Man arrested in text case

• By KORAN ADDO
• Advocate Westside bureau
• Published: Mar 21, 2009 - Page: 3B

• Print
• Email
• Save
• Reprints
• Twitter
• Share

• Del.icio.us
• Digg
• Facebook
• Reddit
• 

Pointe Coupee sheriff’s deputies on Friday arrested and booked a Glynn man into Pointe Coupee Parish Prison on one count of terrorizing.

Sheriff Beauregard “Bud” Torres said Anthony Scott, 19, surrendered at Pointe Coupee Parish Prison after the Sheriff’s Office obtained a warrant for Scott’s arrest.

Torres said Scott is accused of being behind a series of e-mail and text messages that spread throughout the New Roads area advising people of a gang initiation to take place at Wal-Mart in New Roads.

Torres said the text messages relayed information that women were to be killed in Wal-Mart’s parking lot as part of an initiation into the Su-Wu gang — an offshoot of the violent “Bloods” street gang which originated in Los Angeles.

It has not been substantiated that Scott actually is a member of the Su-Wus, Torres said in characterizing Scott as a possible wannabe Su-Wu.

Several sheriff’s deputies were tipped off about the messages as they were serving arrest warrants in the New Roads area Wednesday night, Torres said.

The situation caused more alarm than usual, Torres said, when deputies received tips that the messages had begun indicating the gang initiation was to be moved to a different location because there were too many law enforcement officers in the New Roads area.

“There was a massive amount of police cars in town and when the message changed, we thought the person” had more information about police and sheriff’s activities than they should have known, Torres said.

After questioning several people who received the messages, investigators were able to identify Scott, 15599 Russell Lane in Glynn, as the sender, Torres said.

Under Louisiana law, terrorizing is the intentional communication of information that the commission of a crime of violence is imminent or in progress, thereby causing fear to the general public. If convicted, Scott faces up to 15 years in prison, a $15,000 fine or both.

Messages warning of gang initiations at Wal-Mart stores are generally considered to be hoaxes and have been circulating around the nation since 2005, according to the urban legend-debunking Web site http://snopes.com.