Post-Gustav crime not a problem
Published 12:00 am Thursday, September 4, 2008
Natchez — Crime hasn’t been a major problem in the post-Gustav Miss-Lou, officials said, but a few incidences have occurred.
An attempted break in of Ernst Pharmacy took place Tuesday night.
A sheriff’s deputy was doing routine patrol on Highland Boulevard when he noticed two cars with their headlights on in front of the pharmacy, according to the incident report.
The owner of the pharmacy was out front, signaling for the deputy to stop. The owner informed the deputy that an anonymous caller told him that an unknown male was standing outside the business. The caller also told the owner the pharmacy’s alarms had been activiated and the indivdiual ran away.
According to the report, the deputy and the owner examined the front door of the pharmacy and saw scratches, indicating that the perpetrator had attempted to pry the door open.
Natchez Police Chief Mike Mullins said there has been no serious criminal activity in the city limits.
“All we’ve had is a lot of traffic, because of signals being out at major intersections,” Mullins said. “There’s no problem other than everyone needs to be patient because we don’t have lights at intersections. Stay off the road unless you need to be.”
The curfew for Adams County was still in effect as of Wednesday at 6 p.m. but as of today has been lifted.
Crime in Concordia Parish has been low, as well.
In Vidalia, Police Chief Ronnie G. “Tapper” Hendricks said there was only one attempted crime during the storm.
Vandals tried to burglarize the Continental Station on Carter Street by throwing something through the front window, Hendricks said.
“They threw it through the window, but before they could attempt to enter the building, a patrolman saw it and we were able to stop it,” Hendricks said.
In Ferriday, someone tried to break into an ATM at Delta Bank on Louisiana Avenue Monday, but was unsuccessful, Ferriday Police Chief Kenneth Hedrick said.
There were a few minor accidents in Vidalia due to traffic control lights being out of commission, but there were relatively few, Hendricks said.
“The majority of the people were courteous at the intersections, treating them like a four-way stop,” he said.