Oopsie!

The NOPD announced yesterday that suspected armed robber Elton Phillips was "released by accident." According to the NOPD, Phillips' paperwork sent over from the DA's office did not indicate any reason for him to be held in custody and he was released. Congratulations to the intelligent worker-bees of the NOPD! I guess no one watched the news or read a paper in the past six months. Otherwise, they may have recalled that Phillips was New Orleans #1 Most Wanted Fugitive. Luckily, Phillips was apprehended by alert Hammond Police on his way to "turn himself in."

Phillips was originally sought as a suspect in the robbery, shooting and eventual death of NOPD Officer Thelonius Dukes. Police have since cleared him of this charge, but he still faces charges of armed robbery from October 2007 when he allegedly held up a man at a Westbank gas station. The irate man got into his vehicle and chased Phillips and an accomplice right to the home of DA Eddie Jordan where he allegedly spun a tale of car trouble and he just needed to wait there until his Grammaw could come and get him. Jordan's girlfriend Cheri Robinson had spent the day with Phillips in Baton Rouge and hitched a ride back to New Orleans with him.

Upon hearing of the car accident, DA Jordan did not bother calling the police or ambulance and "went back to bed" leaving Phillips alone with Robinson. Locally, this is thought to be one of the straws which broke the DA's back, forcing him into early retirement. It was speculated that Jordan would soon get a nice, high paying job from one of his cronies, but he insisted that he simply wanted to spend time with his family for the next few months. Of course, just a week later it was revealed that Jordan signed on as a consultant with the New Orleans Police & Justice Foundation, a local non-proft organization, as part of his payoff for resigning. Now considering that the NOPD has nothing but disdain for Jordan and his incompetence as a DA, why one of their support organizations wants Jordan working for them is beyond me.

However, now that Judge Elloie is gone, it's more difficult than ever to get out of jail free and perhaps this is one of Eddie's Christmas presents to his girlfriends thug pal. Isn't it interesting that an organization which used to be run by Jordan submitted paperwork recusing itself from prosecution of Jordans' girlfriends thug-buddy? I'm not saying this happened, but it certainly bears further investigation, don't you think?