Police and fire briefs for Feb. 10, 2012
2 students arrested over gun at school
A police officer with the School Drug Task Force responded Thursday morning to a call concerning an unloaded gun at Broadmoor Middle School, 1225 Sharp Road, a Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman said.
According to reports, an unnamed student reported seeing two other students with a gun at 8:30 a.m., Casey Rayborn Hicks said.
School administrators found the unloaded .25 caliber handgun in the booksack of a 15-year-old eighth-grader who was given the gun by a 13-year-old seventh-grader, Hicks said.
Deputies booked both students into the East Baton Rouge Parish Juvenile Detention Center on one count of carrying a firearm by a student on school property, Hicks said.
Deputies are investigating why the gun was brought to the school and where the seventh grader got the weapon. Students with information concerning this incident or similar incidents can notify a school administrator, or contact the Sheriff’s Office at (225) 389-5000 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at (225) 344-7867.
Police seek man who stole purse at church
Police are trying to identify a man who stole a woman’s purse last month while she was sitting in a church parking lot and later used her credit card at a local gas station.
The theft occurred at 11:30 a.m. Jan. 22 at Our Lady of Mercy Church, 400 Marquette Ave., police spokesman Sgt. Don Kelly said.
The man, who was later caught on camera at a Baton Rouge gas station, reached into the woman’s car and grabbed her purse, Kelly said. When the woman confronted the man, he tried to take her cellphone. The two struggled for a short time until the man fled, Kelly said.
A short time later, the man used the woman’s credit card to buy gas in the 10700 block of Florida Boulevard, Kelly said. He was driving a dark, possibly black, car with large after-market rims.
The man is black and was wearing blue jeans and a white T-shirt. Anyone recognizing him or his vehicle can contact police at (225) 389-3845 or Crime Stoppers at (225) 344-7867.
Unattended pot causes apartment fire
An unattended pot on a stove caused a fire that torched an apartment on Jade Avenue early Thursday, a spokesman with the St. George Fire Protection District said.
Firefighters were called to Plantation II Apartments, 1313 Jade Ave., just after 1:30 a.m., Eldon Ledoux said. The fire was under control about 45 minutes later.
No one was injured in the blaze, but the apartment it started in was gutted, Ledoux said. Surrounding apartments were not damaged.
7 arrested on counts of intoxicated driving
Authorities arrested at least seven people suspected of driving while intoxicated in East Baton Rouge Parish — including a man book on a third-offense DWI — and booked them into Parish Prison between 2:30 p.m. Wednesday and 2:30 p.m. Thursday, records show.
Those booked and the counts against them:
- Rene Bell, 39, 1925 N. Third St., third-offense DWI, failure to stop/yield and reckless operation of a vehicle.
- Kent Rader, 34, 200 Rubin Drive, Pineville, second-offense DWI, driving left of center, failure to change address on driver’s license and reckless operation of a vehicle.
- Charles Griffin, 35, 2824 Century Ave., second-offense DWI, driver’s license not in possession and motor vehicle inspection certification false.
- Jonathan Jacqes, 33, 11070 Mead Road, second-offense DWI, improper lane usage, failure to signal/improper turn and reckless operation of a vehicle.
- John Harold, 24, 8201 Comite Acres Drive, Baker, first-offense DWI, possession of marijuana and careless driving.
- Kayla Facundus, 28, 5269 Siegen Lane, first-offense DWI and improper lane usage.
- Marittza Saizad, 22, 9413 Burbank Drive, first-offense DWI, improper left/right turn, motor vehicle inspection required and reckless operation of a vehicle.
Compiled from staff reports. To talk to a crime reporter at The Advocate, call (225)388-0369.