Anton Atkins tied to shell casings found at robbery scene

Shell casings found at the scene of an alleged armed robbery at the corner of Rosa Pearl and Plum on July 10 have been tied directly to a gun to which Bogalusa policeman Anton Atkins had access.

"We got the forensics back and they're (casings) from a gun he (Atkins) had access to," Chief of Police Joe Culpepper said. "Thankfully, it wasn't his service revolver."

Anton Atkins

Culpepper said he understands Atkins, who is on administrative leave with pay while he is under arrest, has bonded out.

Atkins, 29, was charged with armed robbery and dangerous use of a weapon after he allegedly robbed Willie Holloway of more than $300. Both charges are felonies and carry a jail sentence of up to 99 years. In addition, while not a separate charge, armed robbery with a gun is listed as part of the complaint as a sentencing enhancement.

Culpepper said the police department received a complaint at 8:44 p.m. on July 10 about an off-duty officer firing his gun.

Culpepper said responding officers found spent casings at the scene, which were collected as evidence and sent, along with Atkins' service revolver, to the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office for forensics testing.

Culpepper said Atkins will now face an Internal Affairs investigation.

"Essentially, in an IA investigation, the chief of police is ordering the officer to testify," Culpepper explained. "Whatever he says, if he admits responsibility, cannot be used against him in a criminal proceeding because he does not have the right to take the Fifth (Amendment)."

Culpepper said the investigation is ongoing.

Police: Dead man was aggressor in Monday incident

The man who was shot in the 300 block of Florence and died about an hour later at LSU-Bogalusa Medical Center has been identified as the aggressor and not the victim.

Kendrick Rashard Cook, 23, died about an hour later in the emergency room after police and other emergency personnel responded to a call at 3:38 p.m.

Upon arrival, police found Cook on the ground and a second male, identified as Brandon "BeBe" Morris with his hands up in the air, Bogalusa Police Chief Joe Culpepper told wpnewsblog.

"Witness statements led us to believe Mr. Cook opened fire on two people walking down the street," Culpepper said. "One of the two men had a gun in their car, got it and shot him. When police arrived, he (Morris) had thrown his weapon on the ground and hand his hands in the air."

Culpepper said the police department was treating the case as justifiable homicide.

Cook has a history of violent crime, having been arrested for attempted second degree murder and use of a dangerous weapon after an incident in June 2010.

Culpepper said Morris had "no history" with the department.

Culpepper said because a death was involved, he would send the department's investigation file to the district attorney's office for a decision on disposition of the case.

Arrest made in molestation of 12-year-old

Donald Magee, 33, has been arrested in connection with the sexual assault of a 12-year-old.

Donald Magee

Police Chief Joe Culpepper said Magee, whose address is listed as 1023 Donovan St., Bogalusa, was arrested after his department investigated a complaint from the state Department of Child and Family Services (formerly OCS).

Magee was arrested last Sunday on charges of molestation of a juvenile and sexual battery/forcible fondling.

If convicted, Magee faces a lengthy jail sentence. The molestation charge on the juvenile carries a fine of not more than $10,000 or imprisonment, with or without hard labor, for not less than five nor more than 20 years or both. Additionally, if convicted, Magee would not be able to have his conviction set aside or prosecution dismissed.

The sexual battery charges carries an even stiffer sentence — imprisonment at hard labor for not less than 25 years nor more than 99 years and at least 25 years of the sentence must be served before parole, probation or suspension of sentence can be considered.

(Published first at www.wpnewsblog.com)

Fifteenth drug suspect arrested (with mugshots)

A little more than two days after an estimated 50 law enforcement officers spread out in four teams for pre-dawn raids, 15 of 17 persons being sought have been arrested.

Only two of the 17 — 30-year-old Jason Cooley and 31-year-old Willie Holloway — remain at-large. Tuesday afternoon, Bogalusa Police Chief Joe Culpepper said Holloway had contacted law enforcement officials and there was a possibility at that time he would surrender.

The two still at-large will all be charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute Schedule II CDS (controlled dangerous substance), specifically, cocaine, as were 12 others targeted in the roundup.

The penalty for conspiracy to possess cocaine with intent to distribute carries a sentence of imprisonment at hard labor for not less than two years or more than 30. Additionally, there can be no parole, probation or suspension of sentence during the first two years and a fine of not more than $50,000 may also be assessed.

Three others — Roy Short, 36, Russel Ramsher, 40, and Diana Ramsher, 42 – were charged with more serious offenses.

Short was also charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in addition to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute Schedule II CDS. Russel and Diana Ramsher were each charged with possession with intent to distribute Schedule II CDS (Oxycontin), possession of a weapon in the presence of a controlled dangerous substance, and possession of a CDS in a drug free zone.

