Arrest warrants issued for suspect Carl Kopietz in May 5, 2008, arson and burglary of a Chalmette daiquiri shop destroyed by fire; Call the S.O. with information on his whereabouts at (504) 271-2501

Carl Kopietz, a native of Michigan, came to the New Orleans area, including St. Bernard Parish, to do construction work in the recovery period after Hurricane Katrina. By the time he left in 2010 or so he had been arrested several times in different parishes on charges including theft and drugs.

Eventually, Kopietz fled prosecution after arrests in Jefferson Parish, New Orleans and St. Tammany Parish. He is also known to be wanted on criminal charges in several other states. He has a lengthy criminal background which included serving a prison sentence years ago.

In Chalmette, where Kopietz wasn’t ever arrested, one of the places Kopietz was known to go was Daiquiries of St. Bernard, a small bar at 120 Packenham Drive, just off West Judge Perez Drive.

Now, Kopietz, 39, is wanted on arrest warrants issued Feb. 25 for arson and burglary in the May 5, 2008, burglary and fire that destroyed the business, Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

Anyone with information on his whereabouts should call the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office at (504) 271-2501 or Crimestoppers at (504) 822-1111.

About 5 a.m., the daiquiri shop was broken into, its three video poker machines emptied and the place torched, apparently to destroy evidence of the break-in. The site is now a vacant plot of land. An undisclosed amount of money was stolen, Sheriff Pohlmann said at the time.

The Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted an investigation, also aided by the Louisiana Fire Marshal’s office, including a $5,000 reward offered in the case, Sheriff Pohlmann said. There was speculation about suspects but no arrest was made.

Sheriff Pohlmann said evidence was developed which led to Kopietz as the perpetrator after someone came forward with information. Others may also have been involved, he said. “It’s good police work to have come up with a suspect in this nearly six-year-old case,’’ the sheriff said.

He said St. Bernard Parish sheriff’s detectives have presented information to a state district judge to obtain arrest warrants.

Judge Robert Buckley of St. Bernard Parish issued warrants Feb. 25 for the arrest of Kopietz for arson and burglary. A U.S. Marshal’s Service fugitive task force will be asked to get involved in the case, the sheriff said.

The last known whereabouts of Kopietz were in November 2013 when he was released from Atlanta-Fulton County Prison, before any warrants had been issued for the St. Bernard arson and burglary.