Two arrested after officers interrupt armed robbery in progress, police say

Two people were arrested overnight when officers interrupted an armed robbery in progress on Oleander Street, New Orleans police said Friday morning.

A 911 caller told dispatchers around 2:40 a.m. Friday, March 31, that her friend was being robbed in the 8300 block of Oleander Street (between Dante and Cambronne), according to the NOPD report on the case.

NOPD Second District Officers John Castelin and Justin Orlansky arrived to see a man later identified as 21-year-old Angelo Holmes and a teenager standing over another man inside an apartment. The assailants tried to escape, but the officers stopped them and arrested them, the report states.

The victim told police he knew Holmes and the teen, and when they arrived at his apartment, the teen had a knife and Holmes had a gun, according to the report.

“Holmes then struck the victim in the head with the firearm and both perpetrators began to beat the victim with chairs as they demanded money from him,” the victim told police, according to the report. “Holmes grabbed the victim’s debit card and the two suspects fled the location.”

Police found that the juvenile had a brown-handled knife and Holmes had the victim’s debit card, but they did not find a gun, according to the report. The victim was taken to the hospital “with what appeared to be non-life threatening wounds,” the report states.

Anyone with additional information is urged to call the NOPD Second District station at 658-6020 to speak to a detective, or CrimeStoppers at 822-1111 to leave an anonymous tip that could be eligible for a cash reward.