Uptown sees drop in persons crimes and residential burglaries

The+Second+District+New+Orleans+Police+station+is+located+on+4317+Magazine+St.+Photo+credit%3A+John+Casey

The Second District New Orleans Police station is located on 4317 Magazine St. Photo credit: John Casey

John Casey

Crime over the past week has decreased since the Mardi Gras season, according to New Orleans Police Department officials at the weekly district meeting.

Only four persons crimes, or crimes involving bodily harm to an individual, were reported in the second district. Persons crimes were down from last week, and NOPD officials said that all four persons crimes were unusual and that two may be connected.

On Saturday, March 11, a man was picked up on Carondelet Street by two women who he claims he believed was his Uber. He said that the two women proceeded to drive the wrong direction, stopped the vehicle and robbed him at gunpoint. NOPD officials, however, found a gaping hole in the story provided by the victim. Bank records show that the man made two withdrawals of considerable amounts during the period he was with the women. Also, the story provided by the victim was inconsistent. Officials concluded that the incident was likely prostitution gone wrong and are pursuing a warrant for falsifying a police report. The man, however, has returned to his home in Chicago at this point.

Two days earlier, on March 9, a minor car accident escalated into a robbery. Two women in a sedan took off after snatching the purse of the driver of the second involved vehicle. The sedan had a temporary tag equipped, which police officials concluded was a copied tag that has been used on several vehicles. The credit card of the victim was used for a purchase shortly after and surveillance at the purchase site managed to get an angle on the suspects. The descriptions of the two female suspects corresponds with the two involved with the prostitution gone wrong, according to NOPD.

Burglaries in the second district declined this week from last. Seven auto burglaries were reported, all of which were said to be unsecured vehicles. One of the auto break-ins involved a stolen firearm. Four auto thefts were reported, three of which were motorized scooters. Two of the thefts occurred on Apricot Street, including a stolen Sedan, which was recovered the next day.

Only one residential burglary occurred this week, down from five last week. The burglary on Belfast Street occurred early in the night. The victim reported a stolen computer and television as well as several pieces of jewelry. Police are working to locate surveillance in the area but have been unsuccessful so far.

A total of eight thefts were reported in the district, one of which was a bicycle theft in the university area.

Officials said that crime in the second district is up 9 percent on the year, down from 10 percent as of last week.

The NOPD conducts weekly crime meetings at the Second Distict Station at 1 p.m. on Tuesdays and encourages the public to attend. The next meeting will be on March 21 at 4317 Magazine St.