Five killed in shootings in New Orleans on Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Published: Wednesday, January 19, 2011, 6:00 AM Updated: Wednesday, January 19, 2011, 10:10 AM
Five people were killed in shootings in New Orleans on Monday, a holiday meant to honor a man who preached nonviolence as a means to social change.
In one case, a couple were shot inside their eastern New Orleans home. In another, police found a 28-year-old man shot in the rear yard of a Central City house. Minutes later, detectives began investigating a double shooting in the St. Roch neighborhood that left one man dead. And before midnight, a 19-year-old man was gunned down after he walked outside a popular bar Uptown.Enlarge MATTHEW HINTON / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE People take part in the Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church and New Pilgrim Baptist Church sponsored Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade and rally in LaPlace, Louisiana Monday January 17, 2010. Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the New Orleans metro area Monday, January 17, 2011 gallery (48 photos)
The deaths followed a relative lull in killings through the first few weeks of this year. But the violence rose to a crescendo over the weekend, with seven people fatally shot over three days.
The recent killings do not appear to be linked.
There have been 11 people killed in the city this year, compared with 12 as of this date last year. But five of the deaths occurred on a single day, Monday.
The first killing happened shortly after midnight, when a group of gunmen fatally shot a couple in front of their 5-year-old son inside their eastern New Orleans home. The Police Department said investigators found narcotics inside the home and that the killing appeared to be drug-related. Both victims had previous drug arrests.
The next killing occurred just after 9 p.m. Officers found Steven Powell, 28, lying in the yard of a house in the 2900 block of Dryades Street in Central City, authorities said. Powell died at the scene with multiple gunshot wounds in his body.
Powell, of New Orleans, has a checkered past, including an arrest for murder. Police booked him in October 2009 in a year-old killing in the Gentilly area. Prosecutors later refused the charges, according to court records. Powell, who has other gun and drug convictions, was also booked in 2007 with attempted murder. That case too was refused by prosecutors, records show.
Police have not released details on a possible motive, or a suspect, in Powell's slaying. A spokesman for district attorney's office said issues with witness cooperation, or witness testimony, resulted in the refusals.
Within minutes of his death, homicide detectives were rushing to a separate scene in the 2800 block of Urquhart Street in the St. Roch neighborhood. There, officers found two men wounded by gunfire.
Derrick Hutton, 22, died inside an apartment, authorities said. Meanwhile, a 34-year-old man, whom police found outside the home, was taken to a hospital in critical condition.
Police believe three suspects forced their way into the home and demanded money from the two victims. After the two men complied, the gunmen opened fire and ran from the home, according to police.
The next fatal shooting occurred hours later, just after 11 p.m., in the 5100 block of Freret Street. Police said the victim -- identified as 19-year-old Errol Meeks -- exited Friar Tuck's bar and was approached from behind. A gunman fired, hitting Meeks twice in the back and once in the back of the head. Meeks, of New Orleans, died in the street.
The Uptown bar is a popular college hangout and had been cited recently by the city for serving to minors. The city sought to revoke the bar's liquor license in November. The Alcohol Beverage Control Board responded by handing down a 30-day suspension, which was to start mid-January, according to Devona Dolliole, spokeswoman for Mayor Mitch Landrieu's office.
But the bar's owner, Jason Blitch, appealed and a Civil District Court judge issued a stay in the case, allowing Friar Tuck's to remain open, Dolliole said.
Dolliole said the city filed a another motion to the board Tuesday to revoke the bar's license. Meanwhile, Blitch, the bar owner, reached out to city officials Tuesday and said his bar would remain closed, Dolliole said. It is was not clear, however, if the closure is permanent. Neither Blitch nor his attorney could be reached for comment Tuesday.
Police did not comment on whether Meeks had been drinking inside the bar. Blitch told WWL-TV that Meeks, whom he called "a friendly neighborhood gentleman," had been inside the bar, but not drinking, when he received a call on his cell phone telling him to come outside. When he did so, he was shot, Blitch said.
Police responded to several other shootings, and another slaying, earlier in the weekend.
A woman and a young man were killed Saturday in the Holy Cross neighborhood. Three other shootings -- in the 7100 block of Fig Street, 8200 block of Belfast Street, 1200 block of Gallier Street -- were reported that day.
On Sunday, police responded to two shootings, in the 2300 block of Murl Street and the 1900 block of Urquhart Street. They also reported two rapes, in the 1500 block of St. Charles Avenue and in the 2000 block of North Miro Street.
Police ask that anyone with information on these crimes call Crimestoppers at 504.822.1111.
Brendan McCarthy can be reached at bmccarthy@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3301.
