[StBernard] Two men break into St. Bernard Parish Sheriff Jack Stephens' house; steal items from woman's purse

[Westley Annis]

Two men break into St. Bernard Parish Sheriff Jack Stephens' house; steal
items from woman's purse
Published: Friday, November 19, 2010, 1:41 PM     
Updated: Friday, November 19, 2010, 2:21 PM
 Chris Kirkham, The Times-Picayune 

Two unidentified men broke into St. Bernard Parish Sheriff Jack Stephens'
house in Shell Beach last night, took some items from a woman's purse and
quickly left, the St. Bernard Sheriff's Office said.

Stephens was not present, according to Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy James
Pohlmann. There was no physical contact, Pohlmann said, and the woman who
reported the incident, Stephen's ex-wife, Desiree Melerine Stephens, did not
see the faces of the two men.

The woman told authorities she was in another room in the house in the
upscale Fort Beauregard Marina Estates subdivision when she heard voices
inside the house and heard someone jiggle the door handle to the room where
she was at the time. She called out, but got no response.

Pohlmann said the woman told deputies that she believed the men were
speaking with Hispanic accents. A few minutes later she thought she heard
them go out the back door, and saw two men leaving in a white van, according
to Pohlmann.

Deputies found no signs of forced entry, and determined that only a few
items were missing from the woman's purse.

The call came in to the Sheriff's Office at about 7 p.m. Thursday. Deputies
have been stopping white vans in the parish matching the description from
the woman.

There are no known suspects in the case, Pohlmann said.

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