Culpepper said in addition to making the arrests on Tuesday, law enforcement seized 50 grams of marijuana, 280 grams of cocaine, one firearm and about $3,000 in currency.

Bickham

Levi

Cooley

Dixon

Cotton

Holloway

Jefferson

Robertson

Owens

Ramsher

Whitten

Short

Fields

Lavinghouse

McCray

Ramsher

Roberts

OPINION: Recapping the week thus far

Processing the week thus far …

•••

Joe Culpepper, Bogalusa’s chief of police, was processing paperwork for 17 warrants that were to be served Tuesday morning when things started turning upside down Sunday night.

“I was here (in his office), working on that paperwork, when the call came in,” he said.

“The call.”

“The call” he was referring to was the one that came it at 8:44 p.m. and advised an off-duty police officer was firing his gun and officers were responding.

Culpepper, who normally has a welcoming smile on his face, wasn’t smiling as he recounted the events of the evening, including the decision on who would lead the initial investigation and response.

Then, with the processing of warrant paperwork still needing to be done, Culpepper called out Det. Kendall Bullen, who was in the process of heading to bed when his phone rang.

“I think it was 2:30 or so when he finished,” Culpepper said, a fact Bullen confirmed about 4:20 Tuesday morning at the National Guard Readiness Center as another in what has been promised to be a series of drug busts was getting ready to go down.

And so, when wpnewsblog began chasing the Chief at 6:50 Monday morning, he was trying to get some shut-eye after pulling a two-tiered all-nighter. There’s no reason he wouldn’t have his cell phone off and there was no reason he wouldn’t be coming to work around noon after the night he — and his department — had been through. And wpnewsblog fired an unnecessary shot across the bow because of the late arrival and the quest to get the information.

And we all know the public details of the story up to this point … that off-duty PFC Anton Atkins allegedly committed armed robbery, discharging a weapon in the process, and was arrested.

•••

But …

… Atkins’ alleged victim, 31-year-old Willie Holloway of Angie, has anything but a squeaky clean reputation. He was one of 17 sought in Tuesday’s drug raid and was one of two officers were warned about as being potentially dangerous.

Holloway, who we understand went to the local newspaper to “tell his story,” said he was “just riding around” when Atkins and a second person, Marvin Austin, Jr.,  pulled his vehicle in front of Holloway’s.

Austin, incidentally, was the name of the second person wpnewsblog was given and referred to in the initial reporting of the incident at 9:52 Monday morning. Austin wound up being arrested on Sunday, but not in connection with Holloway’s claims, instead on an FTA.

So, how many of us go out “just riding around” with $700 in our pockets? On a Sunday night? At the end of two streets that run into the back entrance of Northshore Technical College’s Sullivan Campus?

Yeah, right. You get the same picture we did.

•••

As Tuesday’s drug bust was getting started, a familiar face walked in the back door of the armory — Charles Mizell.

It wasn’t a public ribbon cutting where the cameras would be on him and the big, fake scissors in-hand, but it was just after 5:20 a.m. and he was there as mayor, supporting his officers.

And every time someone brought in a bad guy, Mizell had an encouraging word for them. When it was a Bogalusa officer, he took the extra step of telling them he appreciated what they were doing and it was a job well done.

It may not seem like much to the cynics among us, but I overheard more than one member of the force make a comment about his presence, followed by a “That’s cool” or another phrase that indicated it made them feel a bit better about the support they get.

•••

And finally — for this recap — we’ve made contact with several members of the family of the late Bogalusa Fire Capt. Anthony J. Fiorenza, who is the only firefighter to have died in the line of duty in Bogalusa fire department history.

The 43^rd anniversary of the fire was last Friday and, after wpnewsblog asked Chief Richard Moody about it, the department hastily organized a memorial observance at the station on West 8^th, where Fiorenza had been made captain just four days prior to his death.

We’d like to say there was a good turnout, but there wasn’t. In fact, other than yours truly and the firefighters themselves, the only other observers were Barbara Crawford and her YWCA Photography Day Camp class — Eden Breazeale, Olivia Kennedy, Makayla Ramser, Jayla Buchanan, Katelyn Gray and Dana Breazeale.

After the two stories appeared on wpnewsblog — the only two published about the memorial observance — we heard from Fiorenza’s sole surviving sister and his daughter.

From his sister, Mary Dugan-Brignac, on Sunday: “Mr. Walker, thank you very much for this article.  I am Anthony's only living sibling, and I live here in Bogalusa, about 8 blocks from the Pleasant Hill Fire Station.  Of course, I attended the Memorial in July 2004, along with my now deceased sister Lena Jacobs.  My picture appeared in the Daily News with the story about the memorial.  My brother has a daughter and grandson who live near Slidell and a son and granddaughters who live in Baker, LA.”

