A Jefferson Parish jury on Wednesday night (June 17) found serial burglar Larce Spikes guilty of breaking into homes in Metairie, at times disguising himself as a utility worker as he cut cable and internet lines to the homes to bypass security systems.
Spikes, 54, of New Orleans East, was convicted of four counts of simple burglary, one count of attempted simple burglary and one count of bank fraud. The jury that found him guilty of the charges also acquitted him of burglarizing other homes.
He stole jewelry from homes, family keepsakes that he in turn planned to sell.
“He was just trying to make a quick buck, flip it, and what he couldn’t flip he just threw away like it was trash. But to them it wasn’t trash,” Assistant District Attorney Leo Aaron told jurors.
“Handbook to committing a burglary – first see if anyone is there, cut the wires, and break in and that’s exactly what he did,” Assistant District Attorney Piper Didier told jurors in closing argument. “All while dressed in a utility vest to trick homeowners into thinking he was supposed to be there.”
The jury found him guilty of:
- The simple burglary of a home in the 1800 block of Reviere Avenue on Aug. 5, 2022. Among the items he stole were the military medals awarded to a deceased veteran, leaving his widow devastated.
- The simple burglary of a home in the 400 block of Elmeer Avenue on May 18, 2022. The victim, who was out of town at the time of the crime, was alerted to the burglary by the lawn care workers tending to her property. Jewelry items were stolen.
- The attempted simple burglary of a home in the 1400 block of Poinsettia Drive on July 27, 2022. Spikes wore a hard hat and safety vest when he tried to enter a side door of the residence, where unbeknownst to him, a teenager was inside. A postal carrier happened to be walking by as Spikes attempted to gain entry. Spikes abandoned the attempt as a result.
- The simple burglary of a home in the 1400 block of Melody Drive on July 27, 2022. Among the items Spikes stole from this home was a bank checkbook. He gave a check to his intimate partner, Crystal McGovern, 43, of Slidell, and she attempted to cash it for $4,000.
- For this, Spikes and McGovern were charged with bank fraud. For her role, McGovern pleaded guilty as charged to bank fraud in December 2022 and was sentenced to two years in prison. Spikes was convicted of bank fraud on Wednesday.
The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office developed Spikes as a suspect of burglaries in Metairie in January 2018. In two of those burglaries, which occurred two days apart less than a half mile apart, the cable and internet lines to the homes were cut.
Spikes was acquitted Wednesday of two burglaries, along with attempted burglaries of homes on Lafreniere Street and Brockenbraugh Court – both on the same day in August 2022.
From there, detectives determined that Spikes pleaded guilty in 2010 in Jefferson Parish to residential burglary that occurred in January 2008 in the 20 block of Colony Court. In that case, he cut the utility lines to the house in order to disable the alarm system and telephone service. He pleaded guilty to burglary and receiving stolen things and received a 10-year prison sentence as a habitual offender.
Judge E. Adrian Adams of the 24th Judicial District Court set sentencing for July 16.
Assistant District Attorneys Leo Aaron and Piper Didier prosecuted the case.