Tag: investigation

NOPD searches for two men wanted in connection to shooting on South Rampart Street

(Picture courtesy of the NOPD)
Two men are wanted by New Orleans Police in connection to an alleged shooting on South Rampart Street Friday morning.

The shooting occurred at about 10:40 a.m. on Friday following an altercation between two groups of males in the 100 block of South Rampart Street, according to New Orleans Police.

Two males, pictured above, allegedly fired a handgun at a group of three other unknown males after the confrontation and ran away on Basin Street.

Further investigation revealed the two male suspects fled the scene in the vehicles also pictured above, New Orleans Police said.

The shooting is under investigation.

Anyone with information regarding the identity and/or the location of the pictured suspects is asked to contact Eighth District detectives at 504-658-6080. Anonymous callers can contact Crimestoppers at 504-822-1111 or toll-free at 877-903-7867.

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Capt. Anthony Caprera promoted to lead NOPD 8th District; ex-station chief demoted

A New Orleans Police lieutenant with the 8th District was promoted to the rank of captain on Friday and will now lead the station as its new commander.

Capt. Anthony Caprera (pictured left), who is now in charge of the 8th District, was promoted from lieutenant during a private ceremony in Superintendent Shaun Ferguson’s office on Friday, according to New Orleans Police.

Additionally, Capt. Preston Bax, formerly a lieutenant and assistant commander with New Orleans Police’s 4th District, was promoted to captain and commander of the 6th District during the same ceremony.

The ceremonies were held separately and in private in order to practice social/physical distancing measures to stop coronavirus spread, the New Orleans Police said.

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Caprera takes on responsibility for the district, which includes the French Quarter, the Central Business District and parts, other parts of downtown and a portion of the Marigny.

Caprera replaced his former boss, Lt. Octavio Baldassaro (pictured right), who was demoted from captain following an undisclosed and ongoing internal administrative investigation conducted by the Public Integrity Bureau, New Orleans Police said.

Baldassaro was previously investigated for an excessive force incident in which he was filmed throwing a woman to the ground while arresting her for fighting during French Quarter Festival in 2019, but was later cleared of wrongdoing, according to The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate.

New Orleans SWB concludes investigation into Dec. 16 electrical fault explosion on Dauphine Street; points at Entergy to find root cause

The New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board on Feb. 19 concluded its end of the investigation into the cause of a sudden explosion on Dauphine Street last December, launching several manhole covers into the air and igniting a nearby car.

The explosion occurred at approximately 5 a.m. on Dec. 16 in the 500 block of Dauphine Street, near the intersection of Toulouse and Dauphine, according to the New Orleans Fire Department.

A video taken by an eyewitness was published by WWL-TV on Dec. 16 and shows the front end of a car on fire.

Causes of the explosion include a sewer methane explosion to a faulty Entergy electrical line, according to city officials.

In coordination with Entergy, the SWB launched a process-of-elimination investigation into the explosion’s cause days later, said Executive Director Ghassan Korban.

During the investigation, the SWB learned that the sewer main lines were intact and contained no detectable amount of combustible gas, Korban said.

There was high water in the Entergy Vault, which was above the SWB’s sewage level, which prevented liquid waste collected by the SWB from flowing into the vault, Korban added.

Additionally, Korban said, the sewer line on St. Louis Street was cleaned and inspected, which found no breaks or intrusions.

“It is logical for the agency that owns the vault where the explosion occurred to be responsible for determining the root cause of the explosion,” Korban said. “In the interest of public safety, we stand ready to assist our partners as they continue to search for the cause.”