On Wednesday, I heard from Toni Fiorenza McKinney, his daughter. She and her husband and her 21-year-old son — Fiorenza’s grandson — live in Pearl River.

As he requested, I have forwarded the contact information to Chief Moody so he can get the family involved next year when the now-annual memorial observance will be held.

•••

To all of you who read and follow wpnewsblog, a sincere thank you.

Since our first post, on the spring nursing graduation at Northshore Technical College on May 17, our site has been visited more than 28,000 times. Yes, there have been some big news stories that drove those numbers, but I also believe there was some steady, constant reporting that helped a bunch, too.

Unless you log on via phone, there’s a counter on the right hand side of our page that shows you how many visitors we’ve had and I also want you to know we now have more than 200 followers on Facebook (WPNewsBlog). We’re on Twitter, too, but I’m still learning the nuances of tweeting, so for right now, I feel like a twit in that arena.

But again … thank you for your support and for passing along those news tips!

(John H. Walker is editor/publisher of wpnewsblog. He is a 40-year veteran of the communications industry, having worked in newspaper, radio and television prior to opening his own consulting firm and venturing into social media on his own. He may be reached at 789-0918 or at wpnews@ymail.com)

Operation Safe-T-Net part of ongoing effort to dismantle Derek Moss' Bogalusa drug empire

Russel and Diana Ramsher

The knocks on the doors came early this morning, and when someone came to the door, they were greeted by armed police officers with their weapons drawn.

Operation Safe-T-Net was under way.

After gathering at the National Guard Readiness Center on Highway 10 West at 4:30, officers were first briefed, then divided into four teams as they prepared to execute a total of 17 arrest warrants.

Darin Fields

Officers hit the street at 5:12 a.m. and the first suspects were brought in through the back door of the  some 45 minutes later when Russel and Diana Ramsher were brought in ... his hands bound behind him and hers in front. As they reached the first stop in the booking process, she started crying and complaining that officers had not allowed her to "take my medicine."

Luther Whitten, Sr.

"What medicine do you take?" she was asked. She responded, but was then directed to sit at the table where the booking process began.

Tuesday's operation is the culmination of a year-long investigation that began in June 2010 when the Bogalusa Police Narcotics Unit, Louisiana State Police Criminal Investigation Division Region 1 Troopers and agents of the United States Drug Enforcement Administration initiated a joint cocaine investigation in the Bogalusa area.

Roy Lee Short

During the investigation, a drug trafficking organization lead by Derek R. Moss, 43, of Marrero. Moss, a native of Bogalusa, used his hometown as a base for his criminal activity.


A subsequent investigation into Moss' operation resulted in the utilization of various investigative techniques and led to the arrest of Moss and four high-ranking members of his organization.

Myrtis Dixon a/k/a
Myrtis Bickham

Tuesday's raids were a result of a year's worth of wiretaps and other surveillance activities and all of the suspects have been identified as members of Moss' criminal organization.

"It's almost impossible to describe," said Bogalusa Chief of Police Joe Culpepper, "once you've gone on a wire, the hours and hours and hours you listen to as you develop evidence."

Bogalusa Policeman D Ray Phelps, who coordinated the Bogalusa potion of the effort, said today's arrest were not the last that will be executed.

Jada Owens

"There's more to come," Phelps told the assembled officers.

"We appreciate all of you being here this morning," Culpepper said. "This is the culmination of three or four years work and we thank you."

Once arrested the suspects were brought to the Readiness Center for processing and booking, then taken to the Bogalusa City Jail for transport to the Washington Parish Jail in Franklinton.

BREAKING NEWS: Bogalusa police officer arrested in armed robbery

Wpnewblog has learned from multiple, reliable sources, that a Bogalusa police officer has been arrested for armed robbery. A second individual was also arrested in connection with the incident.

Police Chief Joe Culpepper was not expected in the office until about noon Monday and could not be reached by cell phone after multiple attempts.

The incident was alleged to have taken place on Sunday and involved the armed robbery of what sources described as a "known drug dealer." The officer's name did not appear on the Bogalusa  Police Department booking register, although the name of the second person appeared with a lesser charge by their name.

This story will be updated as details are released. wpnewsblog has the names of both alleged robbers, but does not release personal data unless it has been confimed by authorities.


(Published first at http://www.wpnewsblog.blogspot.com)
(Reader news tip story)

Second Capital One Bank robber returned to Louisiana after governor signs warrant

The second of two suspects arrested in connection with the April 20 robbery of the Columbia Street Branch of Capital One Bank is now in jail in Bogalusa.

Aswell

Walter Aswell, III, 22, of Mandeville, was extradited from the Pearl River (Miss.) County Jail Tuesday. Aswell was the driver of the getaway vehicle.

