Officers with the NOPD Second District look along Maple Street for surveillance cameras that may have captured footage of a robbery that took place in the 7600 block on Monday evening. (Robert Morris, UptownMessenger.com)
An armed robbery on Maple Street on Monday night and a carjacking on Nelson about half an hour later may have been committed by the same group of men, police said.
Around 10:15 p.m., a woman in the 7600 block of Maple Street was robbed of her purse at gunpoint as she tried to go to her parked car, according to investigating officers. She was attacked by as many as three men, at least one of whom had a gun, and they were in a vehicle but she didn’t get a good look at it, police said.
About half an hour later, a victim unloading a silver Toyota Camry in front of a home in the 7700 block of Nelson Street was robbed, and the attackers made off with the car, police said.
The two robberies may have been committed by the same men, investigating officers said. They wore masks on their faces in both cases, and the robbers on Maple Street may have been trying to get the woman’s car, police said.
The locations of the two robberies were just over a mile from each other straight up a cross street such as Adams or Burdette.
Anyone who may have information about either of these cases should call Second District detectives at 658-6020.
I wonder if the NOPD has “linked” the two armed robbery atrocities on Maple and Nelson Streets last night to the very similar armed robbery atrocities which occurred at different places along Audubon Street on Friday night. Even though the cars used to commit these crimes are probably stolen, a good I.D. on the car(s) is important, both for possible apprehension of the perpetrators soon after the crimes are committed, but also for DNA which the perpetrators may have left in the vehicle(s). Ashton O’Dwyer.
And the top brass want to keep rolling out midnite basketball and nolafit. This is urban terrorism and only way to solve this is to have the active military on the streets.
I REALLY APPRECIATE THE SERVICE UPTOWNMESSENGER PROVIDES WITH YOUR REPORTNG. THE TIMES PICAYUNE DOESN’T COME CLOSE, AND I HOPE THE SOMETIMES PICAYUNE’S GREATER FOCUS ON ONLINE REPORTING WILL LOOK TO, AND LEARN FROM, THE UPTOWNMESSENGER.
I HOIPE THESE IGNORANT LOW LIFES ARE CAUGHT AND HUNG AND THEN SHOT IN PUBLIC. BUT I HAVE LITTLE HOPE IN OUR LEGAL SYSTEM AND POLICE.
From 1965 to 68 we lived on Spruce Street near the St. Mary’s Cemetery. I walked to and from the Tulane campus every day, often coming home very late at night. My wife could “make groceries” on Carrollton at any time or go to the bank at Oak and Carrollton. At NO time did we ever consider the possibility of being attacked or otherwise take precautions.
In 1994 I returned to New Orleans and decided I would visit the old neighborhood. What I saw made my heart stop. That beautiful area had become a slum! The little grocery store across the street from our apartment was boarded up, grass was knee-high on most of the properties, with washing machines or junk cars in the front yards, graffiti, etc. Only a fool would think there could be no changes in the 30 years I was away in New York. But….Jeeze!
Now I ask myself this question, a question most of us are struggling with: what will it take for US to reclaim our once beautiful and safe neighborhoods? An armed “citizen patrol”, roaming the streets day and night? Martial Law with squads of the National Guard checking out all the streets on a 24/7 basis? The NOPD is not able to do much of anything but deal with all the crime in a piecemeal way. And nothing seems to be helping. A situation of lawlessness exists these days.
I wish I had the answer….
I have had dreams for the past 25 years, I’ve lived uptown. I’m being chased by, shot at, the other nite the gun was put to my head. Maybe it’s tv but, it’s in my being. I stay because my children are here. They would need to triple the police office, we need undercover big time. It’s kids doing this and they don’t care if they live or die. They have been thrown away by their people. They keep going back to the same area, whats up with that it does not take a rocket brain to figure pattern… Finally if you kill a cab driver, death penalty. It needs to happen as soon as they are convicted. What does it take to break a cycle, American need to stop buying drugs. It’s is all about money, sad state of affairs… Turn of the century insanity. My friend told me after Katrina, if they can’t sling crack on the block, the will go to robbery.
Why, the quietness of Maple St. with the Tulane students away for the summer and not inconsiderately populating the neighborhood restaurants and bars certainly makes the area more livable, doesn’t it?
Every time a brazen violent crime occurs in the area I wonder how much safer it could be if MARI and CARI, our two neighborhood associations grandiosely staking claim over the area, expended more of their energy on pushing for better policing and street lighting than on pushing around the restaurants and bars in the area.
Where are these young boys and girls’ mothers? A crime occurs and many times the witnesses don’t talk. If schools don’t educate and provide physical education, then we get the mess we are in………
I am tired of disorganized crime. Bring back organized crime were the members are taught to shoot straight.
Otherwise, reclassify these senseless crimes as perpetuated by zombies. And appropriately deal with them as zombies.
It’s sad to think this way, but where do we start?
“Where are the MOTHERS?” You must be kidding, Moses. WHAT mothers? WHAT parents of either sex? There IS no family life out there. NONE! At least not the kind that nurtures respect for life and property, but only “get what you can in any way you want”. A city of moronic children, hell bent on destruction.
Unfortunately…there lies the problem in a nutshell. Children growing up without much parental oversight. No real guardians….children having babies. In some cases, grandparents step up to the plate and raise the children. But in too many cases, these kids raise themselves.
To make matters worse, we are now dealing with a generation of these babies old enough to drive, buy guns…etc. It’s not going to get better. This is a lost generation…and its not just the blacks as some would want us to believe. The same thing is happening in Jefferson Parish. Its happened across America.
And then, to complicate matters even more….a portion of the media and recording industry has idealized the Thug Mentality. Bad is Good….Crime is cool….Laws do not matter.
answer to zimpelton (probably should be with a large S!).
Rather than throw out uninformed criticism come join Mari and find out all they are doing. On security, currently Mari is starting up a police patrol (totally seperate from NOPD and Tulane patrols) that will be out on the surrounding streets beginning August.
We are also getting involved in the effort to have the “university-uptown” area declared a Cultural Arts District which will allow YOU if you live in the district to get a 25% tax credit for repairs or remodelimg your house if over 50 years old. If you are an artist you can sell your art with out including the city and state tax. etc. etc.
Lots going on! Come join us and we can start more neighborhood improvement projects.
Maple, Like quite a few others in the neighborhood, I once was a member of MARI — long enough to know for sure that your organization did not represent the majority in the district and that your driving issues really did not reflect our quotidian concerns.
Incidentally, what happened to MARI’s website? That ought to be a relatively simple, but important enough task to manage properly. Once it’s up and running again perhaps you could enlighten us uninformed masses by posting the minutes of your board meetings.