Police accuse woman, 73, of looting

Red · 09-16-2005

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/16/kat....ap/index.html

KENNER, Louisiana (AP) -- A 73-year-old diabetic grandmother and church elder who fled Katrina's floodwaters for the safety of a hotel ended up in prison instead for more than two weeks -- all over a bite of food.

Police in this New Orleans suburb arrested Merlene Maten the day after the hurricane on charges she took $63.50 in goods from a looted deli. Though never before in trouble with the law, her bail was set at a stiff $50,000 and she was shipped away to a state penitentiary.

Family and eyewitnesses insist Maten's prison odyssey was unwarranted, claiming she only had gone to her car to get some sausage to eat when officers cuffed her in frustration, unable to catch younger looters at a nearby store.

Despite intervention from the nation's largest senior lobby, volunteer lawyers from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and even a private attorney, the family fought a futile battle for 16 days to get her freed.

Then, hours after her plight was featured in an Associated Press story, a local judge on Thursday ordered Maten freed on her own recognizance, setting up a sweet reunion with her daughter, grandchildren and 80-year-old husband.

"I'm just gonna hug her and say 'Mom, I'm so sorry this had to happen,"' Maten's tearful daughter, Elois Short, told AP shortly after getting the news.

Prison officials planned to release Maten by this weekend. She must still face the looting charge at a court hearing in October. But the family, armed with several witnesses, intends to prove she was wrongly arrested outside the hotel.

"There were people looting, but she wasn't one of them. Instead of chasing after people who were running, they (police) grabbed the old lady who was walking," said Short, who works in traffic enforcement for neighboring New Orleans police.

Defense attorney Daniel Becnel, family members and witnesses said police snared Maten in the parking lot of a hotel after floodwaters swamped her New Orleans home. She had paid for her room with a credit card and followed authorities' instructions to pack extra food, they said.

She was retrieving a piece of sausage from the cooler in her car and planned to grill it so she and her husband, Alfred, could eat, according to her defenders. The parking lot was almost a block from the looted store, they said.

"That woman was never, never in that store," said Naisha Williams, 23, a New Orleans bank security guard who said she witnessed the episode and is distantly related to Maten. "If they want to take it to court, I'm willing to get on the stand and tell them the police is wrong. She is totally innocent."

Police Capt. Steve Carraway said Wednesday that Maten was arrested in the checkout area of a small store next to police headquarters.

The arrest report is short and assigns the value of goods Maten is alleged to have taken at $63.50. The items are not identified.

"When officers arrived, the arrestee was observed leaving the scene with items from the store. The store window doors were observed smashed out, where entry to the store was made," police reported.

Maten's husband was left at the hotel, until family members picked him up. He is too upset to be interviewed, the family said.

Christine Bishop, the owner of the Check In Check Out deli, said that she was angry that looters had damaged her store, but that she would not want anyone charged with a crime if the person had simply tried to get food to survive. "Especially not a 70-year-old woman," Bishop said.

Short, Maten's daughter, did not witness the incident. She said her mother has led a law-abiding life. She is a deaconess at the Resurrection Mission Baptist Church and won an award for her decades of service at a hospital, Short said.

"Why would someone loot when they had a car with a refrigerator and had paid with a credit card at the hotel?" asked Becnel, Maten's lawyer. "The circumstances defy the theory of looting."

I can't believe they are even going through with a trial. This is such an embarrassment, they should just drop it.

sarettah · 09-16-2005

Dravyk · 09-16-2005

WTF???

Holy shit, even IF the woman WAS "looting" ... which apparently is very much in doubt ... it was FOOD ... not plasma TVs!!!

... What a fucked up world we live in. Now that's the kind of cops I love to see pummeled and who make the good police officer doing a tough job wrongly ridiculed. Hurts everybody. Bastards.

JR · 09-16-2005

wouldn't the owners of the store have to be the ones to press charges?

Trev · 09-16-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by JR

wouldn't the owners of the store have to be the ones to press charges?

I thought that didn't matter in times of martial law.

Dravyk · 09-16-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trev

I thought that didn't matter in times of martial law.

Quite correct, Trev!

And we thought you were only here for your good looks.

Trev · 09-16-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dravyk

Quite correct, Trev!

And we thought you were only here for your good looks.

If I was good looking - I wouldn't be here

Red · 09-16-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trev

If I was good looking - I wouldn't be here

Don't put yourself down baby. You make me wiggle in my seat.

MorganGrayson · 09-16-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by Red

Don't put yourself down baby. You make me wiggle in my seat.

I second that wiggle!

No comment I could make on that article would be productive.

