Police and Fire Briefs for Sept. 9, 2012
Police make arrest in Appleton Ave. slaying
Police arrested a 29-year-old man Thursday accused of driving the getaway car in a fatal drive-by shooting Wednesday on Appleton Avenue, according to an affidavit of probable cause.
Anthony Wiggins, 12346 Palmyra Drive, was booked into East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on a count of principal to second-degree murder, the affidavit says.
Police were still looking for Jermaine Redmond Williams, 32, 2742 Appleton Ave., who is accused of shooting and killing David Atkins, 27, 11908 Kingston Ave., on Appleton near Gore Road.
Atkins, 27, was walking with another man in front of 2731 Appleton Ave. near Hallmark Drive at 5:30 p.m. when a vehicle drove up, police have said.
Someone in the vehicle pointed a gun out of the car and shot at the men, hitting and killing Atkins, police have said. The other man walking with Atkins was not harmed.
About 24 hours after the shooting, Wiggins and another person, who was not identified, asked an acquaintance of theirs to contact police so they could surrender themselves, the affidavit says.
Wiggins told police he drove the car but he did not know Williams was going to shoot at Atkins and the other man, the affidavit says.
Police have said they do not have any motives in the killing.
Anyone with information about this incident or Williams’ whereabouts is asked to contact police at (225) 389-4869 or Crime Stoppers at (225) 344-7867.
Man, 50, accused of making bomb threat
Baton Rouge Community College police arrested a 50-year-old man Thursday accused of making a bomb threat on the school’s campus, according to an affidavit of probable cause.
Luis Garrido, a student at BRCC, approached an officer in BRCC’s Public Safety Department and asked him for a cup of coffee, the affidavit says. Other students were in the building during the incident, the affidavit says.
When the officer declined Garrido’s request, Garrido said, “Oh I see how it’s going to be, I have a bomb and I am going to blow this place up,” the affidavit says.
The officer asked if Garrido had a bomb on his person or in his backpack, to which Garrido responded, “Yeah I have a paper bomb and I am going to blow this bitch up,” the affidavit says.
Officers tried to arrest Garrido, but Garrido began to walk quickly toward the door, the affidavit says.
Garrido made it through the door, but an officer was able to handcuff Garrido outside, the affidavit says.
Garrido told BRCC police the bomb was near the school’s campus, so officers searched Garrido’s car and found “several items inside the vehicle that could be the ingredients for making a manufactured explosive device,” the affidavit says.
Garrido, 8775 Wakefield Ave., was booked into Parish Prison on one count each of communicating false information of a planned bombing on school property, terrorizing and resisting an officer.
Man, 40, arrested
on molestation count
Sheriff’s deputies arrested a 40-year-old man Saturday accused of molesting a young girl in February in a tent outside the man’s Greenwell Springs home, according to an affidavit of probable cause.
The victim told deputies that she was sitting in the tent with Larry Joseph Melancon when the alleged crime took place, the affidavit says.
Melancon told deputies he entered the tent to hug the girl goodnight and accidentally touched her inappropriately on top of her clothing, the affidavit says.
Melancon denied that he touched the girl under her clothes or that he removed his clothing, the affidavit says.
The girl’s age was not identified in the affidavit. Sheriff’s spokeswoman Casey Rayborn Hicks said the girl is at least younger than 13.
Melancon, 13023 Devall Road, Greenwell Springs, was booked into Parish Prison on one count of molestation of a juvenile.
Seven booked
on suspicion of DWI
Authorities arrested at least seven people suspected of driving while intoxicated in East Baton Rouge Parish and booked them into Parish Prison between 2:30 p.m. Friday and 2:30 p.m. Saturday, booking records show.
Those booked and the counts against them:
- Michael Augustus, 49, 4380 Mohican-Prescott Crossover, first-offense DWI and failure to maintain control.
- Anthony Coye, 56, 7158 Hooper Road, first-offense DWI and restricted access.
- Scott Ewing, 26, 17736 Eaglewood Drive, second-offense DWI, reckless operation of a vehicle and improper lane usage.
- Ranada Givens, 31, 624 N. 46th St., first-offense DWI, improper lane usage and seat belt violation.
- Elvrinish Gunn, 40, 105 Hazel Circle, Winona, Miss., first-offense DWI, driving over the median and reckless operation of a vehicle.
- Brooke Jones, 22, 2945 North Point Drive, Shreveport, first-offense DWI and improper lane usage.
- Kristen Phillips, 21, 15026 Pinewood Drive, Pride, first-offense DWI, improper lane usage, reckless operation of a vehicle and disobeying a red light.
Compiled from staff reports. To talk to a crime reporter at The Advocate, call (225) 388-0369.