St. Bernard residents can register at 278-7628 for the free Refuse to be a Victim lecture on Wednesday, Dec. 10 at 6:30 p.m. in the Sheriff’s Training Center at 2118 Jackson Blvd. in building behind

St. Bernard Parish residents looking for free solid, expert advice on crime prevention measures for your home and business, including locks, timers and alarm systems to use, should register for the free Refuse to be a Victim lecture on Wednesday, Dec. 10 at 6:30 p.m., Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

Call Capt. Charles Borchers at (504) 278-7628 to sign up. Borchers is head of Community Relations and long-time crime prevention director for the Sheriff’s Office and conducts the course, assisted by Dep. Eric Eilers.

The one-night lecture is held in the Sheriff’s Training Center at 2118 Jackson Blvd. in Chalmette. The center is on the second-floor in the building that also houses the Assessor’s Office and is directly behind the east side of the Parish Courthouse.

“You will hear safety tips for avoiding becoming crime victims at home or away,’’ Sheriff Pohlmann said. “Capt. Borchers is an expert on what type locks, lighting timers and alarm systems residents and business owners should use and he will demonstrate them, as well as going over numerous tips for various situations.’’

Dozens of residents have taken the Refuse to be a Victim class since Sheriff Pohlmann began offering it to the public in 2011.

Sheriff Pohlmann said “much of this is common sense ideas’’ that some people may already carry out but they are important to be emphasized.

Borchers stresses in the course that, “You have to have a mental plan of action’’ at home or when traveling to be on alert for potential criminals. Seminar topics include safety at home or in automobile, as well as phone, technology, travel and personal security.

He recommends double cylinder deadbolt locks with large screws put an inch into a large, solid frame so a door can’t be easily kicked open.

Use strong locks and place peep holes on home doors, Borchers said. Light-timers, alarm systems, video surveillance and motion lights are all sound anti-crime strategies, he said.

He stresses people should go out to the sidewalk and take a hard look at their home in the way a burglar would who was sizing it up for ways to break in – then do something about potential problems.

Borchers goes over various situations with participants, such as asking what they would do if they are home and someone came to the door saying they had a package for them to sign for – but there wasn’t a delivery truck outside?

Or what if a stranger comes to your door and asks to use a phone? Or what’s the best ways to stay safe in other locations while visiting?

For the answer to these and other questions, Borchers said he invites residents to come hear what he has to say.

Refuse To Be A Victim is nationally recognized. It was developed in 1993 in response to requests from women nationwide for crime prevention seminars and became co ed in 1997. Thousands of men and women have benefited from the program’ message, which has been endorsed by members of the law enforcement community nationwide.

Borchers is also available at (504) 278-7628 for anyone interested in forming a Neighborhood Watch group in their area or to ask about other free programs offered by the Sheriff’s Office.

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Sheriff’s Office captures both men who fled into woods after an armed robbery in Violet

Sheriff James Pohlmann and Col. John Doran in Violet during the search.

A tracking dog is taken into woods by St. Tammany Parish sheriff’s deputies to take part in the searxh leading to the arrests.

Two men who fled into woods after an armed robbery of a service station in Violet on Wednesday were captured after a search of the woods for several hours, Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

The men, one from New Orleans and the other from Houston, were caught about an hour apart, one about 3 p.m. and the other just before 4 p.m. in woods near the Violet Canal.

Being booked with armed robbery and resisting arrest were Russo Vinson, 33, of Houston, and Kenneth Augustin, 24, of New Orleans. Augustin was captured first and Vinson second. Money believed stolen in the robbery was recovered on Vinson.

St. Bernard deputies, along with canines and officers from the Slidell Police Department and St. Tammany Sheriff’s Office as well as helicopters from the Plaquemines Parish Sheriff’s Office and the St. Tammany Sheriff’s Office, had been searching after the 10 a.m. robbery.

One man with a handgun, believed to be Vinson, robbed a service station in the 6200 block of East St. Bernard Highway in Violet. No one was injured.

With the help of witnesses, Sheriff Pohlmann said, sheriff’s deputies quickly saw a silver Lincoln matching a description of one seen after the robbery, with two men inside.

Deputies chased the Lincoln to the end of General Pershing Street in Violet, which dead-ends into a canal, the sheriff said.

The car went into the canal at a wooded area and the men jumped out and ran into woods.

For hours, as deputies and search dogs combed the woods and helicopters searched overhead, there was no sign of either man.

But the methodical search in the woods led to finding one man just before 3 p.m. and the other less than an hour later, Sheriff Pohlmann said.

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8th-graders hear Red Ribbon Week anti-drug message with input from a minister who is a former drug addict, the head of the parish anti-drug coalition, Sheriff Pohlmann and drug-free schools

Students at Trist Middle School hold a long red ribbon as Charles Cassar, drug-free schools coordinator for St.Bernard schools, starts an anti-drug rally for 8th-graders.	Corey Hicks, minister and ex-drug addict, tells his story to students.
Sheriff James Pohlmann speaks to students.	Dan Schneider, chairman of the St. Bernard Community Anti-Drug Coalition, speaks to students.

Eighth-grade students at Trist Middle School in Meraux got a lesson in making good choices in life, part of the school system’s annual anti-drug campaign known as Red Ribbon Week.

Several speakers including former drug addict turned minister Corey Hicks, St. Bernard Community Anti-Drug Coalition Chairman Dan Schneider – who lost a son to drug violence years ago – Sheriff James Pohlmann and Drug-Free Schools Coordinator Charles Cassar told students their future is bright if they can avoid the pitfalls of drug use.

The Trist program was the culmination of events at schools throughout October.

This year, Red Ribbon Week also coincided with the release of a community-wide resolution, spread mostly through some 10,000 copies given to St. Bernard school students but also to churches and other groups, by the parish Anti-Drug Coalition.

It asks residents to pledge to work towards a drug-free community, to not tolerate drug abuse or drug-dealing and encourages them to report such activity to the Sheriff’s Office. Its message is “We are all in this together. Be a life-saver.’’ Residents can call Schneider at (504) 430-3154 for more information on the coalition.

At Trist, 8th-grade students took part in the anti-drug event as well as hearing its message, with several holding a long red ribbon and taking turns explaining the origin of Red Ribbon Week.

Red Ribbon Week was originated in 1998, set up to honor the memory of Enrique “Kiki” Camerena, a U.S. Drug Enforcement agent murdered while assigned to investigate drug trafficking in Mexico near the U.S. border. He was kidnapped, tortured and killed.

Congress proclaimed the first Red Ribbon Week in honor of the agent and cause he died for and some 80 million people continue to participate in the event each year.

Cassar said the school system has celebrated Red Ribbon Week in October for some 25 years, in recognition of the importance “of trying to bring substance abuse awareness”” to students.

“This is done to put you in a position for success,’’ Cassar told students in the school gym on Oct. 31.

Any group of students could contain a future millionaire, doctor, Nobel Prize winner or famous actor or actress, Cassar said, but students will never reach their potential if drugs get in the way.

Cassar also urged students not to believe the misconception that most young people do use drugs. The real statistic is that surveys have shown maybe 12 percent of high schoolers have tried drugs, he said.

“It might make it easier for some to try them if they think more people are doing it,’’ Cassar said, but it would be a mistake to think that.

Schneider, a pharmacist, told students the story of his own son who was murdered while attempting to purchase narcotics years ago. Many of his son’s friends knew he was using drugs but didn’t come forward with that until after the murder, he said.

“Look out for your friends,’’ Schneider told students. “Don’t start drugs and try to keep your friends off drugs.’’

Students paid close attention to the story of Hicks, now a minister but who formerly served time in prison after getting hooked on drugs in high school and moving on to deal them.

Hicks told students they should realize using drugs “is like playing Russian roulette’’ and could cost them their lives as well as hurt others. “You are better than that,’’ Hicks said.

Sheriff Pohlmann told students that in his 31 years in law enforcement, “I have seen a lot of death and destruction caused by drugs and alcohol.’’

The sheriff said young people have to make the right decisions in life, including who they associate with.

“I have 250 people in my jail who made bad decisions,’’ the sheriff said. And he told them to realize not very many people come back from being hooked on drugs.

“I don’t want you to be a statistic,’’ Sheriff Pohlmann said. “We don’t want to have to tell your mother and father you died of an overdose.’’

“We’re not trying to scare you but to educate you,’’ the sheriff said.

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