Juxtoposition

These back to back stories tell the tale of two sides of the river:

1)Man dies after West Bank tractor crash
A 66-year-old man has died from injuries sustained Friday when a truck collided with the tractor he was driving along busy Belle Chasse Highway, according to the Louisiana State Police. Richard Mitchell of Gonzales died Saturday
2)Man shot to death in Central City
New Orleans police are investigating a shooting death that occurred Sunday morning in the 3300 block of First Street. Sixth District officers responding to a call shortly after 11 a.m. found a man lying on the sidewalk suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, .

Broadmoor squeezes one in under the wire to make the Monday post:

The New Orleans Police Department is investigating the shooting death of a 52-year-old man in the 5000 block of South Prieur Street in Broadmoor Sunday evening. The shooting occurred about 5:30 p.m., and police found the victim inside a residence with gunshot wounds. He died at the scene.

Saturday

...brings with it Pride Fest, pulled pork po-boy with slaw, and the following heavily abbreviated acts of violence against residents of our fair city:

Shootings!

1)Fri. 2:19am - Homeless man "buying drugs" in Iberville projects is held up by two men, then shot in the shoulder
2)Columbus and N. Prieur - June 17th (why the shit we are hearing about this now, we'll never know) 17 year-old is found laying in the street, a victim of a drive-by shooting. Gunshot wound to hip
3) Frenchman and N. Derbigny - June 16th Owner of F&D food store is approached and shot in his car when he refuses to give up the money.

Stabbings?

1)Iberville St. - Man is slashed in neck, arm and buttocks when he refuses to give up his wife's purse under the persuasion of such colorful come-ons as "Bitch, give it here."
2)Music and Benefits St. - Cabbie is stabbed in the abdomen with a large knife by passenger in the back seat.

We'll admit it, when we get a ride from the airport, and the flat fare only takes us as far as Elysian Fields, and the cabbie turns on the meter to charges us the extra blocks to take us to Bywater, we feel like putting a knife in 'em.

Back in the Stride

We must print a correction, as we said we would:

On Wednesday morning, in the Lower 9th Ward, a man returning from work found 48-year-old Victor Russell of New Orleans shot several times at 6310 N. Rampart St

Due to an error in reportage, yesterdays Time-Pic Blog reported this shooting at Lesseps and Marais. A kind reader was quick on the uptake on this one.

No down to work:

Like Little Wayne Says, "Don't Cross Erhart."

Gunfire killed a 34-year-old man and wounded a 39-year-old woman in the Hollygrove neighborhood Wednesday night. Officers responded to a call of a shooting in the 3400 block of Hollygrove Street shortly before 10 p.m. When they arrived, they found the woman lying in a driveway, and a 34-year-old man not far from her, lying in a vacant lot. Both appeared to have multiple gunshot wounds to the body.

Not to be undone, Treme comes back with its own:

A hail of gunfire killed a 23-year-old man and wounded a 14-year-old boy as they sat inside a sports utility vehicle at the corner of Bienville Street and North Claiborne Avenue

A hail of gun fire, what terminology were using these days.

We would also like to take this opportunity to issue a open letter to all officers of the 5th district as well as their National Guard counterparts:

Please stop hanging out in the middle of the narrow streets with your doors wide open, just cuz you got no places to go don't mean we don't.

Also:

Stabbings:
1)2000 block of Louisiana Avenue, Monday, 12:21 p.m. A 39-year-old man was arrested and booked with aggravated battery on suspicion of stabbing his friend in the back during an argument. The victim's condition wasn't provided. The suspect's name couldn't be confirmed
2)800 block of Buffalo Road, Tuesday, 7:25 a.m. A man was stabbed in the forearm with a kitchen knife during an argument with his girlfriend. She was booked with aggravated battery. Her name couldn't be confirmed

Conspiracy

Now, we don't like to go drawing connecting lines between things in this city. Connectivity makes us nervous. But, someone has got to point this out.

From Today's Paper:

1:An unidentified person fell victim to a murderer in the 9th Ward this morning. Police couldn't immediately provide details on the gender or age of the victim .The murder happened at approximately 1:32 a.m., on the corner of Lesseps and Marais streets.

That first sentence is, we think, what they call "passive voice" in English Class.
NOMB is sending over our copy of Elements of Style by Strunk and White as soon as we can find it.