ThrobX · 09-16-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by Red

Don't put yourself down baby. You make me wiggle in my seat.

Don't get bigheaded over this, Trev, she probably just has gas.

Trev · 09-16-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by Red

Don't put yourself down baby. You make me wiggle in my seat.

I'll take that wiggling any day

Trev · 09-16-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by MorganGrayson

I second that wiggle!

No comment I could make on that article would be productive.

Wiggles for me all round

Trev · 09-16-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThrobX

Don't get bigheaded over this, Trev, she probably just has gas.

Hater

JR · 09-16-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trev

I thought that didn't matter in times of martial law.

was martial law declared? i guess i am out of the loop. for some reason i had almost no interest in this event. it was really really really terrible.... but i guess it feels like the news is so full or horror and tragedy all the time, that i feel at times that you can really get drawn too far into it emotionally. floods, fires, wars, famine, hurricanes, tornados, plane crashes etc etc etc... its all just too much for me anymore. i stopped paying attention.

although i have to admit that i did have a sort of morbid interest in seeing what would happen when you turn so many poor people loose with no control. as much as we want to believe in humanity, that segment of the population also represents a lot of drunks, junkies, people with low IQ's, criminals and so on.

Trev · 09-16-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by JR

was martial law declared? i guess i am out of the loop. for some reason i had almost no interest in this event. it was really really really terrible.... but i guess it feels like the news is so full or horror and tragedy all the time, that i feel at times that you can really get drawn too far into it emotionally. floods, fires, wars, famine, hurricanes, tornados, plane crashes etc etc etc... its all just too much for me anymore. i stopped paying attention.

From the reports on BBC News 24 and Sky News, martial law was enacted in the “blight” (their words – not mine) of the tragedy.

I don’t watch or follow the news be it on TV or online, unless I feel the need. Why?… Because I can only take so much shit and suffering before I become immune. I take little sips every now and then, that helps to keep it right there, where it should be.

XxXotic · 09-16-2005

and people wonder why I love Louisiana soooooooooooo much

JR · 09-16-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trev

From the reports on BBC News 24 and Sky News, martial law was enacted in the “blight” (their words – not mine) of the tragedy.

I don’t watch or follow the news be it on TV or online, unless I feel the need. Why?… Because I can only take so much shit and suffering before I become immune. I take little sips every now and then, that helps to keep it right there, where it should be.

oh... well, if there was blight... then yeah, shoot to kill should be the policy.

"America, the beautiful........."

sky news is the best news channel there is in the world my opinion. i only watch that channel when i am in europe.

Trev · 09-16-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by JR

sky news is the best news channel there is in the world my opinion. i only watch that channel when i am in europe.

Then I must suggest staying out of europe.

WickedTemptress · 09-16-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by JR

oh... well, if there was blight... then yeah, shoot to kill should be the policy.

"America, the beautiful........."

sky news is the best news channel there is in the world my opinion. i only watch that channel when i am in europe.

They were actually given permission to shoot to kill at one point... And they did do so... One particular even I remember listening about on the local radio was when some people(I think it was about 7 people...) starting shooting at some cell phone people that were trying to repair the cell phone lines, they opened fire right back on them and killed a couple of them, injured the others...

But, yes, they were given permission to shoot to kill...

09-16-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trev

Then I must suggest staying out of europe.

i have 6 oprano points.
you have zero.

don't ever question me son.

JR · 09-16-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unregistered

i have 6 oprano points.
you have zero.

don't ever question me son.

keep forgetting to log on

Red · 09-16-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThrobX

Don't get bigheaded over this, Trev, she probably just has gas.

Don't be jealous ThrobX, be nice to me and I'll get all wiggly over you too.

ThrobX · 09-16-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by Red

Don't be jealous ThrobX, be nice to me and I'll get all wiggly over you too.

Very flattering, but I don't think my wife would be as flattered.

Red · 09-16-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThrobX

Very flattering, but I don't think my wife would be as flattered.

Oops.

It'll just be our little secret then.

Trev · 09-17-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by JR

i have 6 oprano points.
you have zero.

don't ever question me son.

You may have 6 points, but I've got more power.

Plus if you check your UserCP you'll be able to see who gave you them points

Carrie · 09-17-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by sarettah

I second this.

Nickatilynx · 09-17-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by JR

keep forgetting to log on

Think how many you'd have if you could remember.

You might be getting near the stage that we don't trust you with the remote for the TV .

