[StBernard] Meraux brothers return to scene, get arrested in burglary case

[Westley Annis]

Meraux brothers return to scene, get arrested in burglary case
by The Times-Picayune 
Friday June 20, 2008, 9:35 AM
A pair of brothers from St. Bernard Parish have been booked in connection
with burglarizing a school under construction in Meraux.

Joseph Ballard, 31, and Chris Ballard, 26, both of 2221 Paul Drive, Meraux,
were booked with business burglary and flight from an officer Wednesday
after sheriff's deputies caught them inside the Joseph Davies Elementary
school, which is being rebuilt after being flooded during Hurricane Katrina.

The men fled the building when they saw the deputies. The deputies, however,
got a description of the men and then found a vehicle parked on the side of
the school, its engine still warm. A check of the license plate showed the
vehicle was registered to Joseph Ballard, the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff's
Office said.

Later, Chris Ballard and Joseph Ballard returned to the school in a truck
and said they were coming to pick up the vehicle. At that time, the deputies
recognized the brothers as the men they saw inside the school.

One of the brothers later told deputies they had entered the school
intending to steal tools, the Sheriff's Office said. The men were being held
in St. Bernard Parish Prison in lieu of $60,000.