Sheriff’s free Holiday Ride Home program starts Thanksgiving Day and runs through Jan. 2 to prevent drinking and driving; Call 271-2501; It’s the 30th consecutive year for the program

For the 30th consecutive year, the St. Bernard Sheriff’s Office will offer its free Holiday Ride Home program to prevent drinking and driving and it starts Thanksgiving Day and runs through Jan. 2, Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

“Don’t drink and drive,” the sheriff said, “Please call the Sheriff’s Office at 271-2501 and we will bring you home, no questions asked.”

“Don’t take the chance of injuring someone else or yourself or getting arrested for driving while intoxicated,” Sheriff Pohlmann said, “It is not worth the risk.”

It was innovative when it was started in 1984m under then-Sheriff Jack Stephens. Sheriff James Pohlmann isn’t going to tamper with its success.

The free rides home are for any parish resident who has been drinking during the Thanksgiving-Christmas-New Year’s holidays – no questions asked, Sheriff Pohlmann said.

A sheriff’s deputy will pick you up and take you to your home in St. Bernard or, if you live out of the parish, you can be taken to a sheriff’s sub-station where you can make arrangements to be picked up there.

“We are proud of the Holiday Ride Home program,’’ Sheriff Pohlmann said. “And why not? It was innovative when it was started and it shows we don’t want anyone injured by impaired drivers.’’

Roughly 20 people a year take advantage of the offer, Sheriff Pohlmann said.

It’s hard to determine the impact the ride home program has on the number of people who may drive drunk, the sheriff said. “But we do our best to let people know of the free service and remove the temptation to try to make it home on their own.”

The Sheriff’s Office will be working in conjunction with State Police to battle drunk-driving by looking for impaired drivers. “We patrol vigorously looking for anyone who is driving drunk or on drugs.’’

“So it’s really an easy choice to make for a St. Bernard resident who has been drinking during the holiday season,” Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

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Judge sets bonds for the 7 suspects in the LeBeau House arson case in Arabi

Bonds ranging from $450,000 to $75,000 were set by a judge in St. Bernard Parish on Monday for the seven suspects arrested Friday in the arson destruction of the historic 1850s LeBeau House near the Mississippi River in Arabi.

All the suspects, one from Arabi, one from Gretna and the others from the Dallas area, are being held in St. Bernard Paris Prison,

State District Judge Perry Nicosia set a $450,000 bond for Dusten Davenport, the oldest of the group at 31 and believed to the one who suggested setting a fire after they had broken into the house Thursday night.

He is booked with arson and burglary, which five of them are booked with.

Bonds of $350,000 each were set for four of them also booked with arson and burglary including Jerry Hamblen, Josh Briscoe, Josh Allen and Joseph Landin.

Bonds of $75,000 each were set for Bryon Meek, booked with accessory to arson and Kevin Barbe, booked with accessory to arson and trespassing.

None of the seven had immediately made bond.

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Man staying with girlfriend in Chalmette arrested for possession of $2,000 worth of heroin, a stolen gun, marijuana and being a felon in possession of firearms

A man was arrested with $2,000 worth of heroin, a stolen gun, marijuana and cash in a house he was staying at with his girlfriend in Chalmette, Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

Arthur McKinnis, 23, 3620 Jupiter Drive, had three-quarters of an ounce of heroin worth $2,000, two handguns including one reported stolen in Baton Rouge, a small amount of marijuana and cash in the residence when a search warrant was served there early Thursday morning, Nov. 21, the sheriff said.

Numerous agencies were involved in the investigation, including the Sheriff’s Office Special Investigations Division, State Police and three federal agencies – the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

McKinnis wasn’t believed to be selling heroin in St. Bernard Parish, the sheriff said, but allegedly was distributing the drug in other parishes including New Orleans.

He was on probation for prior convictions involving drugs and was being held in St. Bernard Parish Prison as a probation violator in addition to other charges.

The heroin was found in two locations in the residence. Also found was a cutting agent for the heroin to stretch its weight and value on the street.

McKinnis was booked with possession of three-quarters of an ounce of heroin with intent to distribute, being a felon in illegal possession of firearms, possession of a stolen firearm and possession of firearms while in possession of controlled dangerous substances.

