[StBernard] St. Bernard Sheriff: Three men arrested for stealing $1500 in crab traps

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard Sheriff: Three men arrested for stealing $1500 in crab traps
by WWLTV.com
wwltv.com
Posted on June 21, 2014 at 5:22 PM
Updated Saturday, Jun 21 at 5:41 PM

ST. BERNARD PARISH - The St. Bernard Parish Sheriff's Office has arrested
three men for stealing over 37 crab traps and claiming them as their own.

 Sheriff James Pohlmann says the traps were recently stolen from separate
crabbers in the Delacroix Island area.  The traps are worth more than $1,500
total. The arrests were made after a joint investigation with the Department
of Wildlife and Fisheries.

 Sheriff Pohlmann says they arrested Jeremy Encardes, 28, and Justin
Vicknair, 17, on the Violet Canal on June 18. Pohlmann says deputies
identified the 37 crab traps as stolen. Pohlmann says the original tags were
replaced with tags identifying Encardes as the owner. 

 Sheriff's officials say Christopher Areas Jr., 22, was also questioned
during the investigation into the incident. Areas told investigators he and
Encardes had stolen two truckloads of crab traps off Delacroix Highway.

 The sheriff's office booked Encardes with two counts of theft of crab traps
and three counts of possession of stolen property. He is being held in St.
Bernard Parish Prison with a bond set at $50,000.

Vicknair was booked with three counts of possession of stolen property and
released on bond of $17,500.

Areas was booked with three counts of theft of the traps and was released on
$10,000 bond.