2:A man was wounded by a New Orleans police officer after he apparently drew a gun during a traffic stop in 9th Ward Tuesday night. The officer, who was not identified by police, pulled over a car with at least four people inside during a traffic stop at Lesseps and Marais streets at about 8:30 p.m., according to a police spokesman. As the officer approached the car, the driver exited, drew a gun and aimed it at the officer, police said. The officer shot the driver in the shoulder. The other people in the car fled. One was captured and was being held by police. The other two remained at large. Police said narcotics were found in the vehicle.

Seems there was a good bit of action over on Lesseps and Marais last night, eh?

Things that didn't happen on Lesseps and Marais (and didn't involve NOPD)

1:2100 block of A.P. Tureaud Avenue, Sunday, 6:13 a.m. A 32-year-old man was confronted by a man he knew who stabbed him in the left arm, then fled.

It's always someone you know who puts a blade in you.

2:1300 block of Bienville Street, Sunday, 8:49 p.m. A 31-year-old man was walking when a man and a woman confronted him. The man pulled a knife and demanded the victim's money, while the woman went through his pockets. The victim was stabbed by the robber when he didn't respond quickly enough

Wait, we take that last comment back, in the NO everyone's got a chance to get stabby.

The Price of Stamps

To put it in perspective, its hasn't felt like a normal summer. Not heat wise, not violence wise. Maybe it's all hype, but we sure sleep a lot more. And to tell the truth, the incidents of being chased down the street by youths hurling rocks and bottles is still at an all time high.

New Orleans Police Officers investigate a shooting at Danneel and Louisiana Ave. in Central City where officials say a man was shot several times in a nearby house and then ran into the United State Post Office Uptown Station on Louisiana Ave. Monday, June 23, 2008.

BLOTTER!!!

Stabbings:
1300 block of Bienville Street, Friday, 11:49 a.m. A 21-year-old man was confronted by a stranger who struck him with a bottle, cutting him on the face, head and arm.
also
700 block of St. James Street, Friday, 7:44 p.m. A man and a woman fought and she stabbed him in his chest with a kitchen knife.

Musing

We normally don't do this, stick our noses in the business end of the legal system, what with high turn over and rigmarole experienced on a daily basis by the DA, the PD, the NOPD, etc...
But after viewing both videos of the Ray Boudreaux Jr. stabbing adventure on Bourbon a while back, we have to say that we find this all very disturbing:


An Orleans Parish jury found a former Tulane University honors student and football player guilty of attempted manslaughter and aggravated battery Sunday night, verdicts that sent young Ray Boudreaux Jr. crumbling in tears and wails into his defense attorney's arms.

Boudreaux, 23, of Abbeville, relied on a mostly white and male jury to free him from the charges. The jury rejected the original five attempted murder charges leveled against Boudreaux after a Sept. 16, 2007, Bourbon Street brawl. But the jury convicted Boudreaux of lesser offenses that still subject him to up to 60 years in prison for the attempted manslaughter charges alone, rejecting Boudreaux's claims of self-defense and that he was the target of an angry mob that morning

Truth be told, we often stay up late at night wondering when this is gonna happen to us. When are we gonna end up in jail for fighting back? When are we gonna end up in jail cuz we stabbed a few fools out in the street? When are you?

View the videos yourself:

The defense video

Seriously, what would you do if you and your boys were on the receiving end of this BS

Date Gone Sour

That's a mild way to put it. When we think of a date going sour, we think, "Man, there is no way were gonna get a kiss out of this." Plus we usually spend more money than we thought was worth it.

New Orleans police arrested a 21-year-old New Orleans man in the stabbing of another man during what appears to have been a date gone sour. An unidentified 33-year-old man met Preston Reed of 2145 N. Rocheblave St. on a party chat line and invited Reed to come to his house on Thursday.At some point, the two popped in a movie DVD and settled in to watch it. After the movie ended, an argument ensued, and Reed grabbed a weapon and stabbed the other man several times in the back and head. The victim called 911 for assistance. Officers estimate that the man was stabbed seven times in the back and three times in the head about 7:30 p.m. at his home on North Dorgenois Street.

Sick of NO

We hate to say this, but this is the kind of shit thing that happens when cigarettes are cheaper than cereal and beer is more readily available than bread on any given block...

Denzil Williams, 18, was killed in an Algiers shooting late Thursday morning.Police responded to a report of a shooting in the 1700 block of Hero Boulevard in old Algiers around 11:30 a.m. The victim, who was killed down the block from his family home, had several gunshot wounds to the body and head.