He was also booked with possession of a small amount of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

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Sheriff’s Office has several people detained in connection with Friday morning fire which destroyed the historic LeBeau Mansion in Arabi

The St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office has detained several people in connection with the Friday morning fire which destroyed the historic LeBeau Mansion in Arabi.

Further information will be released later today.

Sheriff James Pohlmann will hold a press conference to discuss details.

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Residents will see debut of a new look for Sheriff’s Office vehicles, a traditional black and white patrol car

St. Bernard Parish residents will be seeing the debut of a new look for Sheriff’s Office vehicles, which will be a classic black and white patrol car with the emblem of the department badge on the sides.

“I think people will like the look,’’ Sheriff James Pohlmann said. “I wanted something very traditional, which this is.’’

“For many years, this color scheme has been identified with law enforcement,’’ Sheriff Pohlmann said.

Two black and whites, both Chevrolets recently purchased, hit the streets of the parish Nov. 19. As more vehicles are bought to upgrade the Sheriff’s Office fleet of about 150 cars, trucks and sport utility vehicles, the new colors will become common in the parish, the sheriff said.

“We will phase this in as we purchase new vehicles,’’ some of which are due to arrive near the first of the year, Sheriff Pohlmann said.

When parish voters approved a property tax increase last Spring, the sheriff said one of the reasons it was needed was to upgrade and maintain the fleet, which was showing its age.

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Seven men arrested in arson blaze that destroyed the historic 1850s LeBeau Plantation House in Arabi had ghosts and marijuana smoking on their minds before deciding to set a fire, sheriff says

Kevin Barbe of Arabi, booked with accessory to arson and criminal trespassing.	Joshua Briscoe, 20, Grand Prairie, Tx., arson, simple burglary and criminal damage over $50,000.	Joseph Landin, 20, Grand Prairie, Tx., arson, simple burglary and criminal damage over $50,000.
Joshua Allen, 21, Grand Prairie, Tx., arson, simple burglary and criminal damage over $50,000.	Jerry Hamblen, booked with arson, burglary and criminal damage over $50,000	Dusten Davenport, 31, Fort Worth, arson and simple burglary and criminal damage over $50,000.

Bryon Meek, booked with accessory to arson

The seven suspects, about to enter a sheriff’s van for Parish Prison,

Looking for ghosts, smoking marijuana and drinking were the main things on the minds of seven men arrested Friday, only 10 hours after an overnight arson fire destroyed the historic 1850s LeBeau House in Arabi, Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

But their actions didn’t just engulf a building in flames, the sheriff said, St. Bernard Parish “lost a part of its history’’ in the process. And Sheriff Pohlmann, after taking part in the questioning of suspects in the case, told the media \, “ velieve some of them have no idea what they took from St. Bernard Parish.’’

One man was from Arabi, the other six from Texas, and the nexus of them being together and ending up in the LeBeau house was them working together selling a product.

The arrests culminated an investigation by St. Bernard sheriff’s detectives, St. Bernard Fire Department investigators, the federal Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents, as well as the state Fire Marshal’s Office.

Sheriff Pohlmann said the suspects seemed “intrigued’’ by a legend of ghosts occupying the vacate LeBeau House, built in the mid-1850s and at 10,000 square feet the largest surviving pre-Civil War mansion in the New Orleans area. The two-story building with a cupula had a perch near the Mississippi River at the end of LeBeau Street in Old Arabi.

The seven in custody, five of them booked with arson and burglary, and the others with accessories to arson, had been smoking marijuana and drinking and wanted to see about the legend of ghosts in the house, the sheriff said. The men, between the ages of 17 and 31, arrived at the home late Thursday night, the sheriff said, and likely entered through a gap on the fence around the property that had been knocked down by probably curious trespassers over the years.

“They had been looking for ghosts, trying to summon spirits, beating on the floors,” said Col. John Doran, head of enforcement divisions for the Sheriff’s Office.

Doran also said the men apparently got frustrated when no ghosts came appeared and one decided to burn the place to the ground. Dusten Davenport, 31, of Fort Worth, Texas, was identified as the likely ringleader.

Davenport, along with Joshua Allen, 21, Joshua Briscoe, 20, Jerry Hamblen, 17, and Joseph Landin, 20, all of the Dallas area, Bryon Meek, 29, of Gretna and Kevin Barbe, 20 of Arabi were arrested.

