Businesses step up security after armed robbery

Her business is directly across the street from Monkey Hill Bar, where three men with gloves and guns came inside and robbed the business.

U.S. Attorney Kenneth Polite says the similarities between the three armed robberies are sufficient enough to warrant additional federal resources, and if it’s determined that they were committed by the same people, it will become a federal prosecution.

Darlene Cusanza of the local Crimestoppers organization said the reward for information leading to solutions in the robberies totals $30,000. There were six people inside, and the gunmen took money from the register and from upstairs offices, as well as the bar patrons’ wallets, Harrison said.

“These individuals made the choice to terrorize our city”. Once they are solved, if they are appropriate for federal charges, he will pursue those as well, he said.

“We are not ready to connect all three incidents”, police chief Michael Harrison said at the news conference where Mayor Mitch Landrieu, Polite and several City Council members lined up to decry the robberies.

In the meantime, Guidry urged residents to follow the police recommendations for vigilance – watching their surroundings when they are outside instead of looking at phones, for example.

All of these armed robberies have been during business hours, and remain unsolved. Patois restaurant was robbed on August. 20, and gunmen hit Atchafalaya Restaurant last week.

“We thought this was the right area”, the 26-year-old Shreveport native said while walking his dog past Magazine and Webster streets.

A day earlier, Landrieu and Harrison had touted the arrest of a teenager suspected in five recent armed robberies.

Despite the well-publicized shortage of officers in NOPD’s ranks, city leaders stressed that police and federal partners are equipped to stop the recent wave of violence.