Author: Dave Minsky

UPDATED Man killed in shooting near Canal Street and Roosevelt Way; arrest made

[Update: 5/6/21, 12:50 p.m]: A 24-year-old man was arrested in connection to a Canal Street shooting on Wednesday that left one person dead.

Khutbi Abdelkader was detained at the scene of the shooting that occurred shortly before 5 p.m. in the 900 block of Canal Street, and was later arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder after further investigation, according to New Orleans Police.

After first responders arrived on scene, they located a male victim who sustained a gunshot wound to the body and transported him to a local hospital, where he died.

The Orleans Parish Coroner’s Office will identify the victim and official cause of death upon completion of autopsy and notification of family, according to New Orleans Police.

Through investigation, detectives allegedly determined that a verbal altercation occurred between Abdelkader and the victim occurred outside of a business.

Abdelkader shot the man during the altercation, according to New Orleans Police, who also obtained an arrest warrant for Abdelkader.

Abdelkader was booked Orleans Parish Justice Center with no bail amount listed.

Anyone with additional information on this incident is asked to contact NOPD Homicide Detective Jameson Diesburg at 504-658-5300.

Abdelkader. Courtesy of NOPD.

Man wanted in connection to April 25 Bourbon Street shooting that injured 5 people

A 26-year-old man who is wanted in connection to at least two shooting incidents, including an April 24 shooting that injured five people on Bourbon Street, was identified Tuesday by New Orleans Police.

An arrest warrant was obtained for Darran Boykins for an investigation into aggravated battery by shooting that occurred in the 300 block of Bourbon Street shortly after 1 a.m., according to New Orleans Police.

Through an investigation, Eighth District detectives allegedly identified Boykins as the perpetrator in the Bourbon Street shooting that injured five people.

Boykins. Courtesy of NOPD.

In addition to the five counts of aggravated battery, Boykins is also sought in connection to an April 24 shooting that injured two people near the intersection of Jackson Avenue and Simon Bolivar Street, and a domestic violence incident in which he assaulted and kidnapped a woman in Algiers on March 25, according to New Orleans Police Superintendent Shaun Ferguson.

Anyone with additional information on the investigation or Boykins’ whereabouts is asked to contact NOPD Eighth District detectives at 504-658-6080. Anonymous callers can contact Crimestoppers of New Orleans at 504-822-1111 or toll-free at 877-903-7867.

2 people lacerated with straight razor after altercation with prostitute at Willie’s Chicken Shack

Volunteers needed for May 8 graffiti clean-up in the French Quarter

(Photo: Quinn Dombrowski | CC Flickr)
A local business association is seeking volunteers needed to help clean up graffiti in the French Quarter on May 8.

The French Quarter Business Association announced on April 21 that its all-volunteer graffiti abatement program will return on May 8 for a two-hour cleanup and any individual who signs up to help could get a free t-shirt showing that they did.

Volunteers can sign up at fqba.org or by calling 504-309-1423. They can also sign up by emailing graffiti@fqba.org.

On the day of the graffiti removal, volunteers will meet with officials at the New Orleans Police Department 8th District station located at 334 Royal St. at 9 a.m. and work until 11 a.m.

All cleaning supplies will be provided, according to the FQBA. Coffee and beignets will be provided by Cafe Beignet, according to the FQBA.

Clean-up will consist of removing stickers and small tags from public property in assigned areas.

Volunteers are advised to wear protective eye wear, long-sleeved shirts, work clothes and comfortable walking shoes.

A post-cleanup lunch will be provided and, while supplies last, those who volunteered will receive a t-shirt, according to the FQBA.

Reminder: Intersection of Conti and Royal streets temporarily closed for utility upgrades

Reminder: Intersection of Conti and Royal streets temporarily closed for utility upgrades

(Photo: RoadworkNOLA)
City crews will temporarily close the intersection of Royal and Conti streets to vehicular traffic starting on April 26 and for approximately a month to accommodate utility upgrades.

The full roadway of the 700 block Conti Street is closed to vehicular traffic. Commuters are advised to detour from Bourbon Street onto Toulouse Street and then onto Royal Street. 

Additionally, the 600 block of Conti Street is intermittently closed to vehicular traffic during the day. Both closures will be for the duration of the project, which is estimated to be four weeks, according to New Orleans officials.

Vehicular traffic in the 600 block of Conti is closed intermittently throughout the day to allow Entergy crews to upgrade utilities. During the day, commuters are advised to detour Bourbon Street and onto Toulouse Street, then onto Decatur Street. The block will reopen to traffic each night.

Signage and flaggers will be posted throughout the area to direct vehicular and pedestrian traffic respectively. Businesses in the area are being notified about the closure this week. 

The work is part of a $4.3 million reconstruction project along Conti, which will replace the existing pavement, increasing the drain lines and catch basins, replacing water lines, repairing/replacing sewer lines, among other work. Crews are working up to seven days each week from 8 a.m. until sunset.

In addition, curb ramps that are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act will be added. Other work includes adding a mid-block crossing at Exchange Place and bollards on the Esplanade Avenue-side of where the Louisiana Supreme Court is located.

The fence will be removed in the 700 block of Conti Street once construction is completed in June 2021 and work will begin on the adjacent sidewalks.

The project, which was designed by Mott McDonald, LLC and is being constructed by Hard Rock Construction is anticipated through winter 2021.

Once Entergy crews complete construction in the 600 and 700 blocks of Conti, construction workers will shift their operations into the 600 block portion of the road between Royal and Charters streets.

For more information, visit roadwork.nola.gov. Questions about this project or RoadworkNOLA should be directed to 504-658-7623 or email roadwork@nola.gov. 

French Quarter residents approve new public safety tax

(Art by Eric Styles)
Voters on April 24 approved a new sales tax to pay for extra New Orleans Police patrols and other public safety services in the French Quarter over the next five years.

A tax increase of .245% on all sales in the French Quarter was approved by 72% of voters, for a total of 506 votes; while 28%, or 194 voters, opposed the increase, with eight out of eight precincts reporting. Among the 125 who cast early ballots, 89 approved the tax.

Seven hundred voters, or 20.7%, of those in the neighborhood who are registered to vote, turned out for the special election, according to unofficial results posted by the Louisiana Secretary of State’s website.

The ballot measure was introduced by French Quarter Economic Development District and District C City Councilmember Kristin Gisleson Palmer and approved Jan. 14. Voters rejected the renewal of a .2495% sales tax increase Dec. 5, 2020, with only 33% of the ballots cast. The election applied only to voters in the FQEDD.

The new sales tax increase approved on April 24 is collected at the point of sale for items sold in the French Quarter, including hotel stays, or “the use, the lease or rental, the consumption and storage for use or the consumption of tangible personal property and sales of services.”

The tax begins on July 1, 2021 and ends on June 30, 2026, and is estimated to collect $2.5 million each year to fund supplemental patrols for New Orleans Police officers and other services.

The first $2 million collected each year will be dedicated to the supplemental police patrols and any additional revenue divided up to fund more supplemental patrols and other public safety programs, including homeless assistance services.

Funds collected by the tax will be administered by the French Quarter Management District and overseen by the FQEDD Trust fund. Budget and expenditure reports will be provided to City Council for public review every three months, according to the ballot measure.

Second French Quarter police safety sales tax measure approved for April 24 ballot