This report presents evidence concerning the act of vandalism that was committed in St. Louise Cemetery on April 6, 2009. According to the witness testimony, a young male, approximately, in his mid-twenties, spray painted black Xs on the tomb of Mary Laveau and departed the cemetery. The police did not manage to detain him immediately at the crime scene.
The witness, Jim Dupuis, says that he was touring the cemetery with his friends and saw a man painting XXXs on the tomb of Marie Laveau. He called the police but the alleged criminal had escaped before the police arrived. Jim Dupuis states that the suspect was “carrying a backpack, and was dressed in jean short with a white T-shirt” (NOPD, p 24-37792-1). In addition to that, the witness claims that the person, who committed the act of vandalism, was rather a corpulent man weighing approximately two hundred and fifty pounds. Basing on the witness testimony the police officers successfully recreated the composite sketch of the alleged criminal.
The officers found the following objects that might identify the suspect: can black aerosol (one item), one bottle of absinthe liquor, two Xanax 1mg tablets, and two water bottles Murray & Lanman (NOPD, № 24-37792-3). They believe that latent prints might be discovered and they can prove helpful for further investigation.
However, it should be borne in mind that the authorities cannot state with certainty, whether these physical items belonged to the suspect or not. As the fingerprint analysis proved the suspect touched at least one of the physical items, in particular, can black aerosol, whereas no fingerprints could be retrieved from other objects found at the crime scene.
Fingerprint analysis indicated that one of the physical items found at the crime scene, namely, can black aerosol, belonged to James George Seizman, also known as Anthony Ayott. J Marcus, the owner of the shop Lafitte’s Blacksmith identified him as a possible match for the composite and informed the police. Later officer Ragsdale approached James Seizman, proved his identity, and arrested him (NOPD № 24-3799, p 1). The suspect did not put up any resistance to the police, and the arrest was made without incident. James George Seizman already has a criminal record, and at this moment, he is on parole. He is currently in custody, the hearing on his case will be held within a week.
Bibliography
The Police Department of Louisiana (2009). The Police Report.