New Orleans police are trying to identify and arrest at least three suspects accused of burglarizing multiple cars in the same Lakeview block the same night, then racing across town to spend stolen bank cards at a Central Business District convenience store before the sun came up. The break-ins happened a little after midnight on September 21 in the 6900 block of Argonne Boulevard, according to police.
Security camera footage released by investigators shows two men walking through the area, trailed by a silver Jeep described as a getaway car, according to a report from WGNO. Police have not said what model the Jeep is, leaving that detail as one of the case's open questions. The outlet's Wheel of Justice segment, anchored by journalist Curt Sprang, is built specifically around partnering with local law enforcement and Crimestoppers to crack cases like this one.
Investigators say the thieves stole multiple bank cards from the burglarized vehicles and then used them to make purchases less than an hour later at Brother's Mart, on the 100 block of Carondelet Street downtown. NOPD released separate security video from inside that store showing at least two of the suspects, per the same account. The straight-line distance between the two locations is roughly 5 to 6 miles, cutting from Lakeview's residential blocks into the downtown commercial core, according to New Orleans zoning records — a jump investigators say took place in under an hour, suggesting the crew moved fast along main arterial roads or the interstate.
A Familiar Pattern Across NOPD's Third District
The Argonne Boulevard burglary site sits inside NOPD's Third District, a 15-square-mile patrol area covering Lakeview, Gentilly, Filmore, and West End, according to a Metropolitan Crime Commission crime bulletin. Lakeview also funds its own supplemental patrols through the Lakeview Crime Prevention District, which pays for off-duty NOPD officers to add extra visibility on top of standard Third District coverage, according to a 2022 community engagement report from the City of New Orleans.
The case fits a pattern the Metropolitan Crime Commission flagged back in 2023: thieves increasingly target unlocked cars and vehicle cabins specifically to grab financial items, weapons, or tools they can use for follow-on commercial or financial crimes, the commission found. Stolen cards and credentials often get monetized within hours, before victims even realize their vehicle was hit. Citywide, the commission's more recent data published in September 2026 shows major violent crime falling substantially since 2022, even as property and vehicle-related offenses stay a persistent headache for patrol districts across the city.
Two Sets of Felony Charges Await Suspects
Whoever is eventually caught faces more than one criminal statute. Simple burglary of a vehicle under Louisiana Revised Statute 14:62 covers the unauthorized entry of any vehicle with intent to commit a felony or theft inside, and a conviction can bring a fine up to $2,000 and up to 12 years of imprisonment with or without hard labor, according to legal guidance published by the New Orleans Criminal Defense firm. Separately, using the stolen cards to buy goods constitutes access device fraud under R.S. 14:70.4, with penalties that scale according to the value of what was fraudulently obtained, per a guide from Traffic Tickets NOLA.
If any suspect turns out to be 17, Louisiana law no longer sends them to juvenile court. The state repealed its 2019 “Raise the Age” law in 2024, meaning 17-year-olds facing felony charges are now automatically prosecuted as adults, a shift Hoodline detailed in coverage of a separate Uptown burglary case earlier this month.
Tips Can Be Anonymous, With Cash on the Table
Anyone with information can call Crimestoppers of Greater New Orleans at 504-822-1111 or submit a tip through crimestoppersgno.org. Tipsters don't have to give their names or testify in court, and they could be eligible for a cash reward. The organization says it has helped solve more than 17,700 felony crimes and paid out over $2.55 million in rewards across nine parishes since it was founded.
The Wheel of Justice segment that surfaced this case has its own track record: more than 500 people have been booked as a result of tips generated through the series, which pairs local law enforcement with Crimestoppers to spotlight unsolved crimes. For now, the silver Jeep's exact make and model remain unidentified, and whether the Brother's Mart footage generates a usable tip is still an open question for investigators.
