Victim of robbery near Earhart beaten with pipe for RTA card; woman robbed at gunpoint on South Derbigny

A man in his 50s was beaten in the head with a pipe by an assailant who took his RTA card near Earhart Boulevard on Wednesday afternoon, and a woman was robbed at gunpoint on South Derbigny Street overnight, New Orleans police said.

Around 4:15 p.m. Wednesday, July 20, a man in his late 50s got into a “physical altercation” with 36-year-old Tamarcus Barber, according to the initial NOPD report. Barber hit the victim in the head with a pipe, then reached into his pocket and took his RTA card before leaving, the report states. Barber was arrested later on an armed-robbery charge, the report states.

Around 2:15 a.m. Thursday, a woman in her 20s was in the 2800 block of South Derbigny Street (near Toledano Street) when she was confronted by a man armed with a gun, according to the report in that case. He forced her to give him her belongings, then left, the report states.

Further details were not immediately available. Anyone with information is urged to call the NOPD Sixth District station at 658-6060 to speak to a detective, or CrimeStoppers at 822-1111 to leave an anonymous tip that could be eligible for a cash reward.