A man walking in the 900 block of Mehle Street in Arabi was approached by two masked individuals who demanded his cellphone and wallet late Monday, and when he refused to hand them over, a struggle broke out that left him injured. He managed to reach a nearby business for help, and the two suspects fled on foot without getting away with anything.
According to the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff's Office, deputies responded Monday after receiving a report of an injured man seeking help at a business in the 6700 block of St. Claude Avenue. A business employee had contacted the sheriff's office once the victim reached their doors. The victim was then transported to a local hospital for treatment of his injuries.
Sheriff James Pohlmann said his office is now searching for the two suspects, and detectives with the Criminal Investigations Bureau are working to identify and locate them. That bureau is investigating the incident from a facility located at 6501 St. Claude Avenue in Arabi, just blocks from where the injured victim sought help, according to the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff's Office.
A Border Corridor Between Two Parishes
The 900 block of Mehle Street and the 6700 block of St. Claude Avenue sit near the parish line separating St. Bernard Parish from New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward, per Wikipedia. St. Claude Avenue serves as a major thoroughfare linking Orleans and St. Bernard parishes, putting the scene of Monday's struggle just steps from that inter-parish boundary. The corridor has also seen recent public investment: St. Bernard Parish completed Phase 2 of its CDBG-funded Old Arabi Streetscape Improvements project along St. Claude Avenue, adding pedestrian sidewalks, street lighting, bioswales, and a parking area between Mehle Street and Tenebrach Street, according to the St. Bernard Parish Government.
Exactly what the two masked individuals used to threaten or subdue the victim during the struggle has not been detailed publicly, nor have detailed physical descriptions of the fleeing suspects been released. Those remain open questions in an investigation still in its early hours.
Stiff Penalties Await If Suspects Are Caught
Louisiana law treats attempted armed robbery as a serious felony. Under La. R.S. 14:64 and 14:27, the offense is punishable by up to 49.5 years in prison at hard labor without the benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence, according to FindLaw. If a firearm is proven to have been used during the encounter, Louisiana Revised Statute 14:64.3 imposes an additional mandatory five-year consecutive prison sentence, served without parole or probation, on top of any other sentence.
Sheriff Pohlmann has led the parish's law enforcement agency since taking office in July 2012, after first being elected in November 2011 and then winning re-election without opposition in 2015, 2019, and 2023, per the sheriff's office's own biography. His Criminal Investigations Bureau has handled several notable cases in Arabi in recent months, including a March business burglary in the 7200 block of North Peters Street in which a $7,500 painting titled “Dueling Oak New Orleans City Park” was stolen alongside storefront vandalism, and a February investigation in nearby Violet that led to two arrests and a search for three more suspects in the fatal shooting of a 17-year-old boy, as reported by WWL-TV.
How to Report a Tip
Witnesses can report information to the Criminal Investigations Bureau tip hotline at (504) 271-TIPS (8477) or by calling the sheriff's office directly at (504) 271-2501. Callers can remain anonymous, and those who provide information through Crimestoppers of Greater New Orleans could be eligible for a cash award of up to $1,000 if their tip leads to a felony arrest.
Arabi is an unincorporated community of roughly 4,620 residents that functions as St. Bernard Parish's primary urban border community with New Orleans, having grown by more than 9% since 2020, according to the World Population Review. No arrests have been announced in connection with Monday's attempted robbery as of this writing, and the investigation remains active.
