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General Category => General Chat => Topic started by: cigar omar on May 14, 2008, 02:07: AM

Title: WTF is going on in New Orleans?
Post by: cigar omar on May 14, 2008, 02:07: AM
Quote
New Orleans man beats four murder charges

09:39 PM CDT on Wednesday, May 7, 2008

wwltv.com

Garelle Smith has been a thorn in the side of the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office, as he has beaten four murder charges in past, primarily because of problems getting witnesses to testify.

Smith was first arrested on murder charges in connection with Soulja Slim, also known as James Tapp.


Video: Watch the Story

Tapp had his own record label and had bought his mother a house, but in 2003, Tapp was killed.

Nearby where a plaque honoring Tapp is another marker, this one is for Mandell Duplesis who was murdered four years after Tapp.

Smith was arrested in connection with both Tapp and Duplesis’ murders, but he was never formerly charged.  The reason is that the Orleans Parish D.A.’s office lost track of the witnesses.

"His [Smith’s] arrest record with the New Orleans Police Department started at the age of 10 when he was a juvenile," Rafael Goyeneche, head of the Metropolitan Crime Commission, said.

In 2007, Smith was arrested a third time for murder.  This time it was for a killing at the St. Bernard Housing Project.  A key witness in the case was involved in the D.A.’s Victim Assistance Program, and Smith was charged in this case.  However, once again, the witness was lost and District Attorney Eddie Jordan dropped the charges.

"There's no hope, you know,” said Tapp’s mother. “If he just keeps getting out, don't look like he's gonna get caught for any of the murders. Every time he gets caught, he gets out for some reason."

Last month, Smith beat his fourth murder charge.  The incident, the death of Terry Brock, occurred outside a nightclub on A.P. Tureaud Avenue.  Other men were first arrested, but the D.A.’s office refused the case and an investigation led to Smith.

Charges were dropped once more when a witness wouldn’t testify.

"We depend on the community and witnesses in each case to pursue charges against defendants,” Bobby Freeman, head of the Violent Offender Unit, said. “It hurts not only our case, but the community at-large, when witnesses refuse or are unable to come forward."

--------------------------------------------

Some people are taking this none snitching thing a little too serious or just scared. How can someone get away with so many murders?  :down:
Title: Re: WTF is going on in New Orleans?
Post by: Sander on May 14, 2008, 02:13: AM
wtf this is crazy, strange witnesses. but this shows how crazy the world can be. kill 4 people and get away with it  :saywhat:
Title: Re: WTF is going on in New Orleans?
Post by: a;sdlfkjas;df on May 14, 2008, 04:24: AM
Some people are taking this none snitching thing a little too serious or just scared. How can someone get away with so many murders?  :down:

It's pretty simple.  If you snitch, you die.
Title: Re: WTF is going on in New Orleans?
Post by: Adi on May 14, 2008, 06:03: AM
Some people are taking this none snitching thing a little too serious or just scared. How can someone get away with so many murders?  :down:

It's pretty simple.  If you snitch, you die.

That's exactly what I'm thinking. Nobody wants to be in that 5th body bag. This guy must have some real reputation around New Orleans.  :rolleyes:
Title: Re: WTF is going on in New Orleans?
Post by: TheGodEmperor on May 14, 2008, 08:46: AM
Some people are taking this none snitching thing a little too serious or just scared. How can someone get away with so many murders?  :down:

It's pretty simple.  If you snitch, you die.

