Citizens assist Mamou police with two recent investigations

Mamou police, with the help of citizens, tracked down suspects in two crimes recently.
The first crime was reported about 5:30 a.m. on April 23, when an East Street resident called the police to report someone had broken into his house.
Officer Kevin Thomas, who was on patrol at the time, was dispatched to the house, where he found that glass on the front door had been broken. Thomas was told the man in the house had been asleep on the sofa in the living room and a woman was in the bedroom with the couple’s two children.
Police say two intruders -- one of them a juvenile -- made it into the bedroom undetected. The family had just moved into the house and had not finished unpacking. The woman in the bedroom awoke when one of the intruders dropped some of the packed items onto the floor.
“Who are you and what are you doing in my house,” the woman told police she said. The intruder then dropped to the floor, according to Assistant Police Chief Katina Richard. The intruder then crawled back into the living room as the woman shouted “There’s someone in the house,” according to police records.
The man sleeping in the living room awoke and grabbed the intruder as the juvenile ran from the house. As the man and woman struggled with the intruder, the man suffered a broken knee cap and the woman suffered a broken toe and shoulder.
When Officer Thomas arrived, the intruder had left the house. He found the couple’s vehicle had also been broken into.
Detective Marie Potter and Richard investigated the crime and, after talking to citizens, was able to identify a suspect. Patrolman Wesley Childress and Lt. Lucas Lavergne found the suspect sitting on a porch at an East Street residence shortly before 3:30 p.m. the same day as the home invasion.
They arrested Deadre M. Bellard, 19, who resides at 109 Mulberry St. in Mamou. As of Friday morning, Bellard was in the parish jail, charged with home invasion, simple burglary, theft and aggravated battery. He was being held on a $90,000 bond.
On April 24, Mamou police Lt. Mitch Doucet received a phone call at about 10:30 a.m. from St. Landry Sheriff’s Office Detective James Bergeron, who said someone had stolen an ATM card and had used it to withdraw cash from a Mamou bank.
Detective Bergeron arrived in Mamou and, with Mamou police, went to the bank. Records at the bank indicated the person made 25 attempts to withdraw cash about 3 a.m. that day at the bank’s ATM and was successful three times. The first successful withdrawal was for $150, the second for $50 and the third for $100.
The bank had a video showing the person using the ATM. Police recognized the person, who was arrested the next day. They identified the person as Corey Pitre, 23, 504 Second St., Mamou. He was charged with unauthorized use of an access card (three counts). Pitre was placed on a $5,000 bond in Evangeline Parish before being transferred to the St. Landry Parish Jail.
Assistant Chief Richard said both crimes involved assistance from citizens, and she said people who assist police can remain anonymous.