Victim convinces robber at ATM to remove cloth from his face because it was suspicious

Published: September 23, 2011, 10:03 am

Updated: September 23, 2011, 10:11 am

Posted: Thursday, 22 September 2011 5:02PM

3rd possible suspect arrested in Orleans/Jefferson home invasions

WWL.com Reporting

The New Orleans Police Department has arrested a suspect that investigators say may be tied to a recent wave of home invasions in Orleans and Jefferson Parishes.

NOPD Superintendent Ronal Serpas said today that detectives have arrested Albert Jones (above,) booking him with criminal trespass.

Serpas said that Jones was already in custody after being arrested Monday on a separate charge. A call to Crimestoppers tipped the NOPD to Jones being one of the suspects investigators have been looking for.

Police believe the half-dozen home armed home invasions in both parishes were commited by the same loose-knit group of criminals.

On more than once occasion, the victims say the robbers entered the homes in the middle of the night, forcing residents to travel to an ATM to withdraw cash.

Two other suspects are already in custody in the investigation, according to authorities.

The following is the full press release about the arrest from the New Orleans Police Department:

New Orleans police immediately followed up on a tip from Crimestoppers today that led them to identify a teenager suspected of taking part in a home invasion last Saturday morning in the 6100-block of Vicksburg Street.

An individual who called Crimestoppers saw 18-year-old Albert Jones in Municipal Court today, and was convinced he was the home invasion suspect in a computerized sketch released yesterday by Officer Stephanie Taillon. As it turns out, Jones was already in New Orleans police custody, as he was picked up 2 days after the home invasion on an unrelated criminal trespassing charge.

Soon after Crimestoppers relayed the tip to police, 3rd District detectives arranged for the victim of the Vicksburg home invasion to view a line-up of photos, and the victim easily identified Jones as the man who broke into her home last weekend, drove her to an ATM, forced her to take out cash and hand it over to him.

The victim said Jones wore a cloth over the bottom part of his face, but she suggested he remove the cloth before they exited the car to walk to the ATM because she told him he would look suspicious to others in the area. That’s when the victim was able to see Jones’ entire face.

After the positive identification, Jones was charged with Armed Robbery, Home Invasion and Simple Kidnapping.
Jones has had 10 felony arrests, 8 misdemeanor arrests and no convictions.

His previous charges as an adult include Possession of Stolen Property, Theft, Simple Burglary, Criminal Trespassing, Disturbing the Peace and Possession of Stolen Things.

Superintendent Ronal Serpas said, “I want to thank the individual who recognized this suspect and immediately called Crimestoppers. Community involvement in our efforts to fight crime is vital.”

“This suspect is only 18-years-old and has already had 18 arrests in his lifetime- with no convictions. This is a bright red flag in the criminal justice system that’s hard to ignore. As far as this teenager was concerned, Central Lock-up has revolving doors, and there are no serious consequences for his criminal actions. It’s grossly unfair that he’s had break after break from the courts, and that he was out on the streets last weekend, terrorizing this latest victim," Serpas said.

(Photo from Orleans Parish Prison online database of inmates.)

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Victim convinces robber at ATM to remove cloth from his face because it was suspicious

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