(map via NOPD)
The robbery took place shortly after 9:30 p.m. Friday, July 13, in the 5600 block of Annunciation Street (near Joseph Street), according to NOPD reports. The victim was unloading her Chevrolet Suburban when she was suddenly confronted by a man in a red hooded jacket who was holding what appeared to be a gun, and he demanded her purse and forced her to the ground, said NOPD Sgt. Perrin Gaines during the Second District’s weekly review of major crimes.
The robber took the keys to the Suburban and drove off, but he then parked the vehicle a few blocks away near State and Laurel street and took off on foot, Gaines said. A deputy with the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office who was working an off-duty assignment briefly saw the suspect near the intersection, but did not have a radio to dispatch, and could not stop him or get backup in the area quickly enough to apprehend him, Gaines said.
“By the time he was able to get everything through to the operator, the suspect was gone,” Gaines said.
With the suspect’s track through the neighborhood fairly well established, investigators were hopeful that they would be able to find video that showed him clearly. Neither the victim nor the deputy was able to give police a detailed description of him, Gaines said.
“There has been massive search for video in that area, and so far there has been negative results,” Gaines said.
The private video cameras nearby that police have seen have not yielded anything useful, Gaines said. Investigators were planning on revisiting the area Tuesday afternoon to look for more cameras and try to speak again with residents who thought their footage might not have been useful.
Anyone who knows of a video camera in the area that may have footage from the incident — or of the suspect heading to the crime scene or leaving it — is urged to call the NOPD Second District station at 658-6020 to speak to a detective. Call CrimeStoppers at 822-1111 to leave an anonymous tip that could be eligible for a cash reward.