All but Barbe and Meek were booked Friday for arson, simple burglary and criminal damage over $50,000, while Meek and Barbe were booked with accessory to arson and Barbe also with trespassing.

The sheriff gave few details of the investigation leading to the arrests but deputies on the scene of the fire spoke to residents who said young people have been seen coming from the rear of the Lebeau House property recently.

Sheriff Pohlmann also said there are no other known suspects at this time. The sheriff also acknowledged that the LeBeau House, owned by the Meraux Foundation of St Bernard, has had problems in the past with trespassers including homeless people and young people chasing the ghost stories. By 2003, the house, near collapse, had been stabilized, structurally repaired, and readied for an extensive renovation. But since Hurricane Katrina, its windows have been boarded.

From its perch near the Mississippi River in Arabi, the LeBeau Plantation House weathered many a hurricane since it was built in the mid-1850s but had no chance against the fire early Friday morning.

“It’s a shame and a terrible loss for our community,’’ said St. Bernard Parish Fire Chief Thomas Stone, who was at the scene of the blaze that was reported just after 2 a.m. He said there was “a wall of fire’’ engulfing the two-story structure when he arrived.

Firefighters had no chance to save the mostly wooden building at the end of LeBeau Street in Old Arabi, near the Domino Sugar refinery near the Mississippi River. The building, shown over the years on TV specials about South Louisiana mansions along the river, was reduced to its brick chimney stands and just portions of the frame.

No ine was injured in the blaze, which could be seen for miles and also damaged a vacant building on Friscoville Avenue because of burning embers.

St. Bernard Parish Historian William Hyland said the LeBeau House – built by Franciose Barthelemy LeBeau – was the largest pre-Civil War mansion remaining in the New Orleans area.

“It was 10,000 square feet and was truly a grand house,’’ he said. The building was probably the latest known example of the “brick between post’’ architecture common in the 1700s in Louisiana, Hyland said.

It stood on land that was an indigo plantation in the 1740s. There was an older and smaller home which existed on the land prior to the LeBeau House being built in the 1850s, Hyland said. The LeBeau family owned the property from the 1850s to 1906.

In the 20th Century, the house was used as the Friscoville Hotel and then a gambling casino in the 1920s.

In 1967, Joseph Meraux purchased the house but it deteriorated badly since then, some observers have noted. The Meraux Foundation of St. Bernard Parish has owned the property for years. It had a chain link fence around it but there were indications the fence had been pushed down, making it possible for someone to enter, according to a Sheriff’s Office incident report on the fire.

In 1986, a fire damaged the interior and roof of the building when people were living there. Afterward, some restoration efforts were undertaken in the next few years, but the place was never fully refurbished.

Former St. Bernard Parish resident Michelle Buuck wrote a book in the 1990s about the house, later re-issued in 2012, called “The Historic LeBeau Mansion: A Forgotten Monument.”

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Suspicious night fire destroys historic 1850s LeBeau Plantation House in Arabi near the river; Sheriff’s Office developing information on suspicious people seen lately at the rear of the property

LeBeau Plantation House

Suspicious fire destroys historic LeBeau House in Arabi.

From its perch near the Mississippi River in Arabi, the LeBeau Plantation House weathered many a hurricane since it was built in the mid-1850s but had no chance against a suspicious fire early Friday morning which all but destroyed the mostly wooden structure that was the largest pre-Civil War mansion remaining in the New Orleans area.

“It’s a shame and a terrible loss for our community,’’ said St. Bernard Parish Fire Chief Thomas Stone, who was at the scene of the blaze that was reported just after 2 a.m. He said there was “a wall of fire’’ engulfing the two-story structure when he arrived.

Firefighters had no chance to save the mostly wooden building at the end of LeBeau Street in Old Arabi, next to the Domino Sugar refinery near the Mississippi River. The building, shown over the years on TV specials about South Louisiana mansions along the river, was reduced to its brick chimney stands and just portions of the frame.

Fire Department officials said the cause of the fire is under investigation and Stone described the blaze as suspicious. The state Fire Marshal’s Office and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms are expected to be consulted.

The property is owned by the Meraux Foundation of St. Bernard Parish.

No one was injured in the fire, which was visible for miles and caused damage to at least one vacant house on nearby Friscoville Avenue because of embers sent flying by wind, officials said.