New Orleans police detectives and state child welfare officials are investigating the circumstances surrounding the shooting death of a 12-year-old Central City boy.
The gunshot appears self-inflicted, police said, but boy could have shot himself by accident. Police also are investigating how he got the gun. The boy's death has not yet been classified by the coroner's office as an accidental death, suicide or homicide.


...at least it feels that way sometimes.

SIck

Everyone we know is getting sick.

Guess it's better than getting shot

1800 block of Lauradale Drive, Tuesday, 8:31 p.m. Two men in a Jeep Cherokee, possibly armed with assault rifles, approached two people and shot them. One victim, a 15-year-old boy, had several gunshot wounds; the other, a 22-year-old man, was shot in the shoulder. Their conditions were not disclosed. The shooters got away.

We like that they were "possibly armed with assault rifles", but definitely "armed with guns". But hey, at least the police are trying with this one. The following is more like the NOPD


Shooting - North Derbigny and Frenchmen streets, Monday, 9:43 p.m.

Maybe their withholding information on account of the fact that it could jeopardize their on going investigation of nothing

Blotter/ Blotto

You know, there's always something more to this stuff than is evident on first read. Today's project, investigate.

Shootin's:

1800 block of Touro Street, Saturday, 11:27 a.m. A 32-year-old man was walking in the 7th Ward when one or more men got out of a vehicle and shot at him

Conti and Dauphine streets, Monday, 3:39 a.m. A 31-year-old man was walking in the French Quarter when a man called to him by his name, then opened fire, striking him in the left hip and left thigh

9400 block of Stroelitz Street, Sunday, 3:21 p.m. A 19-year-old man told police he heard gunfire and realized he had been shot in the right thigh

Stabbin's
600 block of St. Peter Street, Friday, 3:22 p.m. A 38-year-old man stabbed a 31-year-old man in the abdomen with a knife during an argument.

Is it just us or is the French Quarters getting more dangerous. Why, just yesterday, we saw a whole gang of quarter rats playing guitar and bongos on the street corner TOTALLY UNCHECKED. The 8th District police are slippin.

Backlog

We feel terrible today. As a result, we went looking for something to reaffirm us. Much like children who are told they are smart will not accept challenges, but rather take on tasks that only serve to reaffirm their self-image. It's science.

Sunday:

Jeffery Mendez, 17, who recently completed his freshman year at Bonnabel High School, was hit with multiple rounds from at least one "high-powered, assault-style rifle." Mendez's bloody body was discovered about six trailer homes away from the trailer in the 1400 block of Paul Frederick Street where he and his mother, Melida, lived

Gretna

Jefferson Parish is sure popping off these days. And from the looks of it, if you catch a Jeff Parish jury, your gonna skate says the Times-Pic

The original headline in the print edition read something like "Jeff Juries Go Soft"

In other news:
A man was shot in unincorporated Gretna early Sunday, according to the JeffersonOfficers responded to reports of gunfire about 1 a.m. in the 100 block of Friedrichs Road near Oakwood Shopping Center and the West Bank Expressway. They found a man with gunshot wounds inside a white 2002 Ford truck that had apparently struck a parked car

What It Is?

It's a blade. It's in your gut.

Stabbing: 3200 block of Chippewa Street, Thursday, 8:27 p.m.

It's Australian and Post-apocalyptic. It's Berhman park in the Algiers, brah

The facility offers beautiful views, opportunities for exercise and lots of chances to interact with neighbors. It's a great asset to the neighborhood.

That is, until the sun goes down.Darkness brings criminals to burn stolen cars, suspicious foot and vehicle traffic

It's what you get for fucking with the wrong woman. Apparently.

A 20-year-old woman barreled over her ex-boyfriend with a car, sending him to the hospital Wednesday morning

It's another day in the NO. Happy Juneteenth

Also, if you're anything like us, you can't f*&kn wait for the 2008 Olympics. And since you are just like us, you're gonna wanna read our new blog:

Can't F8&kn Wait 4 the 2008 Olympics

and, no we're not kidding.

Shawk and Awe

Seriously, when we went online today and discovered that the Times-Picayune is publishing a electronic version of the Police Blotter we almost died.

