N.O. man killed in Iberville complex
Police found bag of crack at his feet
Saturday, November 18, 2006
By Laura Maggi -
NOLA.com

A 21-year-old New Orleans man was shot and killed early Friday morning, found by police in the doorway of an abandoned apartment with a bag of crack cocaine between his feet.

First District police officers found Donald Reed just before 4 a.m. lying on his side with a gunshot wound in the back of his head, said officer Sabrina Richardson, a spokeswoman for the New Orleans Police Department. Reed died at the scene, according to the Orleans Parish coroner's office, which identified the victim.

Reed's body was forcing open the door of the apartment in the 1400 block of Bienville Street, police said. The apartment, in the Iberville public housing complex, has been vacant since Hurricane Katrina.

Investigators found no sign of struggle, police said, but Reed was surrounded by loose pieces of crack cocaine, as well as the bag of drugs between his feet.

Homicide Detective Gary Sallinger is investigating the case. He can be reached at (504) 658-5300.

A reward is available for information leading to an indictment. Call Crimestoppers at (504) 822-1111 or toll-free at (877) 903-7867.

4 Investigates: Are NOPD officers being blacklisted if they voice complaints?

12:45 PM CST on Friday, November 17, 2006

Lucy Bustamante / WWL-TV.com

NOPD officers should start to see new equipment this week according to Police Chief Warren Riley now that concealable bullet proof vests have finally come in.

But in the last four weeks, many officers have told Eyewitness News that complaining about these issues could get you blacklisted within the department - something they said was proven by the recent transfers of two captains in particular.

Some officers complained that the SWAT Team did not have enough gear to be an effective law enforcement unit.

Burglery Arrest

Last night, Eighth District Task Force officer arrested Roger Causey for burglary of an inhabited dwelling in the 1100 block of Bourbon Street. Roger Causey was arrested for a series of residential burglaries in the Lower Quarter area a few months ago. He was incarcerated for only sixty days and then released after a glitch with the District Attorneys Office. While he was in prison the Lower Quarter experienced a sharp decline in residential burglaries. Upon his release, residential burglaries increased significantly. After a conversation with a high ranking person with the District Attorneys Office, I have been assured that the glitch has been fixed and that Causey will remain in prison unless he is able to make bond. I will monitor his incarceration status and if he is released I will do my best to let everyone know about it.

Lieutenant Paul M. Noel
Commander,
Eighth District Investigative Unit
New Orleans Police Department

(Note from Nora: Thanks to Lt.Paul Noel for his excellent police work as well as keeping residents informed and updated. Good job to the task force also)

Cop who criticized NOPD is transferred

Riley says shift to desk job is not retribution for storm testimony
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
By Walt Philbin - nola.com

When many officers shrank from their duty after Hurricane Katrina, and others found themselves simply unable to meet the overwhelming challenge, Capt. Tim Bayard helped lead the New Orleans Police Department through its darkest hours after the flood, his colleagues agree almost unanimously.

And when the floodwaters receded, he spoke out in frank and biting terms -- including in front of the U.S. Senate -- about the failures of preparation and leadership that left police officers essentially fending for themselves, with no cohesive command, communications or even basic supplies.

Now, little more than a year later, he has been reassigned to a desk job many of his colleagues call irrelevant, through an involuntary transfer by police Superintendent Warren Riley. Until about a month ago, Bayard led the department's narcotics and vice squads; now he works in a vaguely defined office job as a liaison to the Orleans Parish district attorney.

Anti-crime officials discuss rise in violence

Judge: City financing for justice falls short
Thursday, November 09, 2006
By Gwen Filosa - nola.com

New Orleans has historically failed to pay for its own needs when it comes to criminal justice, a Louisiana Supreme Court justice said Wednesday, during a breakfast meeting over the city's rising tide of violence since last fall's hurricanes significantly reduced the population.

"As long as I've been a judge, the city of New Orleans has never adequately funded its criminal justice system," Justice Catherine Kimball said Wednesday. "We have funded considerable programs for the city because the city has never stepped up to the plate and funded it. Any city that wants to be a safe city is going to have to step up to the plate and put their resources there."

Kimball, first elected to the Supreme Court in 1992, didn't delve into specifics but mentioned the city's juvenile justice system twice during her remarks. She said the city poorly finances criminal justice departments "across the board" and relies far too much on "self-generating revenue."

