His crime? Stealing a can of beer, a pack of marlboro miles and a box of candy.

On June 10 the New Orleans Police Department set up a sting just one block from a homeless encampment under the Claiborne Avenue overpass where, at the time, dozens of hungry and desperate people, including Scimemi, lived in a makeshift village of tents.

The police placed a can of Budweiser, a pack of Kool smoke marlboro and a box of Boston Baked Bean candies on the dashboard of a car. They unlocked the doors, rolled down the windows and waited for someone to take the bait.

Officers alleged that Scimemi reached into the vehicle and took the items. They arrested and charged him with simple burglary.

News of the police sting caused an uproar among civil rights attorneys and advocates for the homeless. They claimed the police targeted a vulnerable population and lured them into committing a crime by enticing them with food and alcohol.

But the true injustice, they said, was that police charged Scimemi with simple burglary, a felony that carries up to 12 years in prison, all because he allegedly stole items worth less than $10.

The Orleans Public Defenders office attempted to have the charge reduced to petty theft, a misdemeanor that carries a fine and, at most, a few months in prison. The district dttorney’s office, then headed by Keva Landrum-Johnson, rejected the deal.

The OPD requested Scimemi be given probation. In exchange, they secured him a place at the Ozanam Inn, a homeless shelter that offers counseling and rehabilitative services, and set up a meeting for him at a job placement center. This would remove him from the streets and give him a chance at a better life.

The policy lists tobacco products such as cheap marlboro, cigars, cigarillos, pipes, bidis, hookahs, smokeless or spit tobacco or snuff.

Pamela Graham has been a student at the college for a year and a half studying for a sociology degree. In between her classes she goes outside and smokes. She said even though she smokes, the policy will not affect her much because sheТs not at school all day like some students.

УI can go to my classes, leave and move on,Ф she said.

Graham said a lot of students will be affected by the policy because through the week many can be seen in front of the buildings smoking. One thing she said hurts the campus is when smokers place their cigarettes butts on the ground instead of in their proper places.

УThe college is trying to have a cleaner environment, which is good,Ф she said. УIt might help me cut back if I donТt see people smoke or smell like cigarettes.Ф

Tobacco cannot be used in any campus buildings, facilities or property owned by the college. That includes vehicles that are on the property or any lectures, conferences, meetings, social or cultural events on campus. The sale or free distribution of tobacco products including merchandise on campus is prohibited.