A man wearing the distinctive pants of a restaurant chef threatened to rob a Magazine Street business last week, but instead simply walked around inside and then left, and investigators are now hoping the public can help locate him, New Orleans police said.
The man walked up the driveway of a business in the 4800 block of Magazine (near Bordeaux Street) around 7:30 a.m. Wednesday and told employees there that he was about to “do what he do,” then told them he was going to rob the safe, said NOPD Sgt. Perrin Gaines. Those employees fled, and the man entered the business, where another worker inside saw him walk around and enter the bathroom, then leave without taking anything or trying to rob anyone, Gaines said.
(image via NOPD)
He was described as a 6-foot tall black man in his mid-20s wearing the striped pants of a restaurant chef, Gaines said. He may have taken the Magazine Street bus that passed around the same time, but investigators have yet to find surveillance video that confirms that, Gaines said.
Officers are now visiting other nearby Magazine Street businesses to determine whether the man may have stopped in or said anything to them, but so far have not been able to identify him, Gaines said.
“Unfortunately for that area, there’s a lot of chefs in that area,” Gaines said.
Anyone with information is urged to call the NOPD Second District station at 658-6020 to speak to Detective Amanda Lanning, or CrimeStoppers at 822-1111 to leave an anonymous tip that could be eligible for a cash reward.