St. Bernard Parish sheriff’s deputies developed information overnight from area residents who said they have seen suspicious young people toward the rear of the LeBeau House property in recent days. No arrests have been made.

St. Bernard Parish Historian William Hyland said the LeBeau House – built by Franciose Barthelemy LeBeau – was the largest pre-Civil War mansion remaining in the New Orleans area.

“It was 10,000 square feet and was truly a grand house,’’ he said. The building was probably the latest known example of the “brick between post’’ architecture common in the 1700s in Louisiana, Hyland said.

It stood on land that was an indigo plantation in the 1740s. There was an older and smaller home which existed on the land prior to the LeBeau House being built in the 1850s, Hyland said. The LeBeau family owned the property from the 1850s to 1906.

In the 20th Century, the house was used as the Friscoville Hotel and then a gambling casino in the 1920s.

In 1967, Joseph Meraux purchased the house but it deteriorated badly since then, some observers have noted. The Meraux Foundation of St. Bernard Parish has owned the property for years. It had a chain link fence around it but there were indications the fence had been pushed down, making it possible for someone to enter, according to a Sheriff’s Office incident report on the fire.

In 1986, a fire damaged the interior and roof of the building when people were living there. Afterward, some restoration efforts were undertaken in the next few years, but the place was never fully refurbished.

Former St. Bernard Parish resident Michelle Buuck wrote a book in the 1990s about the house, later re-issued in 2012, called “The Historic LeBeau Mansion: A Forgotten Monument.”

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Teen gets 30-years for manslaughter for 2012 killing of a man he knew for years but shot him as the victim slept in a Chalmette house; Plot centered on 10.5 pounds of methamphetamine worth $535,000

In a case centering on the largest amount of methamphetamine ever found in St. Bernard Parish – 10.5 pounds worth $535,000 – a male who was 17 in 2012 when he killed a man he knew for years as the victim slept, has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for manslaughter.

Jorge Ramirez was arrested for first-degree murder Oct. 2, 2012, the same day Leandro Morales De La Cruz, 32, was found shot to death in a half-double he and Ramirez had rented only a week earlier in the 8500 block of Regiment Drive in Chalmette.

Also, Ramirez attempted to kill the dead man’s brother, Martin De La Cruz, 26, by striking him in the head with a blunt object, Sheriff James Pohlmann said at the time. Ramirez was found hiding under a shed on a lot near where Leandro De La Cruz was murdered. Martin De La Cruz survived his injuries and was taken into custody after being hospitalized.

Now 18, Ramirez pleaded guilty Monday, Nov. 18, to manslaughter in a plea agreement with prosecutors and was sentenced to 30 years in prison by state District Judge Kirk Vaughn in Chalmette.

Also, Ramirez was sentenced to 20 years –which will run concurrently with the 30 – by Vaughn after the defendant pleaded guilty to attempted manslaughter in the attempted murder of Martin De La Cruz.

Sheriff Pohlmann said Ramirez had traveled to Chalmette with the man he killed only weeks before he shot him as he slept. They came in order to join up with the brother of the man killed and help him in a large-scale methamphetamine conspiracy. Brother Martin De La Cruz was distributing the drug in the New Orleans area and had been living in eastern St. Bernard Parish while doing so, the sheriff said.

“The motive for the killing was to steal the narcotics’’ that had been brought to Chalmette from eastern St. Bernard for safekeeping as it w, Sheriff Pohlmann said after Ramirez’ arrest.

He said Ramirez confessed after his arrest, admitting he killed the man he came here with, tried to kill the brother already living here, and took the meth he knew about, intending to take it back to North Carolina.

Initially, about 10 pounds of meth was recovered and investigators found the other half-pound more of the meth several days later, which Ramirez apparently didn’t know existed.

Ramirez was held in St. Bernard Parish Prison in lieu of bond set at $1.5 million during the 13 months since his arrest but he has been transferred to a state prison after his guilty pleas, the sheriff said.

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Knights of Columbus Deputy of the Year Det. Ryan Melerine honored by Pres. Peralta and Parish Council

Det. Ryan Melerine, named the Knights of Columbus in Chalmette’s 2013 Deputy Sheriff of the Year, was honored at Tuesday’s Parish Council meeting.

