identification of the suspect from a photograph, the 8th District NOPD issued a warrant for the arrest of Barnes, a 40-year-old black man, 5′10″, 150 pounds, whose last known address is 4212 Van Ave. in New Orleans. He had previous arrests for armed robbery, possession of a firearm by a felon, theft, and possession of stolen property. He’s being held at Central Lockup on $35,000 bond. His show-cause hearing is scheduled in court on 6.25.07.
Other robbery not related: Some suspicion that an earlier robbery near the Maison Dupuy hotel at Burgundy and Toulouse on 4.15.07 at 5:15 a.m. proved untrue, though both perpetrators were originally described as black males having braided hair, about the same age, height and weight.
The victim in this case was a friend of the daughter of Betty & Bill Norris visiting from out of town–yes, those Norrises, who themselves have TWICE been victims of robberies this year in the Quarter. He was walking on Burgundy toward Canal when the perpetrator came up along side of him and struck him, knocking him to the ground and then took his wallet. The wallet contained the victim’s ID, about $150 in cash, and credit/debit cards.
An 8th District detective is reviewing the hotel’s security tapes and is checking into a business where the debit card was used after the robbery.
The perpetrator is described as a black male, about 40 years old, 5′10″, 150 pounds, hair in braids, clean-shaven and dark skin, who was wearing a dark hooded sweat shirt and dark pants.
(If there’s any good news in this, Betty says it is this: “One really nice thing that happened is the taxi cab that saw (the victim) walking back to his car…asked (the victim) if he needed a ride. (The victim) said he didn’t have any money because he just got robbed. The taxi driver told him to get in anyway. (The victim) was so upset he couldn’t remember the cross street on Burgundy where he had parked his car. The taxi drove him around until they found it. (The victim)’s going to get me his name and phone number so we can send this good citizen some business.”)
Speaking of good citizens: The suspect chased down by a good citizen after Bill Norris was robbed in his driveway on 3.31.07 has been charged in a number of other robberies. There are now 24–count ‘em 24–charges against Gary Lindsey for everything from armed robbery and pursesnatching to aggravated assault. He’s got so many bonds slapped on him that he’s not likely to leave jail before his first court hearing 6.1.07. If he’s convicted, that’s a lot of crimes solved with one act of courage by a citizen.
Crime on your block?: We’re always interested in getting reports from residents of the Quarter and Triangle who have information about a crime in their neighborhoods. While we’re working out the bugs of getting crime reports routinely and regularly from the 8th District, it helps if we have advance knowledge of incidents that we can ask the officers there about.
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Please forward this message to anyone interested in the safety of the French Quarter and Marigny Triangle. To be added to our mailing list, send your name and email address to: NOcrimeline@gmail.com.
As always, your comments and suggestions are welcome.
Thom Kahler
