New Orleans Police and Fire briefs for Oct. 24, 2012

Suspect in July homicide arrested

New Orleans — New Orleans police arrested a local man wanted since July in connection with a Seventh Ward homicide.

Kerwin Borden, 24, was booked with second-degree murder Tuesday morning. Borden is accused of killing Christian Medrano at the intersection of Pauger and North Villere streets on May 15. Medrano was found with multiple gunshot wounds, including a head wound.

Borden is being held at Orleans Parish Prison in lieu of $500,000 bond.

Man accused of rape, beating of girlfriend

Gretna — A New Orleans man was arrested in Gretna after his girlfriend told police that he beat, choked and raped her Monday.

Desmond Batom, 32, was booked with forcible rape and domestic abuse battery-strangulation by the Gretna Police Department. He remains in custody at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center.

Batom is accused of dragging his 32-year-old girlfriend from her bed by her hair, punching her, choking her and then forcing her to perform oral sex, according to an arrest report. Police were called to the victim’s home in the 2400 block of Stafford Street in Gretna at about 3:15 a.m. after receiving reports of a disturbance, according to Deputy Chief Anthony Christiana.

When they arrived, the victim told them Batom was trying to flee through a back door. When police captured Batom and questioned him, they say he admitted to the beating but denied any rape.

Woman reports theft of vehicle at car wash

New Orleans — The latest carjacking in what has been a rash of the incidents in New Orleans happened Monday afternoon in Carrollton.

The incident was reported about 1 p.m. in the 7600 block of Willow Street, a few blocks from the well-known Plum Street Snoballs. A woman told police she was washing her car when an unknown man walked up to her, brandished a weapon and demanded the vehicle.

The woman quickly complied, and the robber fled in the car. Police recovered the vehicle a short time later about a dozen blocks away from where the incident occurred. No injuries were reported.

Two home invasions investigated by police

New Orleans — Police are investigating two home invasions from Monday night and Tuesday morning, and in both incidents the victims reported men forced their way inside while armed.

The most recent incident happened shortly before 12:45 a.m. Tuesday in the 1200 block of Bordeaux Street. A woman reported to police that she was leaving her vehicle when an unknown man approached her carrying a gun. The robber first stole the woman’s purse, cellphone and iPad but then forced her to let him into her home, police said.

Once inside, the robber made the woman wait in another room while he removed a 32-inch flat screen television from the home. The man fled the home in an unknown direction. He was described as a black male, about 5 feet 5 inches tall, between 18 and 22 years old with a slim build.

Earlier Monday afternoon, a woman said she answered the door at her home in the 2100 block of Spain Street, when an armed man forced his way inside the home. The robber placed a gun to the victim’s head and demanded money. When the victim complied, the bandit fled on foot with jewelry and money.

Police have not suggested that the incidents are connected. Anyone with any information on incident can contact Crimestoppers at [phone].

Girl stabbed after argument at school

New Orleans — A New Orleans student reported being stabbed in the leg after an argument at school Monday.

The incident was reported in the 700 block of North Claiborne Avenue at about 3:14 p.m. The girl told police that she got into an argument earlier that day and was followed home by an unknown woman. That woman then stabbed the victim once in the thigh with an unknown object. Police did not release the victim’s school nor discuss the cause of the argument.

Fire destroys home;
2 firefighters injured

Algiers — A two-alarm fire destroyed a converted duplex in Algiers on Tuesday morning, and two New Orleans firefighters were injured in the blaze.

Firefighters were called out to the 900 block of Valette Street at about 9:06 a.m., according to fire spokesman Capt. Edwin Holmes Jr. When they arrived, they found smoke coming from the roof of the structure and began searching the building for occupants. Firefighters believe the fire began in a laundry room and spread throughout the structure eventually causing walls to collapse.

One firefighter turned an ankle at the scene, and another received a head injury from a tree limb. Neither injury is believed to be serious. The two residents of the home were provided assistance by the American Red Cross.

Man accused of hitting 2 with truck

New Orleans — New Orleans police arrested a Metairie man this weekend after they say he ran down two men at a New Orleans bar in August.

Adolfo Gonzales, 28, was booked with two counts of aggravated battery, resisting an officer, hit-and-run driving, reckless operation of a motor vehicle and simple criminal damage to property. He remains in custody at the Orleans Parish Central Lockup.

According to court documents, Gonzales was involved in an argument at a bar August 26 with an unidentified man. Both men were kicked out of the establishment, and Gonzales got into his white truck and left the scene.

The other man remained at the scene talking to other men, when a witness said Gonzales came driving back at a high rate of speed. The report stated that Gonzales tried to strike the man he’d been fighting with, but missed him and struck two other men. One of those men had his leg broken, while the other had his pelvis crushed, leg broken and spleen damaged after being trapped between two vehicles.

Gonzales was arrested after one of the victims spotted him later at another bar.

Two booked with assault in Metairie

Metairie — The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office arrested a Metairie man and woman Monday after a man said they chased him down in a car and brandished a weapon while four minors looked on.

Deputies arrested Tammy Head, 34, and Demetrius Domingues, 20, in the 4400 block of West Metairie Avenue. Head was booked with principle to aggravated assault while Domingues was booked with aggravated assault. Both suspects were booked with four counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

According to an arrest report, Head and Domingues were involved in an altercation with the victim, which led to Head chasing down the man’s vehicle in her car. When she caught up with him at a red light, the victim said Domingues began threatening him and then got out of his car carrying a weapon. The victim attempted to pull away from Domingues, at which point he says the suspect pointed the weapon at him.

No shots were fired, and no injuries were reported in the incident. The ages of the four minors in Head’s vehicle were not immediately available.

Suspects in cabbie robbery arrested

Gretna — A man and a woman accused of robbing and stabbing a cab driver last week have been arrested by the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office.

Roxanne Brown, 20, of New Orleans and Deshane Morton, 17, of unincorporated Gretna, were booked with attempted armed robbery, attempted second-degree murder and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. They remain in custody at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center.

Glen Boyd, a sheriff’s spokesman, said investigators believe the suspects stabbed a cab driver after attempting to rob him when he picked them up Oct. 20.

The stabbing happened in the 1100 block of Whitney Avenue after the cab driver fought back over his money.

Compiled by the
New Orleans bureau