NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) – New Orleans police say two 16-year-old boys and another suspect were behind two armed robberies and one attempted armed robbery Thursday night in the Uptown area. All three crimes happened within an hour and a half of each other.
The NOPD says the attempted robbery happened around 9:30 p.m. when a woman was getting into her car in the 2700 block of Palmer Avenue. Police say three men walked up to her car and began pulling on the door handles. The victim told police she immediately drove off and escaped.
About an hour later at 10:40 p.m., a woman was walking into her home in the 900 block of Cadiz Street when three men approached her from behind and demanded her car keys. According to police, the victim refused, but one suspect pushed her to the ground and kicked her in the stomach. Police say that suspect also had a gun. The suspects then grabbed the victim’s purse, an iPhone and her car keys.
Fifteen minutes later, a couple told police there were standing at the intersection of St. Andrew Street and Prytania Street when three men approached them and demanded their wallets and keys. The victim told police that the suspects ordered them to the ground. The suspects then stole a purse, iPhone and a set of car keys.
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NOPD officers were able to track down one of the stolen vehicles at the intersection of Sixth Street and Carondelet Street. Police say all three suspects were inside the car and tried to escape. Two of them were caught.
Investigators found a semi-automatic handgun and stolen property from both armed robberies. The two teen suspects were charged with two counts of armed robbery, one count of attempted armed robbery and possession of a firearm by a juvenile.
Detectives are looking into if the suspects are responsible for a string of recent Uptown armed robberies reported over the past few weeks.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crimestoppers at 822-1111 or toll-free 1-877-903-STOP.