At about 09:55 Thursday morning, CH2MHILL received a phone call. The caller said that he would blow up the building in ten minutes. CH2MHILL management called the authorities and the employees were evacuated from the building.  Within minutes Sheriffs began to arrive and they took over the evacuation of the rest of the businesses in the complex at the corner of Hooper and Greenwell Springs Road.

CH2MHill is the private company hired by the City of Central to provide, on a contract basis, essentially all of the "city services" of Central.

Once everyone was moved to safety across the street, the authorities searched the building and found no explosives.  About an hour after the original threat and evacuation everyone went back in the offices and resumed their work.  The incident has resulted in an ongoing investigation and, as such, CH2MHILL is unable to provide any additional information at this time.

Mayor Mac Watts was at a meeting in Zachary and was notified immediately.  He arrived on the scene in about 25 minutes.

Most significant for the fate of the caller if he is found, because CH2MHill's offices are physically adjacent to the United States Post Office, there are Federal Authorities involved in the investigation.

At Thursday night's Planning and Zoning meeting, Mr. David Barrow, who works for the city, made an announcement concerning this incident.  There are many rumors going around concerning this event, and the people of Central should be careful not to spread rumors based on second- or third-hand information and conjecture.  Because this is an ongoing federal investigation, those who continue to spread rumors could become part of the investigation themselves.  We all need to behave responsibly and be sure that we are not becoming a part of the problem.

Central Speaks will not be allowing comments under this article, as rumors should be kept at bay due to the nature of this ongoing investigation.

CentralSpeaks.com arrived on the scene a few minutes after the evacuation and shot the pictures you see below.  More information on this story will be posted here as it becomes available.

A house burglary occurred on April 1, 2010 around 2pm on Morganfield Ave in Morgan Place West. Shortly after that, a van with two black males was seen pulling under a carport at another house in the same subdivision. The males started to burglarize a vehicle under the carport until a resident looked out the window and saw them. This same van was seen backing under the carport of another residence in the neighborhood. A neighbor called 911 to report the van.

There have been an unusually high number of incidents like this lately, so take action to help keep break ins from happening. Exchange cell phone numbers with your neighbors and agree to keep an eye out for each other when others are not at home. Most importantly, if you see any suspicious activity around your house or your neighbor's, do not hesitate to call the Sheriff's office.

East Baton Rouge Sheriff's deputies responded to a burglary in progress at approximately 11:25 this morning in which two teenagers were home when a man allegedly broke into the house on the 15000 block of Chanove in Geo-Je's subdivision.
 
The teenagers called the Sheriff's Office when they heard the sound of glass breaking down stairs. Within minutes deputies were on scene and had the house surrounded. Prior to deputies' arrival, a neighbor stopped by the house to drop something off, and when the burglar saw the neighbor he fled the scene. Nothing was reportedly taken from the house.
 
Deputies set up a perimeter in the area and burglary detectives and K-9 units searched for the suspect. A witness was able to provide deputies with a plate number of a suspicous vehicle seen leaving the area. Deputies apprehended Corey Green, 21, at his residence at 13118 Sugar Bowl within the hour. Green admitted to entering the house through the broken window. He will be charged with Burglary and booked into Parish Prison.

Late in the evening on March 23, Domino's Pizza on Sullivan Road was th site of an attempted armed robbery. The manager advised that he had just dropped the money from the day's sales when a black male entered the office area and demanded the money. The victim advised that he told the subject that the money had already been dropped and there was no way to get it. He then searched the front registers and there was no money there either. The black male then fled on foot around the side of the building.
The suspect was described as being approximately 5'5", slim build, dark skinned, approximately 24 years of age wearing dark colored jeans, black jacket, white tennis shoes and a black bandana around the lower part of his face. He was armed with a black semi-automatic handgun.
Anybody with information concerning this incident is asked to contact the Sheriff's Office at 389-5000 or Crime Stoppers at 344-7867.

Last Friday, there was a robbery at AAS on Monterrey. “Lil Mac” Watts was loading shirts into a suburban when he was held up at gun point. The robber took Mac’s wallet and the suburban. Thankfully, Mac was able to get inside the building, lock the doors, and call the police before anyone was harmed. The stolen suburban is maroon in color. Please call the Sheriff’s Office if you have any information about this or if you come across the stolen vehicle.

2/13/2010
Location: 8628 Sully
Incident Date & Time: February 12, 2010, 6:30pm
File Number: 10-9762
Investigator: Cpl. J. Webb, Sgt. W. Stewart, Lt. J. Alfred
On February 12, 2010 detectives responded to a robbery and home invasion that occurred at the above listed location. Detectives learned that the victim answered a knock at her door when she observed a subject she knows as Casey Brown, W/M, 6/14/82, 9115 Rathmoor. Brown forced his way into the residence grabbing the victim by the hair and slamming her against the wall. Another subject the victim knows as Timmy entered the residence along with another white male. Timmy and the other subject rummaged through the victim’s purse stealing $300.00 and a prescription of 55 oxycontin. All three subjects fled in a green Dodge pick-up.

