PRISON GUARD SEES OTHER SIDE OF BARS

St. Bernard Corrections Officer Facing Drug Charge, Officials Say

A St. Bernard Parish corrections officer was being held in her own prison
Wednesday night after being booked with possessing small amounts of crack
and powdered cocaine, as well as possession of stolen property taken in a
New Orleans home burglary Tuesday.

Alicia Cruz, 27, 6610 Dauphine St., Arabi, was fired from the job she has
held for two years with the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff's Office. She will
go before a judge today to have bond set, said Maj. Richard Baumy of the
Sheriff's Office.

"She ought to feel at home tonight," Baumy said of Cruz, who worked in the
women's tier and other parts of the Parish Prison in Chalmette. Cruz will
be segregated from other prisoners, he said.

Rocky Holmes, 29, who officials say lived with Cruz, is being sought on
charges of possession of stolen property and cocaine, as well as an escape
charge. Baumy said Holmes escaped from deputies who tried to arrest him at
home Wednesday about 1 p.m.

A second man, Louis Holmes, 29, 1112 Perrin Drive, Arabi, a cousin of Rocky
Holmes, was booked with possession of stolen property and was being held in
the Parish Prison.

Items stolen in the New Orleans burglary, including watches and jewelry,
were recovered at the home of Cruz and Rocky Holmes, Baumy said. The
burglary took place in the 3100 block of Fortin Street.

Details of the arrests were sketchy Wednesday night, but Baumy said the
investigation started after a man who turned out to be Louis Holmes was
seen dumping documents Wednesday about noon into an Arabi canal in the 7300
block of West St. Bernard Highway.

Deputies recovered some of the documents and found the name of the man who
was the victim of the burglary the night before.

Deputies questioned Louis Holmes, who had returned to the canal, and
determined that he had thrown the documents in the water, Baumy said.

Louis Holmes took deputies to the home of his cousin Rocky, who already was
a suspect in other burglaries in St. Bernard Parish, Baumy said.

When the deputies arrived, Cruz answered the door and deputies stepped
inside to find Rocky Holmes holding a pipe used to smoke crack cocaine,
Baumy said.

During a search, small amounts of cocaine, as well as the stolen property,
were found in the home.

Cruz and Louis Holmes were arrested, but when deputies tried to put
handcuffs on Rocky Holmes, he escaped out the back door, Baumy said.