Shooting victim dies on 9th Ward street
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
From staff reports - NOLA.com

A New Orleans man was shot dead Tuesday morning in the 1300 block of Alvar Street, New Orleans police said.

Police responding to a call of a male shot about 10:48 a.m. arrived on the scene in the 9th Ward and found Dale Murphy Jr., 25, sprawled in the street.

Moments before the shooting, police said, Murphy had gotten into an argument with a teenager. The teenager apparently left, then returned with a handgun and shot Murphy, police said.

He died at the scene, between Urquhart and North Villere streets, police said.

An autopsy will be performed today, said chief coroner's investigator John Gagliano, who released his identity.

Coroner's office IDs 3 shooting victims
All gunned down Tuesday, Wednesday
Sunday, November 05, 2006
From staff reports -
NOLA.com

The Orleans Parish coroner's office has released the identities of three New Orleans men slain Tuesday and Wednesday in separate shootings. The victims included a Katrina evacuee who had returned to the city about a month ago.

The evacuee, Titus Wright, 19, was found dead Tuesday about 7 a.m. in the 600 block of Market Street between Religious and St. Thomas streets in the Lower Garden District.

An autopsy showed Wright had been shot in the head, said chief coroner's investigator John Gagliano, who released the man's identity Saturday. He said Wright's identity was unknown until someone recognized a tattoo described in a newspaper story Thursday and notified authorities.

On Wednesday, Romel E. McCoy, 34, and Justin Brumfield, 21, died of multiple gunshot wounds in separate cases, Gagliano said.

McCoy was shot about 11:55 p.m. in the 2200 block of Freret Street, near Jackson Avenue, Gagliano said. He died at the scene.

Earlier that day, Brumfield was shot about 11 a.m. in the 3700 block of Annunciation Street, near Amelia Street. He died the same day at Touro Infirmary.

. . . . . . .

A reward is available for information leading to an indictment in any of these cases. Call Crimestoppers at (504) 822-1111 or toll-free at (877) 903-7867.

1 killed, 1 hurt in N.O. gunfire
Sunday, November 05, 2006
From staff reports - NOLA.com

Two people were shot, one fatally, Saturday night in eastern New Orleans, New Orleans police said.

The gunfire broke out about 9:40 p.m. in the 4600 block of Camelia Street.

One victim was pronounced dead at the scene, between Selma and Ransom streets.

Minutes after the body was found, another person was found wounded in the same area northeast of Chef Menteur Highway and Interstate 10.

N.O. couple slain in FEMA trailer
NOLA.com

A man and woman were shot to death in their FEMA trailer in eastern New Orleans early this morning, New Orleans Police said.

The crime occurred around 12:10 a.m. in the 4500 block of Dodt Street.

Responding to a call, police found the victims inside of the trailer with gunshot wounds to the body.

Emergency medical technicians pronounced them dead on the scene.

Anyone with information on the crime may call Crimestoppers at 822-1111 or toll-free at 1-877-903-7867.

Homicide Det. Gregory Hamilton, 658-5300, is in charge of the investigation.

Nephew Arrested in Elderly Woman's Murder
By Michelle Krupa
Times-Picayune staff writer - NOLA.com

Authorities in Jefferson Parish have arrested the nephew of an elderly woman in connection with her bludgeoning death late Thursday or early Friday in Marrero. Julian Williams, 25, of 2800 Mount Kennedy Drive in Marrero, was arrested early Saturday morning. At the time, he was on his way back into the neighborhood where Hilda Boudreaux, 87, had lived for 60 years before she was found dead Friday afternoon at her home in the 6100 block of Sixth Avenue, said Col. Walter "Tom" Gorman of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office.

Williams, whose grandparents live next door to the crime scene, made "inculpatory statements in regard to his knowledge of the crime" and appeared to be under the influence of a drug or other substance when he was arrested, Chief Deputy Newell Normand said. It was not clear whether Boudreaux had a relationship with her nephew, Normand said, adding that Williams' rap sheet listed previous arrests for battery, theft, criminal damage to property and traffic violations.

Normand did not say whether any of the arrests led to convictions. Though it was unclear whether anything was taken from Boudreaux's home, Normand said the motive for her death may have been robbery.