By Allen Powell II, West Bank bureau
Copyright 2006 The Times-Picayune Publishing Company
The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office plans to assign its newly re-created Street Crimes Unit to a Marrero neighborhood rocked by several recent homicides.
Chief Deputy Sheriff Newell Normand, speaking Thursday at a news conference with Marrero clergy and elected officials, said most of the recent homicides in the King’s Manor and Acre Road subdivisions are linked to the GMC Gang and have been drug-related or retaliatory.
The loosely connected gang, which has become more active since Hurricane Katrina, draws its name from three streets in the neighborhood, Garden Road, Marshall Drive and Carmadelle Street, he said.
Standing about 50 yards from where a homicide occurred Saturday, state Sen. Derrick Shepherd, D-Marrero; Parish Councilman Byron Lee; state Rep. Terrell Harris, D-Marrero; and Normand said a combination of increased police presence and community activism is the only way to regain control of subdivisions, which have had four homicides in the past month.
There have been 18 homicides in Jefferson Parish in 2006, and 16 of those killings have occurred on the West Bank.
The elected officials urged residents to help sheriff’s deputies with anonymous tips, and Normand said the Street Crimes Unit would target gang activity and its accompanying violence.
The unit, which was disbanded in 2004 because of corruption, was reorganized two weeks ago by Sheriff Harry Lee. The unit has 16 officers, with 10 stationed on the West Bank. Lee previously said the unit would operate five nights a week on a strictly overtime basis and would target crime “hot spots” in the parish.
“It’s when neighbors reach this level of intolerance that we win the war,” Normand said. “We are going after the GMC Gang.”
Shepherd said the main focus for the news conference was to persuade residents to become active in efforts to return safety to their neighborhood. The Marrero clergy also were asked to discuss the problem with their congregations.
Shepherd described the recent violence as a “spirit of evilness” and said only intense cooperation can fight it. Lee said he plans to sponsor a march and rally throughout the community Saturday morning as a signal to criminals that residents are united against them.
Violence has “turned a close-knit community into one where we have to be fearful,” Shepherd said. “No longer will we let criminals ride throughout our streets.”
Shepherd acknowledged the Street Crimes Unit did not have the best reputation with black residents in its prior incarnation, but said Lee has promised him that the new task force will not be plagued by the same problems.
Shepherd said that in light of the crisis in the two subdivisions, he is willing to take whatever support the Sheriff’s Office provides.
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Anyone with information is asked to call Crimestoppers at 822-1111 or toll free at (877) 903-7867. Callers do not have to give their names or testify and can earn up to $2,500 for tips that lead to an indictment.
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Allen Powell II can be reached at apowell@timespicayune.com or (504) 826-3793.