“He’s here now,” Bogalusa Chief of Police Joe Culpepper told wpnewsblog. “We had to find a wheelchair for him.”

Aswell joins his criminal partner, 23-year-old Logan Mills of Covington, behind Louisiana jail bars.

“We had to get a Governor’s warrant, and let me tell you, that’s a pain,” Culpepper said. A governor’s warrant is a warrant issued by the Governor's office and used to extradite a wanted suspect from another state, where they are being held under arrest, in order to be returned to the warrant-issuing state to face trial for a criminal act.

“Our district attorney’s office prepared it and sent it to the state attorney general, who then sent it to the governor’s office,” Culpepper explained. “After the governor signed it, it went to the governor’s office in Mississippi who sent it to their state attorney general who reviewed it and then told Pearl River County to give him (Aswell) to us.”

Mills

Aswell had been in the Pearl River County Jail in Poplarville following his release from Forrest General Hospital in Hattiesburg, where he had been treated for multiple gunshot wounds.

According to police reports, the two stole a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon from a personal acquaintance in Mandeville about 4 a.m. on April 20 before driving to Bogalusa, where they entered the bank shortly before 10 a.m., wearing masks and armed with semi-automatic pistols.

When they exited the bank, multiple members of the public took note of their vehicle and began calling police.

At the time, Culpepper told the Bogalusa newspaper, “Public participation was on our side today. I believe we received calls from people in the area who noticed that a bank robbery was in progress prior to the alarm company calls from the bank. People called to report suspicious activity.

“A member of the public then flagged down an officer who was on patrol near the bank and gave him a vehicle description. He immediately began an investigation, tried to catch the vehicle. About that time the 9-1-1 call from the alarm company came in and the rest of the shift responded.”

Culpepper said an attempt was made to stop the vehicle prior to reaching the state line, but that one of the robbers opened fire on the officer, striking his vehicle multiple times. The officer was not injured.

A high-speed chase ensued, beginning on Louisiana Avenue and eventually crossing into Mississippi, where the men stopped at a vacated restaurant site in the White Sands Community and ran into a field.

Culpepper said the men still refused to give up and “were shot up pretty bad.” Both were taken to Forrest General before being moved to the county jail in Poplarville. Culpepper said Pearl River County deputies arrived on the scene as the men were being taken into custody.

“The real problem for Pearl River County was the cost of his (Aswell’s) medicine,” Culpepper said, adding that Aswell’s mother has now gotten him on Medicare.

Each man has been charged with armed robbery, three counts each of attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, dangerous use of a weapon, resisting arrest and aggravated destruction of a highway.

(Published first at http://www.wpnewsblog.blogspot.com)

(Reader news tip story)

Murder suspect has lengthy history with law

Lafelix D. Miller, 29, who remains in the Washington Parish Jail without bail on murder charges in connection with the beating and strangulation death of 24-year-old Crystal Marie Igleharte, has a lengthy history with law enforcement.

Lafelix D. Miller
(from Facebook)

Miller was arrested on the murder charge on Friday, not Thursday as incorrectly reported by some media outlets. He could face the death penalty if convicted because of the circumstances under which Igleharte was killed.

Bogalusa Chief of Police Joe Culpepper said, “His (criminal) history goes back to at least 2001, He has drug charges and other resisting charges, but I don’t have dispositions on those.”

Miller was arrested about midnight last Tuesday after police were called to report a nude male creating a disturbance in the street. After their arrival, officers took Miller into custody, but not before he resisted arrest and assaulted an officer.

Then, some two hours later, Igleharte's body was discovered in Miller’s front yard.

"When the body was discovered in his front yard (about 2 a.m.), he immediately became a suspect," Culpepper said.

“Evidence recovered from his person, the crime scene, the autopsy and from witness statements led to his arrest earlier today (Friday),” Culpepper said at the time.

Miller’s Facebook © page reveals he was very active in the hours before his arrest, with 46 entries — 19 by email and 27 by Mobile Web. There was no rhyme or reason to the method of his postings, however, as an entry by Mobile Web might be followed by an email entry two minutes later.

Many of the entries, including the first nine, were either titles or lyrics from rap tunes. Other entries related to his newborn child, delivered on May 31 at LSU-Bogalusa Medical Center.

And other entries related to forgiveness, changes in his life and the need to “get moms of fb to show her the changes in life.”

Nine of Miller’s last 11 posts began with, “What's on your mind?

Prior to those nine, he posted, “Man please don't kill me Wtf did I do to yall nothing I made amend with everybody to day I'm going to sign up for me a check let me call miss Gert first she will be there for me the same way I did for her today”

Igleharte, whose last known address was 610 Park Ave. in Columbia, was buried Sunday.