Today's Inbox reports the capture of the alligator rustlers posted about here on Tuesday:
8th District officers spotted, chased and
arrested a would-be car burglar last night. Once they pulled his record,
they found he was wanted for stealing baby alligators from the Audubon Zoo’s
gift shop on July 4th.
Sgt. Mark Mumme was patrolling the 900-block of Poey Farre
Street at about 9:45 last night when he noticed 29-year-old Rodney L. Thornton
pulling on several door handles of parked cars. When Mumme approached Thornton,
Thornton took off, so Mumme requested back-up.
One responding officer saw Thornton pull a gun from his waistband, and
drop it on the ground as he continued to run. The gun was recovered, and officers
apprehended Thornton when he chose to run through an open lot.
Once they looked up Thornton’s record, officers learned
that Thornton had been identified as one of two men who abandoned a container
of live baby alligators near the intersection of Soraparu and Rousseau Streets
on July 5th. The
men then took off in what turned out to be a stolen car.
20-year-old Kawayne Powell, who was also wanted in the
stolen alligators case, turned himself in at the Second District Police
Station yesterday at about 10:00 A.M. He was booked with Possession of
Stolen Property, and had previously been arrested for Simple Criminal Damage to
Property, Unauthorized Use of a Moveable, Trespassing and Warrants.
Rodney Thornton was booked with Illegal Possession of Things (Alligators), Possession of a Firearm by a Felon, 2 Counts of Armed Robbery, Attempted Armed Robbery, Tampering and Resisting a Police Officer. He was previously arrested for Burglaries, Attempted Burglary, Possession of Burglary Tools, Possession of Marijuana, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Theft, and Possession of Stolen Property under and over 500.00 and Cruelty to Animals.
The Police Superintendent went on to commend his officers and to point out that “This is a clear cut example of the fact that most criminals are not specialists…they’re generalists."
Creative, albeit not the brightest, generalists.
My favorite things in the email blast are the crime of "Illegal Possession of Things (Alligators)," and tacking on a charge of "Cruelty to Animals," although "Unauthorized Use of a Moveable" is kinda interesting, too.
You will note that the mystery of the missing alligator based on the alligator head-count recounted in the Tuesday email is still floating around out there. I'm kinda glad I don't live near the alligator dumping ground!
Sounds like the NOLA that I remember. SO glad that Nagin diverted all of that rebuilding money to bring people like this back from Houston and other places where FEMA and HUD had relocated them. Had to make it a "chocolate city" again, regardless of the consequences.
ReplyDeleteAnd it's because of cretins like those two (and all of their friends and relatives) that I never walk around New Orleans without a sidearm or two handy.
And, why I now have a CC permit! And a big, black dog with a BIG voice.
ReplyDeleteYeah, that "Unauthorized Use of a Moveable" thang caught my eye, too. Hell, my couch is "moveable..." could I prosecute for unauthorized use? If and when that happens, of course.
ReplyDeleteI hear ya, Buck. Louisiana is "interesting.". There are innumerable moveables out there!
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