That's exactly what I'm thinking. Nobody wants to be in that 5th body bag. This guy must have some real reputation around New Orleans.  :rolleyes:
yeah he prolly said 'if you testify, you're next'
Title: Re: WTF is going on in New Orleans?
Post by: moby on May 19, 2008, 10:41: PM
adi is right on this one.
Title: Re: WTF is going on in New Orleans?
Post by: cigar omar on May 19, 2008, 11:39: PM
Some people are taking this none snitching thing a little too serious or just scared. How can someone get away with so many murders?  :down:

It's pretty simple.  If you snitch, you die.
You live in that area or near by I think I've heard some areas are pretty grimy. How bad is it when it comes to crime in comparison with some parts of LA where Blacks and Mexicans are still at war?
Title: Re: WTF is going on in New Orleans?
Post by: a;sdlfkjas;df on May 20, 2008, 04:38: AM
i live about 45 minutes north, but would still be considered to be within the metro area.  i couldn't give you a specific neighborhood by neighborhood breakdown, but there are areas in new orleans that i won't go to during the day.  i can tell you that the per capita murder rate of LA doesn't begin to compete with the per capita murder rate of new orleans.  some achievement that is  :rolleyes:
Title: Re: WTF is going on in New Orleans?
Post by: cigar omar on May 22, 2008, 11:41: PM
Damn.
Title: Re: WTF is going on in New Orleans?
Post by: Buckwheat156 on May 23, 2008, 01:37: AM


It's pretty simple.  If you snitch, you die.

yeah he prolly said 'if you testify, you're next'
[/quote]


those sound like advert campaigns. can you imagine him on TV saying those haha. but seriously shows you how messed up stuff can be in america. what happend to the old days when he would be stoned by the community?
Title: Re: WTF is going on in New Orleans?
Post by: Adi on May 23, 2008, 08:34: AM
Sounds like Chris Paul needs to work even harder in the community. He should have plenty of time now that he's out of the playoffs. :biggrin:
Title: Re: WTF is going on in New Orleans?
Post by: cigar omar on May 23, 2008, 01:30: PM


It's pretty simple.  If you snitch, you die.

yeah he prolly said 'if you testify, you're next'

Quote
those sound like advert campaigns. can you imagine him on TV saying those haha. but seriously shows you how messed up stuff can be in america. what happend to the old days when he would be stoned by the community?
In Australia we still chase criminals down the street and pelt them with pebbles and stones until they collapse and bleed to death'

(http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/5342/mjiid5rq5.jpg)
Title: Re: WTF is going on in New Orleans?
Post by: a;sdlfkjas;df on May 23, 2008, 05:13: PM
the criminals in australia must not have these:

(http://www.enemyforces.com/firearms/ak47.jpg)

 :thumbsup:
Title: Re: WTF is going on in New Orleans?
Post by: a;sdlfkjas;df on Jun 28, 2008, 12:24: AM
yes, old thread, but i was looking around and found a few articles that i figured melbourne would appreciate

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8999837/

Quote
Last year, university researchers conducted an experiment in which police fired 700 blank rounds in a New Orleans neighborhood in a single afternoon. No one called to report the gunfire.

New Orleans residents are reluctant to come forward as witnesses, fearing retaliation. And experts say that is one of several reasons homicides are on the rise in the Big Easy at a time when other cities are seeing their murder rates plummet to levels not seen in decades.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/nov/06/usa

Quote
Whatever the reason, 701-related laxity has become so common that New Orleans street hustlers have dubbed doing 60 days in jail for a killing a "misdemeanour murder." This was no exaggeration: in addition to the thousands of suspects being released under Article 701, the Orleans Parish district attorney's office secured just one conviction in the 162 murders committed in 2006. Worse still, the district attorney's violent offenders unit (VOU) which handles the city's most violent crime has recently been wracked by staff departures. Former prosecutors have publicly complained that they were forced to spend much of their time performing administrative tasks like photocopying.
Title: Re: WTF is going on in New Orleans?
Post by: DanTheMan on Jun 28, 2008, 01:44: AM
they should have knocked him out in jail and put a hidden mic on him, or maybe a small video camera (it cud be possible)
then they would have evidence when, not if, he kills another person
Title: Re: WTF is going on in New Orleans?
Post by: a;sdlfkjas;df on Jun 28, 2008, 01:51: AM
(http://blogs.zdnet.com/open-source/images/big-brother-poster.jpg)

that evidence would be challenged in court (not that they would allow that sort of thing)
Title: Re: WTF is going on in New Orleans?
Post by: ^_^ on Jun 28, 2008, 03:52: AM
Hm interesting thread. Murder isn't uncommon for some reason in New Orleans :rolleyes: I live in the uptown area/garden district pretty near my school. The school emails students about crimes that are commited in the new orleans area. For example:

