[StBernard] Additional info on Pohlmann arrest from The Advocate

[Westley Annis]

Justin Pohlmann arrested in burglary

BY RICHARD THOMPSON

rthompson at theadvocate.com

August 24, 2013

A little more than a year after he was sworn in as St. Bernard Parish's top
law enforcement officer, Sheriff James Pohlmann announced Thursday that his
son had been arrested by his own deputies.

Justin Pohlmann, 27, was picked up on a warrant charging him with
burglarizing a home and garage in Chalmette, the Sheriff's Office said.

The senior Pohlmann issued a statement blaming his son's behavior on a
"substance abuse problem which has returned," and requested privacy.

Justin Pohlmann, who lives in Chalmette, was charged with one count of
burglary and two counts of misdemeanor theft, the Sheriff's Office said. He
surrendered to authorities and was booked into St. Bernard Parish Prison,
where he was expected to spend the night.

The younger Pohlmann's arrest Thursday was not his first run-in with the
Sheriff's Office, where his father worked for nearly three decades before
being elected in 2011.

The Sheriff's Office did not provide a complete list of Justin Pohlmann's
prior arrests, nor would the office release a copy of his booking mug or the
warrant for his most recent arrest.

But online court records show that the year his father was elected in 2011,
Justin Pohlmann was arrested and charged with disturbing the peace and
criminal trespass, online court records show. In 2008, he was charged with
simple burglary. In 2007, he faced a simple battery charge and another count
of disturbing the peace for fighting. And in apparently three separate
incidents during 2005, he faced charges of possession of stolen property
under $100, unauthorized entry, criminal trespass and disturbing the peace,
records show.

It could not be determined late Thursday how the various charges were
resolved.

The elder Pohlmann declined interviews Thursday, but expressed contrition in
his statement.

"Like all too many parents, I have a child who has gotten into trouble with
the law," the sheriff said.

"That is not an excuse for criminal behavior," he added, "but it is a
realization I have come to. I love Justin and will continue to support him
and make sure he gets the treatment he needs."