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A 14-year-old male juvenile was arrested in connection to several robberies that occurred in downtown New Orleans and on St. Ann Street in the French Quarter in November and December, according to New Orleans Police on Tuesday.

The first incident occurred Nov. 24, shortly after 7:30 a.m. in the 600 block of St. Ann Street where the juvenile, who wasn’t identified because of his age, held a victim at gunpoint while an adult accomplice, identified as 23-year-old Joseph Ruffin, took their wallet and other personal items, according to New Orleans Police.

Ruffin was later arrested that same day and booked into Orleans Parish Justice Center on suspicion of illegal possession of stolen things, possession of marijuana, possession of counterfeit cocaine and two armed robbery-related charges, records show.

The second incident occurred later that day, on Nov. 24, when the juvenile allegedly followed a female victim into a parking garage in the 900 block of Girod Street.

The juvenile implied he had a gun by holding his hand in his jacket pocket and demanded property from the victim, who surrendered her keys and purse, according to New Orleans Police, adding the juvenile fled the scene in the victim’s vehicle.

A third robbery incident occurred on Dec. 4 around 9 a.m. when a 78-year-old female victim was walking in the parking garage in the 400 block of O’Keefe Street where she noticed the juvenile was allegedly following her.

The victim was able to get into her vehicle and exited the garage before interacting with the suspect, according to New Orleans Police.

Then, in a separate incident, the male juvenile entered a stairwell of the parking garage where he allegedly encountered another female victim, grabbed her hair and demanded her car keys.

The male juvenile allegedly took the victim’s purse and emptied its contents before assaulting her, causing her to fall. The juvenile kicked the victim while she laid on the ground, according to New Orleans Police.

After exiting the stairwell, the male juvenile saw the first victim standing outside her vehicle and attempting to pay to get out of the lot.

The juvenile pulled the victim away from her vehicle and drove off with it, breaking the control arm as he sped away, according to New Orleans Police.

New Orleans Police later located the vehicle at a motel in the Seventh District, where the male juvenile was found and apprehended. He was allegedly still in possession of the keys to the stolen vehicle.

Officers conducted a search warrant of room at the location, where evidence of each incident was recovered, according to New Orleans Police.

The Quarter Report!

Two New Orleans Police officers were shot, one in the face, in an ambush-style attack by a suspect traveling with a pedicab in the French Quarter last week.

The attack occurred shortly before 4:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30 at the intersection of Royal and St. Philip streets while the officers were on routine patrol in their vehicle, according to New Orleans Police Superintendent Shaun Ferguson.

A man, identified as 44-year-old Donnell Linwood Hassell, was a passenger in a pedicab traveling on St. Peter Street and allegedly fired several shots at the officers’ patrol SUV as it passed through the intersection at Royal and St. Philip streets.

Responding officers quickly located and apprehended Hassell, who appeared to be “under some sort of medical condition,” near the intersection of St. Peter and Decatur streets and was taken to the hospital, according to Ferguson, who added the officers did not fire their weapons.

Officers allegedly located a holster on Hassell and a gun at the scene when he was arrested.

Hassell had no prior contact with the officers before the shooting, according to Ferguson.

One officer, identified as Trevor Abney, a 4-year NOPD veteran, was shot in the face just below the left eye, leaving the bullet lodged in his skull. The other officer, Brooke Duncan IV, a 16-year veteran of the NOPD, was cut with broken glass as bullets shattered the windshield of the police cruiser.

A nearby witnesses, identified as a retired female US Army veteran, rendered medical aid to the officers before they were transported to the hospital, where Abney was able to check himself in on his own and was listed in serious condition, according to Ferguson.

Hassell was released from the hospital on Nov. 1 and arrested on suspicion of two charges of attempted murder. His bail was set at $1,500,000.

In addition to the responding NOPD officers, independent police monitors also responded to the shooting, Ferguson said.

The incident is under investigation by the Force Investigation Team.

Ferguson commended the professionalism of the responding officers and the community’s help.

“This is a daunting day for our officers,” Ferguson said at a press conference held near the location several hours following the incident. “We talk about the pandemic, we talk about social injustice and civil unrest, we can talk about hurricane season. 2020 has been a very challenging year for everyone.”

A man accused in the death of the 4-year-old boy on Canal Street on Oct. 3 was arrested by New Orleans Fugitive Task Force police and US Marshals in Houma last week.

Anfernee Steele, 21, was located at an apartment in Houma Oct. 27 and arrested at about 1:30 p.m. at an apartment in Houma, located approximately 60 miles southwest of New Orleans, according to police officials.

In addition, Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s and Houma Police departments responded to the arrest.

Steele was wanted on suspicion of second-degree murder and second-degree cruelty to a juvenile in connection to the death that occurred in the 500 block of Canal Street.

“The arrest of Anfernee Steele once again demonstrates how well law enforcement agencies in southeast Louisiana work together,” New Orleans Police Superintendent Shaun Ferguson said, thanking the US Marshals, Terrebonne Sheriff’s and Houma Police departments.

New Orleans Police seek man wanted in connection to Canal Street death

_{(Photo: Courtesy of NOPD)}
New Orleans Police are seeking help from the public in identifying and locating a suspect wanted in an alleged simply robbery on St. Louis Street that occurred Monday.

The incident occurred shortly after 1 a.m. when the suspect, pictured above, stole a person’s belongings in the 900 block of St. Louis Street, according to New Orleans Police.

Anyone with additional information on this incident is asked to contact Eighth District detectives at 504-658-6080. Anonymous callers can contact Crimestoppers at 504-822-1111 or toll-free at 877-903-7867.