First federal arrest (NO: Algiers man allegedly fired on military chopper)

First federal arrest
Tuesday, 2 p.m.
By Gwen Filosa
Staff writer

Federal agents arrested a young Algiers man this morning on charges of shooting at a military helicopter designed for rescue missions, U.S. Attorney Jim Letten said, announcing the first federal case against the lawlessness that preyed on New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Wendell L. Bailey, 20, was arrested outside the building where he had earlier taken aim with a .22-caliber pistol and fired at the helicopter, which was flying in the darkness, federal prosecutors said. Bailey has been charged with the federal crime of trying to "damage and destroy any aircraft," which carries up to 20 years in prison upon conviction, and with being a felon in possession of a handgun, which carries up to 10 years.

Letten held Bailey's case up as the first federal arrest in the post-Katrina wasteland that is New Orleans, and he promised more would come.

"He will be prosecuted very aggressively, federally," Letten said at the Louisiana Emergency Operations Center in Baton Rouge, flanked by U.S. Attorney David Dugas of Baton Rouge and officials of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives.

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