NOPD 2nd District

On March 8th at or about 6:05 pm, officers were dispatched to a shooting in the 7300
block of Pitt Street. Upon arrival, officers found the victim lying in the street.
The victim had sustained gunshot wounds to his head and neck area. He was pronounced
dead on the scene by medical personnel. The victim was lying next to his personal
vehicle. It is believed that a black male shot the victim and fled to a nearby
vehicle (red in color).


This shit happens every day. That street is not very far from where I live. The funny part, as most students like to discuss, is that not one single email of the thousands that we get ever has a suspect that is white. The scary part is that this area is actually the nicer part of new orleans. You can look over and see a 6 million dollar house, and right around the corner you'll find a few crack heads. It's really mix and matched. At the restaurant that I work, all of our dishwashers and cooks are crack heads and alcoholics. I was actually around Bourbon street one night and all of a sudden there are gunshots about a block from where I was; some guy had just been murdered. So really, the city is all fucked up and it's not the hurricanes fault. No matter where you go in the city there will be crime, drugs, murder, and rape.
Title: Re: WTF is going on in New Orleans?
Post by: Adi on Jun 28, 2008, 12:16: PM
Conner, that police experiment is unbelievable. Something has to be done about this.
Title: Re: WTF is going on in New Orleans?
Post by: cigar omar on Jun 28, 2008, 05:06: PM
yes, old thread, but i was looking around and found a few articles that i figured melbourne would appreciate

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8999837/

Quote
Last year, university researchers conducted an experiment in which police fired 700 blank rounds in a New Orleans neighborhood in a single afternoon. No one called to report the gunfire.

New Orleans residents are reluctant to come forward as witnesses, fearing retaliation. And experts say that is one of several reasons homicides are on the rise in the Big Easy at a time when other cities are seeing their murder rates plummet to levels not seen in decades.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/nov/06/usa

Quote
Whatever the reason, 701-related laxity has become so common that New Orleans street hustlers have dubbed doing 60 days in jail for a killing a "misdemeanour murder." This was no exaggeration: in addition to the thousands of suspects being released under Article 701, the Orleans Parish district attorney's office secured just one conviction in the 162 murders committed in 2006. Worse still, the district attorney's violent offenders unit (VOU) which handles the city's most violent crime has recently been wracked by staff departures. Former prosecutors have publicly complained that they were forced to spend much of their time performing administrative tasks like photocopying.
What the fuck.  :saywhat:
Title: Re: WTF is going on in New Orleans?
Post by: moby on Jun 28, 2008, 07:30: PM
this is what the largest economy in the world does to it's people
Title: Re: WTF is going on in New Orleans?
Post by: a;sdlfkjas;df on Jun 28, 2008, 10:20: PM
yes, this is every city in the united states

louisiana is unlike every other state in the union.  shit, we aren't even governed by the same code of laws

 :pimp:
Title: Re: WTF is going on in New Orleans?
Post by: cigar omar on Jun 29, 2008, 05:14: AM
What makes me sick is that some people kind of brag about the murder/crime rate in their neighborhoods.
Title: Re: WTF is going on in New Orleans?
Post by: moby on Jun 29, 2008, 09:43: PM
there was this city were all the people said they would rather live in africa.


viva africa
Title: Re: WTF is going on in New Orleans?
Post by: a;sdlfkjas;df on Jun 30, 2008, 01:01: AM
what was that?  a colony of ex slaves?  boulder, colorado?  berkeley, california?

all jokes aside, i've heard that they've considered building a wall to stem the flow of emigration from the US.

(http://img369.imageshack.us/img369/34/speechless8tbzk2.gif)