A Jefferson Parish jury on Tuesday (May 14) found Bobby Johnson guilty of robbing and kidnapping a woman who advocates for feral felines.

Johnson, 45, of Metairie, was convicted of first-degree robbery and simple kidnapping but was acquitted of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. At the time he committed these crimes, Johnson was on parole for committing an armed robbery in 1996.

About 12:20 a.m., on Nov. 18, 2016, the victim, now 64, parked her sports-utility vehicle behind businesses on Airline Drive near David Drive and was leaning over the back seat to fill bowls with cat food when Johnson approached and demanded cash, she testified. “He put a gun to the side of my face,” she testified. “He kept saying ‘Don’t look at me. Don’t look at me.’”

She had no cash so she offered him her ATM card in hopes he’d leave. Instead, he bound her hands with a black cloth belt, forced her into her SUV and drove her to a nearby bank. Unsuccessful at withdrawing cash there, he drove her to a second bank. Striking out there, he drove her to the Walmart in Kenner in attempt to get cash back on a small purchase. It was there that she escaped, ran into the store and screamed for help, causing Johnson to flee. The pistol was never recovered.

Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office Robbery Detective Marc Macaluso obtained surveillance images of Johnson committing the crimes and distributed them to law enforcement agencies in hopes of identifying him. Johnson’s parole officer, Patrick O’Brien, recognized and identified him, according to trial testimony.

The victim later identified Johnson in a photographic lineup. JPSO forensic DNA analyst Dr. Marcela Zozaya testified that a combination of Johnson’s and the victim’s genetic material was found on the cloth belt used to bind the victims hands.

At trial Tuesday, Johnson testified that he was a drug dealer on the street that morning to make a narcotics transaction. He testified that the victim pulled up in her SUV asking if she could purchase crack cocaine. He provided a sample, which made her intoxicated and left her unable to drive, he testified. So he drove her to attempt to get cash to pay for more crack, he asserted.

Both the victim and her husband of 24 years testified that she has never used illegal narcotics.

The jury deliberated about 1 ½ hours. Judge Scott Schlegel of the 24^th Judicial District Court set sentencing for May 23.

UPDATE: Judge Schlegel on May 23 sentenced Johnson to 40 years in prison for first-degree robbery and five years for the simple kidnapping. He ran the sentences concurrently, for a total of 40 years in prison. Johnson is due back in Judge Schlegel’s court on July 8 for a multiple bill hearing.

Assistant District Attorneys Zachary Popovich and Tucker Wimberly prosecuted the case.

A Jefferson Parish judge on Friday (Nov. 20) sentenced a former Metairie resident to 30 years in prison for his role in the armed robbery of an Airline Drive pawn shop last year.

Edgard Rivas, 27, was convicted by a Jefferson Parish jury last month of two counts of first-degree robbery in connection with the crime that occurred on the evening of Jan. 7, 2017. Two of Rivas’ roommates, Mario Geovani and Carlos Ramos, previously pleaded guilty as charged to armed robbery counts.

Geovani and Ramos were armed with an AR-15 rifle and a semiautomatic pistol, while Rivas carried a hammer which he used to break glass display cases to steal jewelry, according to testimony. Two of the robbers wore Jason character masks from the “Friday the 13th” movies.

Rivas stood trial on charges of armed robbery, but the jury deliberated about two hours before returning with the lesser verdicts of first-degree robbery. Judge Conn Regan of the 24^th Judicial District Court sentenced Rivas to 30 years for each of the two counts and ran them concurrently, reasoning that he disagreed with the jury.

“It’s not often the court disagrees with a jury,” Judge Regan said. “However, in this particular case, the court feels the state proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Sitting in the courtroom, the victims declined to give impact testimony. Rivas gave a statement, apologizing to the victims but maintaining his innocence.

Ramos, 21, and Geovani, 22, previously pleaded guilty to armed robbery counts. Ramos received a 20-year sentence and Geovani was sentenced to 26 years.

Assistant District Attorneys Blair Constant and Lynn Schiffman prosecuted Rivas.

Separately, Edward West, 31, of Harvey, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for his armed robbery convictions and for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.

West was convicted of robbing two women of their purses, moments apart in neighboring business parking lots in the 1500 block of Manhattan Boulevard on Nov. 18, 2016.

His first victim was a 31-year-old woman who was putting her newly purchased items in her car when she was assailed. West then ran across that parking lot to rob a 78-year-old woman of her purse. Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested him shortly after in a nearby apartment.

Judge Lee Faulkner of the 24^th Judicial District Court handed down the sentences on Nov. 8. A multiple bill hearing for West is set for Jan. 10.

Assistant District Attorneys Seth Shute and Emily Booth prosecuted West.

 

Jefferson Parish juries on Thursday evening (Oct. 25) returned guilty verdicts in two unrelated robberies, one involving a Harvey man who accosted two women in business parking lots and the other involving a Metairie man who helped in a pawn shop heist.

Armed purse snatchings

In the West Bank crime, Edward West, 31, of Harvey, was convicted of two counts of armed robbery, for robbing women in back-to-back crimes outside neighboring businesses in the 1500 block of Manhattan Boulevard in Harvey. West also was found guilty of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.