;-)))

09-16-2005	#1
Red Dreaming of a Cowboy Hat like Max Hardcore Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 1,812	Police accuse woman, 73, of looting http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/16/kat....ap/index.html KENNER, Louisiana (AP) -- A 73-year-old diabetic grandmother and church elder who fled Katrina's floodwaters for the safety of a hotel ended up in prison instead for more than two weeks -- all over a bite of food. Police in this New Orleans suburb arrested Merlene Maten the day after the hurricane on charges she took $63.50 in goods from a looted deli. Though never before in trouble with the law, her bail was set at a stiff $50,000 and she was shipped away to a state penitentiary. Family and eyewitnesses insist Maten's prison odyssey was unwarranted, claiming she only had gone to her car to get some sausage to eat when officers cuffed her in frustration, unable to catch younger looters at a nearby store. Despite intervention from the nation's largest senior lobby, volunteer lawyers from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and even a private attorney, the family fought a futile battle for 16 days to get her freed. Then, hours after her plight was featured in an Associated Press story, a local judge on Thursday ordered Maten freed on her own recognizance, setting up a sweet reunion with her daughter, grandchildren and 80-year-old husband. "I'm just gonna hug her and say 'Mom, I'm so sorry this had to happen,"' Maten's tearful daughter, Elois Short, told AP shortly after getting the news. Prison officials planned to release Maten by this weekend. She must still face the looting charge at a court hearing in October. But the family, armed with several witnesses, intends to prove she was wrongly arrested outside the hotel. "There were people looting, but she wasn't one of them. Instead of chasing after people who were running, they (police) grabbed the old lady who was walking," said Short, who works in traffic enforcement for neighboring New Orleans police. Defense attorney Daniel Becnel, family members and witnesses said police snared Maten in the parking lot of a hotel after floodwaters swamped her New Orleans home. She had paid for her room with a credit card and followed authorities' instructions to pack extra food, they said. She was retrieving a piece of sausage from the cooler in her car and planned to grill it so she and her husband, Alfred, could eat, according to her defenders. The parking lot was almost a block from the looted store, they said. "That woman was never, never in that store," said Naisha Williams, 23, a New Orleans bank security guard who said she witnessed the episode and is distantly related to Maten. "If they want to take it to court, I'm willing to get on the stand and tell them the police is wrong. She is totally innocent." Police Capt. Steve Carraway said Wednesday that Maten was arrested in the checkout area of a small store next to police headquarters. The arrest report is short and assigns the value of goods Maten is alleged to have taken at $63.50. The items are not identified. "When officers arrived, the arrestee was observed leaving the scene with items from the store. The store window doors were observed smashed out, where entry to the store was made," police reported. Maten's husband was left at the hotel, until family members picked him up. He is too upset to be interviewed, the family said. Christine Bishop, the owner of the Check In Check Out deli, said that she was angry that looters had damaged her store, but that she would not want anyone charged with a crime if the person had simply tried to get food to survive. "Especially not a 70-year-old woman," Bishop said. Short, Maten's daughter, did not witness the incident. She said her mother has led a law-abiding life. She is a deaconess at the Resurrection Mission Baptist Church and won an award for her decades of service at a hospital, Short said. "Why would someone loot when they had a car with a refrigerator and had paid with a credit card at the hotel?" asked Becnel, Maten's lawyer. "The circumstances defy the theory of looting." I can't believe they are even going through with a trial. This is such an embarrassment, they should just drop it. __________________

09-16-2005	#2
sarettah Stay Out Of The Box Want to see your own Advertising Here! Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Lost in the ozone Posts: 10,318	Re: Police accuse woman, 73, of looting __________________ Free Adult Webcams

09-16-2005	#3
Dravyk Easy Like Sunday Morning Want to see your own Advertising Here! Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Behind a couch, somewhere in Philly Posts: 7,628	Re: Police accuse woman, 73, of looting WTF??? Holy shit, even IF the woman WAS "looting" ... which apparently is very much in doubt ... it was FOOD ... not plasma TVs!!! ... What a fucked up world we live in. Now that's the kind of cops I love to see pummeled and who make the good police officer doing a tough job wrongly ridiculed. Hurts everybody. Bastards. __________________ All Of 'Em Mainstream Webmasters New: WebmasterConventions.com

09-16-2005	#4
JR Members The global leader in pay-per-view AEBN Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: in my chair Posts: 3,320	Re: Police accuse woman, 73, of looting wouldn't the owners of the store have to be the ones to press charges? __________________

09-16-2005	#16
XxXotic Cheese is the DEVIL! Join Date: May 2005 Location: Wit Yo baby's momma Posts: 291	Re: Police accuse woman, 73, of looting and people wonder why I love Louisiana soooooooooooo much __________________ Please Donate to the Red Cross Katrina Crushed Louisiana Not Home Right Now, Please Leave A Message