Detectives were able to identify Timmy as Timothy Zettlemoyer, W/M, 9/5/82, 9932 Santa Monica and the other subject as Talmadge Castle, W/M, 7/13/78, 5935 Cheryl Drive. Deputies proceeded to the address on Santa Monica in Carmel Acres subdivision to contact Zettlemoyer. After knocking on the door, a white female looked out the window and when deputies identified themselves, the lights were turned out and the subjects refused to speak to deputies. One of the male subjects advised that if they tried to come in the residence they would be shot.

A search warrant was obtained for the residence and the EBRSO Swat team was called out and eventually made entry into the residence apprehending all three subjects plus the female later identified as Candice Adams, 12/18/78, 7576 Hwy. 10, Ethel, La.

All three male subjects were charged with Simple Robbery, Aggravated Burglary and Home Invasion. The female was charged as an accessory to the same charges.

A major crime wave was solved in Central Friday, January 22, thanks to an alert neighbor who witnessed a theft taking place in Amber Lakes around 1:30 pm.   The suspect was caught hiding in a dumpster near Elm Grove Garden near the airport after a pursuit and foot chase.
It started on Lynnwood Drive in Amber Lakes subdivision around 1:30 pm when a neighbor noticed a black male in a Blue Dodge Ram pickup truck loading up furniture from a residence next door.  The neighbor called the homeowner, who was out of town, and the homeowner said that no one should be there. By then, the suspect was backing out of the driveway. The neighbor, who knows me, then called me on my cellphone to tell me what was going on, and I immediately told him to call 911.  At the same time, I called the captain of the Central Substation via cellphone and advised him of the burglary taking place. The captain immediately got on the radio and alerted all units.  Within minutes, deputies were on the scene, but the suspect had left.  A description was put out on the radio, and an unmarked unit spotted the suspect on Hooper Rd.  A chase then began that lasted several minutes.  The suspect finally bailed from the truck and ran into woods near Elm Grove Garden (by the airport).  Police officers from various agencies responded to the chase.
After a foot chase and canvassing the area, the suspect was caught hiding in a dumpster.  His partner was captured in the truck.  After being arrested, the suspect confessed to having committed numerous burglaries and thefts in the Central area Friday and over the past few weeks.  Areas affected include Bellingrath, Carmel Acres, Morgan Place, Amber Lakes, and other parts throughout the mid and southern parts of the city.  Thousands of dollars of stolen property were recovered in the truck, and other property is in the process of being recovered now from hiding places the suspects used.  The suspect and his partner apparently kept a list of the homes that they burglarized, so detectives feel that they will be able to return a lot of the stolen property to the rightful owners.
The suspects are cooperating with deputies in telling them the homes that they burglarized or stole items from.  They also are cooperating with detectives in telling where they have stored some of the stolen merchandise and property.   In addition to burglarizing homes, they apparently were also stealing items from carports  and exteriors of homes such as blowers, weed eaters, generators, trailers, etc.  The sheriff’s department has been looking for these suspects for a while recently based upon information supplied by witnesses to previous crimes.
PLEASE..if you came home Friday and noticed anything missing or stolen from your house, contact the Burglary Division of the Sheriff’s Dept at 389-5000.  If you have been a recent burglary or theft victim, please contact the Burglary division.  Some of your stolen property may be recovered by this arrest. The Sheriff’s Dept feels that they will clear numerous crimes with this arrest.
PLEASE, if you notice anyone or anything suspicious in your neighborhood from now on, contact the Sheriff’s Dept immediately at 389-5000.  A unit will be sent to investigate.  Don’t waste valuable minutes calling other people until after you have called the Sheriff’s Dept.  Please call the Sheriff’s Department anytime you notice a suspicious vehicle parked or suspicious persons near your home.  Thanks to a good neighbor today who noticed something suspicious, this crime wave was solved. 
Someone reported seeing a blue Dodge Ram pickup truck in the Morgan Place area a few nights ago parked at the street corner near their home, but didn’t call to report the suspicious vehicle until they later heard of a burglary/theft the next day.  We believe it was the same suspect.
Don’t hesitate.  It’s better to be safe than sorry.  Congrats to the Sheriff’s Department for an outstanding job and fast response this afternoon!  We should all be proud of the work that they do!

-Mr. David Barrow

Some time between 10:30 PM last Saturday night and 8 AM Sunday morning, two 4-wheelers and the 14 foot trailer they were on were stolen from a home in Boganvilla Estates on Hooper Road here in Central. Please keep an eye out for these stolen items and, if anyone has any information about this theft, please call the Sheriff’s Dept at 389-5176 or Crimestoppers at 344-STOP.

Four people were arrested and several received citations during a sobriety checkpoint performed by the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office and Louisiana State Police last weekend on Joor Road. The following are results of the checkpoint:

1 person arrested for an outstanding warrant

2 possession of marijuana arrests

1 battery and resisting an officer arrest

4 seatbelt citations

9 child restraint citations

2 insurance citations

3 driving with suspended license citations

6 expired inspection citations

3 improper turn citations

About 600 vehicles total were screened late Saturday night and into the early morning hours on Sunday. The state police would like to remind people to share information and to keep impaired drivers off of the motorways. The number to call is *LSP (or *577) on your cell phone.