Tag: burglary

Donte Allen gets 25-year sentence for abusing dementia victim during residential burglaries

A Jefferson Parish judge has sentenced Donte Allen to 25 years in prison, for his convictions of repeatedly entering a Metairie home where a woman suffering from dementia resided, sexually abusing her, cooking at least one meal and taking items.

Allen, 24, of Kenner, was convicted on Oct. 16 of sexual battery of the infirm, three counts of simple burglary of an inhabited dwelling, attempted disarming of a police officer, resisting police by force or violence, resisting an officer and criminal trespassing. His sentencing hearing was held on Nov. 18.

Allen had entered the Bruin Drive home at least four times. A 62-year-old immigrant who could not speak English and whose dementia left her unable to communicate resided in the home where relatives cared for her. She was left alone while family member worked.

In April 2021, relatives of the victim called 911, reporting that someone had been in the house cooking. Surveillance cameras at the residence were not operable, and a deputy found no evidence of other crimes.

Two days later, a relative went to the house and noticed a strange cell phone plugged into a wall, charging. That relative and his brother waited at the house to determine whether it belonged to the person they suspected had been entering the house.

The cell phone’s owner – Allen – arrived at the house that afternoon and let himself in with a key. One of the relatives confronted him and told him to drop the key. Allen did so and said he was a friend of the victim’s and returned to retrieve his cell phone. Another relative held Allen at gunpoint until the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office arrived. But before deputies arrived, Allen fled on a bicycle, leaving his cell phone behind.

In late April, a relative arrived at the house to find Allen lying on a bed. He fled. The family found a broken window, indicating that was how Allen entered. Again, the victim was unable to communicate with deputies or her family about what transpired.

Days later, when the surveillance cameras were operable, Allen returned. Failing to force open a door with his hips, he broke a window to get inside. The victim was sleeping on a living room sofa as Allen walked around the residence.

At one point, he’s recorded entering the living room wearing only his boxer shorts. He picked up the victim and carried her to a room that was not equipped with cameras. A short time later, he returned to the living room, completely naked and sexually aroused.

He remained in the residence for several hours, rummaging through the property and later is seen putting items into a backpack. A relative arrived at the residence that night and found him inside. He fled.

The Sheriff’s Office identified Allen as a suspect by comparing his behavior to other trespassing and burglary investigations and through his booking photograph. On the cell phone Allen left at the residence in early April, detectives recovered a phone number they linked to Allen.

Deputies arrested Allen on May 10, 2021, while responding to a burglary-in-progress on Judith Street. They encountered Allen inside the home. He violently resisted and fled. The deputies caught him hiding in a nearby backyard shed. One of the deputies was injured during the arrest.

When connected to the Bruin Drive crimes, Allen told detectives that he met the victim while she was walking. She invited him to her home, and she gave him money, he asserted. He said she also gave him a spare key.

And he asserted that the victim orally agreed to sexual relations with him – again, she could not speak English.

Allen pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. His attorney asserted that Allen is schizophrenic and believed he had a consensual sexual relationship with the victim.

He waived a trial by jury, leaving it to 24th Judicial District Judge June Berry Darensburg to hear the evidence and render a verdict. Following the two-day trial, and after hearing testimony from psychiatrists for the state and the defense to determine whether Allen knew right from wrong when committing his crimes, Judge Darensburg found Allen guilty as charged after about ½ hour of deliberation on Oct. 16.

During the sentencing hearing on Nov. 18, Judge Darensburg rejected defense motions to overturn the verdict and grant Allen a new trial. In impact testimony, the victim’s sister thanked the court, the prosecution and the Sheriff’s Office for the work they did in the case.

Judge Darensburg sentenced Allen to 25 years in prison for sexual battery, without benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence; seven years in prison for each of the three burglary charges; and, two years in prison for each of the attempted disarming of a police officer and resisting police by force or violence. For the two misdemeanors, she sentenced Allen to 30 days for resisting an officer and six months for criminal trespassing.

Judge Darensburg ran the sentences concurrent with each other, for a total of 25 years. Allen also will have to register as a sex offender.

