NEW ORLEANS – The NOPD has arrested a second suspect in a brutal second degree robbery last weekend that left two tourists hospitalized.
Joshua Simmons has been arrested for the attack, which occurred in the 200 block of Bienville Street about 9 p.m. Saturday.
#NOPD has arrested Joshua Simmons as suspect in the Sat. night robbery on Bienville Street. Dejuan Paul was arrested yesterday. #NOPDResults pic.twitter.com/pLFGgmiA2y
— NOPD (@NOPDNews) June 27, 2017
Police believe Simmons and Dejuan Paul, who turned himself in yesterday, are two of the four men who attacked the two victims, who were in town for a Unitarian Universalist Association conference.
A graphic surveillance video captured the attack, and NOPD Supt. Michael Harrison said the video has proven to be the key to solving the crime.
“These people committed this crime out of the eyes of the police,” Harrison said. “There were nearly 50 police officers working in this area that night, but they did not commit this crime out of the eyes of the community. It was caught on camera. There are multiple cameras that caught this incident.”
Harrison said detectives have identified the other three suspects in the robbery, but police declined to release their names. He urged them to come forward and turn themselves in.
“It’s just a matter of time before we put this case together in its entirety,” Harrison said. “If I were you, I would follow my friend’s lead, and you should turn yourselves in as well … You do not want us to come get you.”