Now it's easier for everyone in the NO to read gems like this:

2000 block of North Villere Street, June 3, 10:25 p.m. Two men, 31 and 23, were standing at an intersection when two other men approached and opened fire, striking the older man in the right ankle and the other in the left hand.

or

3100 block of Elysian Fields Avenue, Sunday, 6:25 p.m. A 21-year-old man was getting out of his vehicle at a Burger King when a stranger approached and fired one shot, hitting him in the shoulder.
We doubt that this guy was actually shot by a "stranger". Remember that "no snitch" thing? Why tell the cops when you can just blast back?

or
Our personal favorite:
A man walking in the 2500 Blk of Gov. Nicholls was approached by a man on a bicycle, the man on the bike asked for spare change and when the other man denied him, the man on the bike produced a pistol and shot twice hitting the other man in the leg and arm.

Makes you think twice about shaking off that kid the next time he tries to hustle you with the ol' "Bet I can tell you where you got them shoes."

Sleeping

We know we miss stuff. And we know we need a copy editor. But given the general condition of our city, come on. We mean, give us a break.

This is one of the guys from that double shooting that went down on Annunciation last week:
A man shot last week in his car in the Lower Garden District died Monday morning at University Hospital, an official with the Orleans Parish coroner's office said. John Jordan, 36, who lived in the Irish Channel, died about 7:30 a.m

Another Central City death:
A 45-year-old man was fatally shot in the head in his Central City home Monday evening, according to a New Orleans Police Department spokesman. The man was identified as MacArthur Carter.

Also, we got the name of the man who died in Algiers Monday:
Dejaun Jason, 17, died from several gunshot wounds shortly before 9:30 p.m

We had our hands on the police blotter, but we left it in our gym bag. There were a couple of stabbings, a couple of non-fatal shootings, some robberies, blah blah blah. We feel numb.

The Saints

Just becasue a major, unnamed professional football team in currently descending on Hollygrove and CNN is has figured out that the NOLA is dangerous, doesn't mean we got to flip from the status quo.

An unidentified man was found shot to death in Algiers Monday night.
New Orleans police received reports of gunfire shortly after 9:45 p.m. and discovered the man lying dead in the 3200 block of Kabel Drive

Steady as she goes.

Monday

Nothing new under the sun. Under the god awful, wet, life sucking sun.

The New Orleans Police Department is investigating the apparent shooting death of a 38-year-old man this morning in the 5000 block of Basinview Drive in eastern New Orleans. The offense occurred at approximately 2:20 a.m.Seventh District officers responding to a call of a man shot found the victim lying in a driveway of a townhouse suffering from several gunshot wounds to the body. He was pronounced dead on the scene.

Contrary to popular belief, central heat and air is not a fix all solution for the city's problems, although a wholesale upgrade would probably not have a negative effect.

Nagin, please start with your "Give The City HVAC" initiative with NOMB's humble offices.

We Know This One

We make comments, us. All the time about stuff like this. But we will repeat it:

When your girlfriend stabs you, brah, and it's bleeding real bad. We mean real bad, like, you've gone through two or three t-shirts trying to keep the blood off the couch. You got to get medical attention. Even if it means trudging yourself down to sit in the tombs of waiting rooms that now comprise the bulk of the almost defunct Orleans Parish hospital system.

A 51-year-old man died Wednesday at University Hospital following a domestic squabble in which he suffered a cut to his hand that initially went unattended.The girlfriend, whose name was not available from police, was booked with second-degree murder.

Of course, knowing the available health care in the NO, "initially went unattended," could be Times-Picayune code-speak for, "the victim sat in the emergency room at Touro for 36 hours before the nurse called him back."

Hold On

See if you can follow the bouncing ball, folks. NOMB would like to point out that all this is one more reason you oughtn't own an SUV:

1&2)A 38-year-old man and 27-year-old woman were gunned down Thursday afternoon while sitting in an SUV parked in a driveway in NO East. At 2:30, officers found the two slumped in the front seats of a black SUV in the 4500 block of Skyview Drive. Both had several gunshot wounds to the body. They died at the scene.

