Two more armed robberies have been reported this week, continuing a rash of the crimes in various Uptown neighborhoods over the last two weeks.
About 10:30 p.m. Monday, a man approached pedestrians near Maple and Lowerline streets with a silver semiautomatic handgun and demanded their wallets, police said. Once they turned the wallet over, he left in the direction of St. Charles Avenue.
Around 9 p.m. Wednesday, two people walking their dog in the 1200 block of Upperline were approached by a man armed with a nickel-plated semiautomatic handgun who demanded their money, police said. The victims replied that they had no money because they were walking the dogs, so the robber patted them down, then left on foot.
The suspect in Wednesday’s case is described as 5-foot-9 black man in his 30s, weighing about 185 pounds and wearing a white sweater with a cross pattern, a black hat, black pants and a scar on the left side of his face.
Meanwhile, police are also investigating a series of unarmed robberies closer to the Lower Garden District and Central City.
– A woman was sitting at the Avenue Cafe on St. Charles Avenue earlier this week near a group of four men, said Sgt. Sandra Contreras of the NOPD Sixth District persons-crime division. One of the men asked for a cigarette, and she gave it to him, and then a second man asked for a cigarette as well, Contreras said. When she reached to give it to him, one of the others grabbed her purse and all four ran off, Contreras said. The purse was later found near St. Andrew and Baronne with all its contents intact except a digital camera.
Based on the description of the suspects, that case is likely connected to two previous robberies on Simon Bolivar Avenue, Contreras said. Two weeks ago, a Marigny resident riding his bicycle to a comedy club on Freret Street was pushed off his bicycle by two young men, Contreras said. One claimed to have a gun, but the victim fought them off, got back on his bicycle and got away, losing only his jacket. Last week, near that same location, a group of young men grabbed a passerby, pushed him into an alley and stole his backpack from him.
– In a separate case, a young man walking near Louisiana and Chippewa in the Irish Channel about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 30, was grabbed from behind by a man who put him in a choke hold. Two accomplices went through his pockets, took $40 in cash, and then all three left, police said. Contreras said the suspects in that case fit the descriptions of two previous cases in the 3000 block of Third Street and the 2500 block of St. Andrew.
The first suspect is described as 5-foot-10 dark-skinned black man in his early 20s with a medium build with a thick beard, a square diamond stud in his left ear, a tattoo on his right forearm, wearing a white long-sleeved thermal shirt and black pants with a red bandana around his right hand. The second suspect was about the same height, but thinner and with a goatee and lighter skin tone, wearing a black stocking cap, a red bandana on his neck and silver dog tags.
Anyone with information in these cases should call CrimeStoppers at 822-1111. Information that leads to arrests is eligible for cash rewards, even if you do not give your name.
It is upsetting to hear of this. Especially the one on Upperline as that is only a few blocks from our house.