by Shay Sokol

A congregation of baby gators were sprung from the zoo last week, but their trip out of the tank was cut short after the thieves dumped the reptiles in the Irish Chanel. On Independence Day, the Audubon Zoo Swamp Gift Shop was broken into and 10 baby alligators were stolen from their tank, New Orleans police said. The next day, a woman saw two men get out of a car and drop a plastic storage bin containing 8 baby alligators outside her home on the corner of Soraparu and Rousseau Streets in the Irish Chanel.

Every Thursday, NoDef brings you crime reported to NOPD-- all in one place. In this week's list of lawlessness, thieves stocked up on children's supplies, and police had a shootout with a man with an assault rifle but came away unscathed.

Late last month, a masked marauder went into the new Subway at 2500 St. Claude Ave. and jumped the counter. A staffer ran out of the way as the man leapt, and fled to the back of the joint as the man ripped the cash drawer out of the register. With stocking still over his face, the man fled onto St. Claude. Click through to view the brazen attack on these helpless hoagie handlers as it unfolded.

With the summer approaching, air conditioners were the hot item on the crime log this week, proving once again that thieves need to cool off, too. Another victim learned that leaving your trailer at a truck stop is risky business, especially when there's a red tractor around. Crescent City Crime Bits has the full lineup of lawlessness.

Carver High School leaves an indelible mark for all who pass through the Lower 9th Ward institution's doors. Apparently, that's even true for criminals. Three males (pictured) are wanted for breaking into the high school's portable buildings on three separate occassions. They took computers and electrical equipment, police said. The burglaries, which were accessorized with a smashed window, were on Sept. 6, and Oct. 6 and 8. Third time might be a charm, but, note to the first guy in the picture: It's dangerous to talk on your cell phone while stealing stuff. The cameras might be watching.

Uptown boutique Jean Therapy looks to provide a retail remedy through its countless brands of designer denim. But one employee looks to have started in on a healing regimen that she just couldn't stop. Detectives discovered hundreds of pairs designer jeans that were missing from the Magazine St. shop during a drug raid on the house of Untrell Nichols' house this weekend.

Over the last month, there's a significant spike in crime and armed robberies in particular in the Marigny Triangle. As can be expected in an area with a heavy nightlife contingent, thieves have been targeting people walking to their cars from Frenchmen St. But the crimes haven't all been cut from the same cast.

Two weeks ago, Max Braun who was in the process of moving to the area from Atlanta was robbed almost as soon as he got out of his car.

Sneaking onto the golf course at night is an age-old tradition. But, typically, the goal in escaping is to cover your tracks. The thieves who stole a 500-pound granite hole marker from the City Park fairways didn't even bother to fill in the ditch that held the Bible-sized bulwark, WGNO reports. Still, some credit is due. Park staff are still unsure how the burglars got onto the course, or how they carted the giant stone tablet away. Maybe they had some help from the coyote. Full story here.

Saints linebacker Stanley Arnoux had a tearful reunion with his Super Bowl ring this week after more than two weeks of separation from the symbol of pigskin superiority. The hoop of heroes was allegedly stolen Memorial Day weekend when Arnoux left it in his car, which was ransacked by a hotel valet. The ring is valued at $30,000, but was sold to a pawn shop for $1,200.

In the city's eye, there's apparently a distinction between fighting the blight and carting it off in the back of a pickup truck. Two men were arrested Wednesday for allegedly stealing metal an abandoned city incinerator in Algiers, police said. Kalvin M. Lee, 36, and Henry J. Buck, 29, would frequent the the building, near the corner of Hendee Rd. and Gen. De Gaulle Dr., and take portions of it away in the back of their yellow Dodge truck on each visit. In addition to the duo's goldmine, the building was also used as a squat by homeless people.