Kimberly Lee, the mother of the baby abandoned in Pearl River on Monday, has been released from the hospital and is in the process of being booked into the St. Tammany Parish Jail.  She is at the jail now.  No bond information is available at this time.

The baby remains at the hospital, is no longer in critical condition and is improving.

Early yesterday morning, St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s deputies responded to a 911 call reporting the discovery of an abandoned newborn baby.

At approximately 7:00 a.m., a 13 year old boy called 911 reporting that he and his 15 year old sister had discovered a crying newborn baby wrapped in a towel and a blanket on the ground in their backyard.  The two teens brought the infant inside the residence and called 911.

The teens’ father (Johnny Lee – DOB: 5/5/73) was at the residence.  Lee used blankets to warm the infant until first responders arrived.

Deputies responded to the address – 36385 Teat Blackwell Rd., Pearl River – along with emergency medical personnel.  First responders arrived and found a breathing baby with its umbilical cord attached.

The baby was immediately transported to Northshore Regional Medical Center and was eventually air-lifted to Oschner hospital on the southshore.  The infant is reported now to be stable, but in critical condition.

Detectives responded to the scene and began interviewing Lee and the teenagers.  During the course of the interview, investigators learned that Lee’s wife, Kimberly Lee (DOB: 01/06/77), had been pregnant.  Lee was unaware that she had given birth and reported she left the house that morning to go to work.

St. Tammany deputies contacted Mrs. Lee, who was on the south shore, and instructed her to report immediately to the nearest hospital, which she did.  Investigators from St. Tammany interviewed Lee yesterday at the hospital and learned she had given birth to the baby before noon the previous day (Monday) and placed the baby outside her residence.  It was also learned that she concealed the birth from her family by wearing oversized clothes.

Investigators have obtained warrants for Kimberly Lee’s arrest for second degree cruelty to a juvenile and child desertion.  She is still being treated medically and the warrants are expected to be executed upon her release.  The investigation is on-going as detectives determine whether criminal charges against anyone else are warranted.

The Lee’s also have an 8 year old daughter who was at the residence during the incident.  The Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services is involved in the case to ensure that the children are in a safe environment.

At approximately 2:30 a.m. this morning, two deputies pulled to safety a woman who was trapped inside her overturned vehicle in a large, water filled ditch in the Slidell area.

During routine patrol, Dy. Devin Coulon and Dy. Matt Fandal were dispatched to a report of a single vehicle crash on Bayou Liberty Road near Salmen Street.  When the deputies arrived at the scene, they noticed the overturned vehicle’s interior was quickly filling up with water and the woman inside was becoming submerged and unable to free herself.  The quick thinking deputies smashed the driver’s side window with a window punch, cleared the broken glass with one of their expandable batons, and rescued the woman from the vehicle.

St. Tammany Fire Protection District #1 and Acadian Ambulance were dispatched to the scene and the woman was transported to a local hospital due to injuries sustained in the crash.  She has since been transferred to a south shore hospital.

One of the deputies was treated at Louisiana Medical Center & Heart Hospital for a minor laceration to his right hand.

Louisiana State Police Troop L is handling the crash investigation.

A Slidell area man was arrested Wednesday following an incident involving himself and a 15 year old juvenile.

Arrestee: Max Taylor – 1200 Eagle Lake Dr., Lot #37, Slidell (W/M – 09/02/65)

A Slidell area resident reported an incident to the Sheriff’s Office on December 29th, 2011 regarding an adult male exposing himself to her grandson. According to the grandmother, her 15 year old grandson was playing in a wooded area near Haas Rd. in Slidell when he happened upon a parked tan Mazda Protégé. Upon coming into contact with the vehicle, the occupant, Taylor, exited the vehicle with his pants around his ankles and his genitals exposed. Taylor reportedly got back into his vehicle and drove past the young boy. Taylor rolled his window down and propositioned the boy for oral sex. The boy refused Taylor’s sexual advancement and went home to report the incident.

Thanks to the quick thinking youngster, who took note of the license plate, investigators were able to track down Taylor. During an interview with detectives, Taylor confessed that he was masturbating in his vehicle when the boy walked up on him. He went on to admit that he did in fact solicit oral sex from the boy as he left in his vehicle.

Taylor was arrested and booked into the jail on 01/04/12 with the following charges:

R.S. 14:106 – Obscenity ($3,500 Bond)
R.S. 14:81 – Indecent Behavior with a Juvenile ($25,000 Bond)

The St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s office is investigating the New Year’s Eve robbery of a Shell gas station on Hwy 11 in the Slidell area.

At approximately 7:30 p.m. Saturday, a man dressed in a full ghillie suit (camouflage) and armed with a shotgun entered the station, located at 60239 Hwy 11, and ordered two clerks to the ground.  He then ordered one of them to open the cash drawer and give him the contents.  The man grew impatient with the clerk’s speed and fired the shotgun into the station’s ceiling.

The clerk responded by handing the man an undisclosed amount of cash from the register, after which he ran from the building to an unknown location.

Criminal patrol deputies, joined by the Sheriff’s office K-9 division, searched the area but were unable to find the man or establish his track away from the business.

No one was injured during the robbery.

Anyone with knowledge of the incident is asked to call 9-1-1.

A Bogalusa man was apprehended last week by Sheriff’s deputies while attempting to take copper from an AT&T storage site.

Arrestee: Patrick Reed Stewart – 60069 Spring Valley Rd, Bogalusa (DOB 11/09/81)

Detectives from the Sheriff’s office have been investigating a series of copper thefts from AT&T storage sites in St. Tammany since the beginning of November.  Various divisions within the Sheriff’s office, including criminal patrol, investigations, narcotics, reserves, and street crimes, recently began staking out the site located at 1950 Collins Blvd. in Covington.

On the night of Wednesday, December 28^th, the deputies’ patience paid off when they caught Stewart inside the storage yard.  Stewart did not peacefully surrender once caught;   he was subdued after a short struggle.

Since his arrest, investigators have tied Stewart to 17 burglaries/thefts at AT&T sites throughout the parish.  Stewart is expected to be booked with several more reported AT&T copper thefts as the investigation continues.

Stewart was employed by AT&T approximately four years ago; details of his employment are not available at this time.

Stewart’s current charges are as follows:

L.R.S. 14:108.2 – Resisting a Police Officer with Force or Threats of Violence (1 Count)

L.R.S. 14:62.4 – Unauthorized Entry of a Place of Business (17 counts)

L.R.S. 14:67.B.4 – Theft over $500 (16 Counts)

Stewart’s bond has been set at $100,000.