Assistant District Attorneys Kristen Landrieu and Zach Grate prosecuted the case.

 

Raymond Kimble gets 68-year sentence in Metairie crime spree

A Jefferson Parish judge on Monday (Feb. 7) sentenced Raymond H. Kimble III to 68 years in prison for his convictions of breaking into eight Metairie homes, stealing an automobile from one of those homes and of fleeing deputies at high speeds through Old Metairie in the Spring of 2016.

Kimble, 36, of River Ridge, was convicted as charged by a jury on Dec. 17 of eight counts of burglary of an inhabited dwelling, one count of theft and aggravated flight from an office in connection with the crime spree.

He and his co-defendant Brian Ernst committed the first burglary on March 7, 2015, followed by two more two days later. They hit the remaining five Metairie homes on April 13, 2016.

Common among the homes was that each had side driveways connecting the streets to the back yards, according to trial testimony. Also common was that the burglars broke out glass doors to gain entry to the homes. Each home was badly ransacked

They stole firearms, prescription medicine, jewelry, electronics and money. Stored on one stolen computer system was the only copy of a victim’s wedding photographs, according to evidence presented at trial.

During one of the burglaries, Kimble swiped keys to a resident’s vehicle. He returned to the home that evening to steal resident’s 2011 Hyundai SUV, according to trial evidence. For that, he was convicted of theft.

Throughout the crime spree, Kimble drove a pick-up truck that had been stolen in St. Tammany Parish. And during this period, he also was committing property crimes in East Baton Rouge Parish.

During one incident in Baton Rouge, he and Ernst were fleeing police and broke into a residence to hide. While there, the resident returned to his home and found Kimble and Ernst inside. They beat and hogtied the resident. Authorities linked Kimble and Ernst to the crimes through their DNA, which was recovered from the water bottles they left in that victim’s home, according to evidence presented at trial.

The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, meanwhile, electronically tracked a stolen laptop to an apartment in a large complex in the 3400 block of Severn Avenue. They began knocking on doors and quickly found the right apartment. When questioned, a resident pointed the detectives to two laptops, which she said Ernst left with her boyfriend in hopes that he could clean the hard drive for resale, according to trial testimony.

At Ernst’s home, detectives found more than 50 items that had been stolen in the Metairie burglaries.  Ernst also implicated Kimble. They also found evidence showing that Kimble melted stolen gold jewelry so he could sell the alloy.

The aggravated flight charge involved Kimble’s fleeing deputies in the stolen pickup truck. According to evidence presented at trial, deputies spotted Kimble driving on Metairie Road. He fled at speeds reaching 70 mph through residential streets with 25 mph speed limits.

He abandoned the pickup while it was still moving in the 500 block of Labarre Road. The pickup came to a rest on a front lawn. He was later caught hiding in a shed in the 1600 block of Forshey Street, according to trial testimony.

In 2018, Ernst, 36, of Metairie, pleaded guilty to eight counts of simple burglary, two counts of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm and one count of theft. He received a 12-year prison sentence.

Although he had public defenders appointed to represent him, Kimble acted as his own counsel and gave closing argument to the jury. He denied committing the crimes. The jury deliberated less than 1 ½ hours in finding him guilty of all charges.

During Monday’s sentencing hearing, Judge Raymond Steib of the 24th Judicial District Court denied Kimble’s request for a new trial, for a post-verdict judgment of acquittal and a motion to reconsider the sentence. He also heard impact testimony from one of the victims.

A breakdown of Judge Steib’s sentence shows:

  • Kimble received six years in prison for each of the eight burglary counts, which were run consecutive for a total of 48 years.
  • Kimble was sentenced to eight years for the theft of the Hyundai, and that was run concurrently to one of the burglary counts.
  • He received a 5-year sentence for the aggravated flight. But after Kimble pleaded guilty to being a multiple offender, Judge Steib resentenced him to 20 years on the count, bringing the total to 68 years in prison.

Assistant District Attorneys Lindsay Truhe and Jennifer Voss prosecuted the case.