On the evening of Nov. 19, 2016, West, armed with a .38-caliber revolver, assailed a 31-year-old woman as she left a discount store. The woman was returning to her vehicle after shopping when West approached, brandished the pistol and robbed her, according to trial testimony.

West then ran through the parking lot to an adjacent business and robbed a 78-year-old woman of her purse as she and her daughter finished shopping at a nearby business, according to testimony.

As West robbed the second woman, Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office Deputy Henry Dejean was in the area as part of a pro-active holiday police presence along the Manhattan Boulevard business corridor as the first victim was calling 911, according to testimony. As such, he was on the scene within seconds of the second robbery taking place.

Witnesses to the second robbery directed Deputy Dejean’s attention to West, who at this point was running across Manhattan Boulevard to behind an automotive repair business at Ute Street. Deputy Dejean pursued and helped locate and arrest West inside an apartment in the 1600 block of Ute Street.

The jury deliberated more than three hours in convicting West as charged of two counts of armed robbery and for being a felon with a firearm. Judge Lee Faulkner of the 24^th Judicial District Court set West’s sentencing for Nov. 8.

Assistant District Attorneys Seth Shute and Emily Booth prosecuted West.

Pawn shop heist

Meanwhile, in Judge Conn Regan’s court, Edgard Rivas, 27, of Metairie, was convicted of first-degree robbery for his role in the Jan. 7, 2017, robbery of a pawn shop in the 7900 block of Airline Drive.

Rivas and two of his roommates, Mario Gevani and Carlos Ramos, entered the business on that evening, all concealing their faces, according to testimony. Two of the robbers wore Jason character masks from the “Friday the 13th” movie series, according to testimony.

Geovani and Ramos were armed with an AR-15 rifle and a semiautomatic pistol, while Rivas was armed with a hammer that he used to break the glass display cases to take jewelry, according to testimony. The trio escaped with cash, jewelry and a man’s wallet, according to testimony.

The following month, on Feb. 7, 2017, members of the Sheriff’s Office’s Project STAR team were conducting a narcotics investigation of Rivas and went to his Trenton Street apartment, according to testimony.

Project STAR deputies seized narcotics and noticed a Jason mask in the trio’s apartment. Robbery Detective Anthony Buttone, who was investigating a string of robberies in which robber wore a Jason mask, obtained a search warrant for the trio’s apartment. He discovered clothing matching that worn in the pawn shop robbery, leading him to question the trio and to obtain confessions, according to testimony.

Ramos, 21, and Geovani, 22, previously pleaded guilty to armed robbery counts, with Judge Regan sentencing Ramos to 20 years in prison and Geovani to 26 years in prison.

The jury deliberated over two hours in finding Rivas, who wielded a hammer during the pawn shop robbery, guilty of the responsive verdict of first-degree robbery. Judge Regan is scheduled to sentence Rivas on Nov. 26.

Assistant District Attorneys Blair Constant and Lynn Schiffman prosecuted Rivas.

With jury selection underway, a Marrero man cut short his trial Tuesday (March 6) and pleaded guilty as charged to robbing a man he met through a social media dating application.

Randell Mason, 27, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for robbing a 21-year-old New Orleans man of his car just before 2 a.m., on March 17, 2016. He also pleaded guilty to being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, for which he received a 15-year sentence.

Using the name “Aaron,” Mason met the victim days prior to the crime through the Badoo dating app, according to the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office. They exchanged cell phone numbers and communicated through text messages, eventually agreeing to meet in the 5000 block of Mount Rushmore Drive, according to the Sheriff’s Office incident report.

There, Mason got into the victim’s 2013 Chrysler 200C. They traveled to the 5000 block of Grenoble Court, in Marrero, where the victim believed Mason’s aunt lived. As they walked through an alley, Mason brandished a semiautomatic pistol and ordered the victim to give up the car keys. The victim complied, and Mason drove away.

Within hours, detectives identified Mason as the suspect through his photograph on the Badoo app. The U.S. Marshals Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force located and arrested Mason on April 9, 2016, in an apartment in the 5000 block of Mount Rushmore Drive.

When confronted with the Badoo account, Mason asserted someone created the fraudulent site by stealing his photograph from social media. He eventually said he planned to meet the victim for a sexual encounter but found the victim to be unattractive and began yelling at him.

The victim, Mason asserted, felt intimidated and simply gave him the keys to his car. He said drove home in the victim’s car and then he gave it to “a crack head” on Mount Rushmore. He also said the cell phone with which he communicated with the victim belonged to the same “crack head.” He also denied having a firearm during the encounter.

Jury selection began Tuesday morning. With prospective jurors selected and the victim waiting to testify against him, Mason offered to plead guilty to the two charges. He also pleaded guilty to being a double offender because of a prior carjacking conviction.

Judge Conn Regan of the 24^th Judicial District Court accepted the plea and ran Mason’s sentences concurrently, for a total of 15 years..

Assistant District Attorneys Lynn Schiffman and Zachary Popovich prosecuted the case.