3)Early Thursday morning, officers observed two men fire guns from inside a white Armada SUV that pulled up in the 900 block of Felicity Street, near Magazine.
4)Around 7:55 a.m. when an officer on patrol saw two males firing at a 36-year-old man at the intersection of Annunciation Street and Market Place. The victim suffered gunshot wounds to the head and torso and was taken to a hospital in critical condition.
(Please note #3 and #4 are within blocks of each other)

The following report is beyond even us. We can sort it out:

Several New Orleans men sitting outside on a recent Monday night, watching some women fighting in the street, ended up victims of a drive-by shooting, according to an incident report released by the New Orleans Police Department this week. In total, six people were shot near the corner of Louisa and Marais streets in the 9th Ward on May 26 about 9 p.m.


We do, however, remember this lights from this scene. Flickering down at the end of our block. And the bizarre reportage. "Two shot" "Four shot one stabbed", we guess they finally just picked a number and went with it.

Trash

And we thought that smell was old crawfish and catfish baking in the big, hot, green trashcan out on the curb.

Sheriff's deputies checking on the welfare of an elderly man found a decomposed body in a Metairie house, where two of the man's relatives presumably had been living with the skeletal remains for months.

Telling

A hawk lulling around in the neutral ground.
A homeless man with a bright red snow cone
A New Orleans police SWAT standoff dragged on for more than six hours Tuesday night as a man with a gun barricaded himself inside a Lakeview house after chasing away FEMA workers who were making arrangements to reclaim the trailer in which he was living, police said
A pair of motorcycle cops, dressed down in knees high riding boots and dark blue,sitting on the second step of pinks stoop, long legs splayed out in the sun, bikes stashed in the tight alley along the side of the house.

Maybe we were wrong about summer. Maybe, like the guy in the FEMA trailer, we feel it's just too hot to move

News Flash

We were surprised as everyone to hear that Jefferson Parish is now officially part of New Orleans proper. In order to make the folks in JP feel like part of the family, we hooked em up with this:

Three people were murdered and six others shot in Jefferson Parish in an unusually violent weekend in Jefferson Parish, leaving investigators scrambling to pick up the pieces this morning.In addition to the murders and shootings, two cuttings and several armed robberies were reported throughout the parish.

1&2) A man and woman were left dead after a shooting in Harvey this morning. Authorities have identified them as Nathan Craft, 27, of 1516 King Road, Harvey and Tamicha Robinson, 18, of 6712 Carver Drive, Marrero. The pair were found in the grass at the intersection of Brown Avenue and Harold Street at about 1 a.m.

3)Investigators are also searching for clues in the shooting death of John Allen Dantin, 41, whose body was found in the 200 block of Marmandie Drive in River Ridge on Sunday. Dantin was found in front of a home with multiple gunshot wounds at 3 a.m.

Also:
Kenner Police are investigating a murder that occurred at 311 George Street shortly before 11 p.m. Sunday night. Officers discovered an Hispanic male lying on the porch with a gunshot wound. The man, whose identity is unknown was pronounced dead on scene.

Whoops, our bad. The two parishs weren't merged, its just the cultural boundaries, the perimeters, have been breached.

Plus, if you're wondering what took us so long this morning, we'll tell ya, we got held up on the I-10 in Metry. There was an overturned termite van sending chemicals all over.

Sunday From The Porch (Toughness Edition)

We've heard accusations that the people in NOLA are all participating in a mass conspiratorial arrangement to scare people off for the summer (ala Jose Saramago's "Seeing"). When NOMB asks, "Why would a city, whose major industry is hospitality, wanna go and do something like that?"
The answer we get back is, "To make ourselves feel tougher."

We got to wonder, how tough do the following folks feel? Like maybe they ought to get a big "T" tattooed on their shoulder so we all know.

A 20-year-old man was in critical condition Saturday at University Hospital's trauma center after he was shot twice in the chest about 2:15 p.m. in the Lower Garden District

In one of two Algiers Point shooting,a gunmen in a white Jeep fired five rounds at Shawn Travis, 24, who was standing at Newton and Verret streets about 3:25 a.m. One bullet hit Travis in the left leg and two bullets hit him in the left hand.

In the second,About 1 p.m., a shooting was reported at Nunez Street and Mardi Gras Boulevard under the West Bank approach to the Crescent City Connection,

Now, the following guy, this is some tough ass shit, in our humble opinion:

In the armed robbery in Hollygrove, police said two men with guns entered Big Time Tips Bar at 8801 Edinburgh St. about 2:30 a.m. One of the men jumped over the bar and stole about $4,000 from the safe. The bar's owner fired back and may have hit one of the robbers.

But when it really comes down to toughness, you can't go much further then this: