Two men booked in auto burglaries, third booked with drugs in two incidents in Chalmette

Paul Ducote: Paul Ducote, booked with three auto burglaries

Alec St. Germain: Alec St. Germain, booked with one auto burglary and on drug counts

A night of partying in a Chalmette motel ended with one man arrested for three auto burglaries in two areas of Chalmette and a second man booked with one of the burglaries and on separate marijuana and prescription pill charges, Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

A third man who had been at the party was booked solely on the drug possession charges, the sheriff said.

Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched recently at 6 a.m. to a motel in the 5300 block of Paris Road on a call of two men rummaging through vehicles in a parking lot.

One of them was seen entering a room at the motel after the incidents.

Sheriff’s deputies who went to the room were allowed in by an occupant and they immediately smelled a strong odor of marijuana and saw a plastic bag containing five tablets of the prescription drug Xanax and a bag of marijuana on a table, the sheriff said. Another bag with 12 Xanax was found in a bathroom. There were also numerous empty alcohol beverage containers in the room.

The subject who opened the door was identified as Alec St. Germain, 19, 2036 Brigade Drive, Chalmette, and a man who was on a bed was identified as Nicholas Russell, 18, 58 Randazzo Drive, St. Bernard community.

They both denied owning the drugs and said three others had been in the room earlier that night, with all celebrating the birthday of a woman who had been there.

St. Germain admitted under questioning about the burglaries that he had been outside going through a truck with a subject he knew as P.J. who had been at the party in the room but had left afterward.

St. Germain was booked with one count of auto burglary and and counts of possession of marijuana and possession of the Xanax pills. He is being held in lieu of $10,000 bond in St. Bernard Parish Prison.

Russell was booked on the marijuana and prescription pills counts and was being held in St. Bernard Parish Prison in lieu of $7,500 bond.

About an hour later, a man matching the clothing description of the suspect known as P.J. was spotted on Carroll Drive in Chalmette entering vehicles and pulling on door handles.

Responding deputies found Paul Ducote, 20, inside a car on Carroll Drive.

Ducote, who said he didn’t have a residence but listed an address of 24 Coffee Drive, Chalmette, admitted he had been going into vehicles to look for valuables. Ducote, when taken to jail, also admitted he had gone through a vehicle earlier that morning at the motel.

Ducote was booked with a total of three counts of simple burglary and was being held in lieu of bond of $7,500.

Sheriff Pohlmann reminded residents to lock up their vehicles when not in use, saying the great majority of such burglaries in St. Bernard involve unlocked cars and trucks.