Melerine, a seven-year veteran of the department, was proclaimed an honored citizen by the Parish Council and received a commendation by Parish President David Peralta.

Sheriff James Pohlmann lauded Melerine for good work as a patrol deputy in his 4 ½ years in the position, including working as a training officer for new deputies learning to work the streets, and in his as a detective since moving to the Criminal Investigations Bureau. Melerine also worked in the Communications Division when first hired in December 2006.

Shown, Sheriff Pohlmann shakes hands with Melerine in the Council Chamber.

Also, Melerine is shown in the first row with, from left, Knights of Columbus Program Director Fred Billiot, Peralta and Council member Casey Hunnicutt at right. In the middle row, from left, are Council members Guy McInnis, Ray Lauga, Nathan Gorbaty and Manuel “Monty’’ Montelongo; and in the back row are Sheriff Pohlmann and Council members George Cavignac and Richard Lewis.

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Knights of Columbus in Chalmette gives awards for Sheriff’s Deputy, Firefighter and Paramedic of the Year; Det. Ryan Melerine. Deputy Chief Glenn Ellis and EMT Chad Singletary honored

Ryan Melerine was named Deputy of the Year by the Knights of Columbus in Chalmette. Shown, from left, are Det. Capt. Mark Jackson, Chief of Detectives Robert McNab. Grand Knight Cisco Gonzales giving the award to Melerine, Sheriff James Pohlmann and Col. John Doran. In back are Council Chairman Al Graffia and Program Director Fred Billiot

Chad Singletary of Acadian Ambulance was Paramedic of the Year. He is shown receiving the award from Grand Knight Cisco Gonzales. Also shown are Janie Fuller of Acadian, Council Chairman Al Graffia and Program director Fred Billiot.

Archbishop Rummel Council 5747 of the Knights of Columbus in Chalmette gave awards for Sheriff’s Deputy, Firefighter and Paramedic of the Year during a banquet on Sunday, Nov. 17 in its council hall on Paris Road.

Sheriff’s Det. Ryan Melerine, a 7-year veteran of the St. Bernard Sheriff’s Office, was Deputy of the Year. Deputy Chief Glenn Ellis, 35-year veteran of the St. Bernard Fire Department, was named Firefighter of the Year. And Chad Singletary, who has been with Acadian Ambulance nine years and before that with Priority EMS, was the Paramedic of the Year.

Grand Knight Cisco Gonzales, present with Council Chairman Al Graffia and Program Director Fred Billiot, said the Knights of Columbus gives the awards because, “We want to recognize the people who do so much for this community.’’

The group also honored veterans at the event.

Sheriff James Pohlmann said Melerine is “a good choice because he has developed into a good officer with several important arrests to his credit.’’

The sheriff said Melerine, who has been with the Sheriff’s Office since late 2006, has made a nice transition from a patrol deputy to the position of detective in the Criminal Investigation Bureau. The sheriff said he also did a good job helping train young deputies new to the streets.

A native of St. Bernard Parish, Melerine, 28, was promoted to detective in August of this year after having worked in the sheriff’s Patrol Division for 4½ years and before that in the Communications Division, where he began with the Sheriff’s Office in December 2006.

“I am proud to be able to police my own parish’’ in an effort to keep it safe, Melerine said. “And I couldn’t work for a better department.’’

Melerine wife, Lindsi, and children attended the event with other family members and the Sheriff’s Office was also represented by Sheriff James Pohlmann and Melerine’s superiors, Col. John Doran, head of operations, Chief of Detective Maj. Robert McNab and Det. Capt. Mark Jackson.

Parish Fire Chief Thomas Stone lauded the work of Deputy Fire Chief Glenn Ellis of the First Platoon, saying. “He goes above and beyond.’’

Stone emphasized Ellis was instrumental in starting a boat rescue team which has been deployed three times to help with situations in other parishes, including rescuing numerous people in their homes in Plaquemines Parish during the flooding of the 2012 hurricane.

Also present from the Fire Department were Fire Prevention Officer Charles Licciardi, District Chief Gerald Carlini, District Chief Joseph Dullary, Capt. Troy Serigne and Engineer Clinton Melerine.

Singletary was praised by fellow Paramedic Janie Fuller for his work as a preceptor, which is a field training specialist, training new paramedics. She also said he is known for his attention to details in patient care and documentation for medical records.

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