With more than 250 St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies swarming area streets during Hurricane Gustav, crime in unincorporated St. Tammany was nearly nonexistent, Sheriff’s Office Capt. George Bonnett said.

As fierce wind bands waned, deputies left their posts to patrol the streets and continued to do so for days as up to 89,000 area residents were left in the dark.

“We were really able to get out in front of it,” Bonnett said, referring to the crime — about four or five looting incidents compared to 30 during Katrina. “We had a very visible presence, and that helped a lot.” No other major arrests were made, he said.

The looting incidents, four under investigation near Slidell and one in Covington, netted at least five arrests as of Friday afternoon, Bonnett said. However, by press time Friday, specifics were available for only the Covington incident and one of three Slidell incidents.

In the Slidell area, two men were caught in a BelAir Subdivision home after a neighbor reported a suspicious man with a flashlight snooping around an evacuated home about 4:12 a.m. Tuesday.

Justin Batiste, 19, of 1025 Alexander Court, and Darryl Sims, 20, of 1000 Palmetto Court in BelAir, were arrested and charged with curfew violation, looting and possession of marijuana. Simms was also booked on additional charges of battery on a police officer and resisting an officer, Bonnett said.

The incident unfolded when the alert neighbor noticed a flashlight beam darting through the evacuated homeowner’s window. Expecting a possible looter, the caller, who authorities did not identify, alerted deputies, who found Batiste in the car. He told deputies he was waiting on a friend who was getting supplies, Bonnett said.

Suspicious, deputies approached the house and stood at the doorway holding a leashed police dog. They called out for anyone inside to come out or “we’ll let the dog loose,” Bonnett said.

Protocol calls for deputies to issue the warning three times.

“Our deputies repeatedly called it for about two minutes,” Bonnett said.

When nobody responded, the dog was let loose. Simms, hiding in a side room with what deputies say were a stolen jacket, shoes and clothes, was bitten and arrested after a minor scuffle, a move that resulted in the battery and resisting arrest charges.

Simms was taken to Slidell Memorial Hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

Both Simms and Batiste each remained in the parish jail Thursday in lieu of $100,000 bond for looting and $750 each for curfew violation and possession of marijuana. Simms faces an additional $750 bond on each charge for resisting arrest and battery charges.

Another looting arrest occurred Saturday, Aug. 30, two days before Hurricane Gustav clipped St. Tammany.

While many area residents had evacuated, Chad Wells, 30, of 800 Canary Pin Court in Mandeville, his sister, Ashley Wells, 21, of 50331 U.S. Highway 51 in Tickfaw, and her boyfriend, Justin Palmer, 25, of the same address, allegedly robbed Lee Road Drugs on Lee Road in Covington, Bonnett said.

About 11:45 p.m., the trio allegedly smashed through a window with a crowbar and stole three bottles of prescription narcotics, he said.

Somehow during the robbery, the gas tank to the gang’s getaway car was punctured.

Moments later, the car, unidentified by Bonnett, slowly drove by the store emanating the same gasoline smell, he said.

Deputies followed, stopped the car and found the prescription bottles, Bonnett said.

Each suspect was charged with looting because St. Tammany was under a declared state of emergency days prior to Hurricane Gustav’s arrival, Bonnett said.

Wells and Palmer were also charged with possession with intent to distribute schedule II narcotics based on the amount of prescription medication found inside the vehicle.

Wells, who tried to toss the evidence outside the vehicle, was also charged with obstruction of justice, Bonnett said. He was booked into the jail in lieu of an $185,000 bond.

Palmer, meanwhile, was jailed with a bond of $175,000. Ashley Wells faces a $100,000 bond.

Looting charges carry a maximum penalty of 15 years in jail and a $10,000 fine.