Four N.O. and Slidell men arrested in theft and recovery of dirt bike in eastern St. Bernard; handgun and marijuana also found

Damian Sparks of Slidell, booked with felony theft, illegal carrying of a handgun and marijuana posession.

Xavier Porter of Slidell, booked with felony theft, illegal carrying of a handgun and marijuana possession.

An alert witness who reported seeing suspicious men walking at night led directly to the arrests of four New Orleans and Slidell men and recovery of a dirt bike they stole in eastern St. Bernard Parish, as well as the finding of a handgun and marijuana, Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

There was no indication of why the four were on Deborah Drive, where they were arrested late the night of April 4 after a dirt bike was stolen at a residence.

A witness in the area reported seeing three men walking with the dirt bike, headed toward a parked jeep and said the bike resembled one owned by another near-by resident.

Responding sheriff’s deputies Joseph Warren and Matthew Spencer found a Jeep Cherokee being driven with no headlights on, with a driver, two passengers and a fourth man riding the dirt bike alongside the vehicle.
Asked about the bike, several said they had been riding dirt bikes all day in a trail in a wooded area, while one said he had gotten a call to come help one of them with a dirt bike that wouldn’t start and needed to be moved.

Deputies, while talking to the men, could smell an odor of marijuana coming from the jeep and asked its driver, Damian Sparks, 19, of Slidell, if officers could search the vehicle.

Sparks gave consent to a search and officers found two plastic bags containing marijuana and a plastic water bottle made into a smoking device in the vehicle. Continuing the search, a loaded revolver was also found. All subjects denied ownership of any of the seized items.

A woman who lived in the area later identified the dirt bike as stolen from near the front of her residence.

All four men were booked with felony theft of the dirt bike, including Sparks, Xavier Porter, 23, of Slidell, and two New Orleans men, Lorenzo Harvy, 17, and Malik Lewis, 18. All but Lewis, who had been spotted by deputies on the dirt bike, were also booked with illegal carrying of a weapon, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Lewis has been released from St. Bernard Parish Prison on $20,000 bond and Harvy was released on $25,000 bond. Porter and Sparks remain jailed in lieu of bonds set at $25,000 each.