New Orleans, LA (2/19/2023) – The Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest of four individuals after an early morning search warrant lead to the recovery of 40 iPhones, and various other objects.
Early on Saturday morning, Chief Jimmy Travis was contacted regarding a subject who was pick-pocketed while attending Mardi Gras in New Orleans. According to the complainant, the victim’s cell phone was stolen from his pocket but was able to trace the iPhone to an AirB&B in the Tickfaw area.
Chief Travis and patrol deputies and detectives, responded to the residence and after conducting initial interviews with the subjects, was able to secure a search warrant for the home. Upon conducting the search warrant, 40 iPhones were recovered from a backpack along with various credit and debit cards, identification cards, and other items.
The true identity of the four individuals remains unknown, however, they are all Hispanic, two of them being males and the other two being females. It is believed the subjects flew to New Orleans from Miami to attend Mardi Gras, where they devised the pick-pocket scheme.
Chief Travis asks that anyone who was the victim of a pick-pocket in the area St Charles Avenue in New Orleans and specifically lost an iPhone as a result are urged to file a report with the New Orleans Police Department.
Those attending Mardi Gras and similar events, such as fairs and festivals are always encouraged to remain aware of their surroundings. A suggestion for preventing a pick-pocket is to always keep wallets and phones in a front pants pocket rather than a back pocket while in a large crowd.
The four subjects have been transported to the Tangipahoa Parish Jail, where they will be booked as John and Jane Doe until their identities can be confirmed.
______________________________
A law enforcement-related agency has provided this information as public information. Persons named or shown in photographs or video as suspects in a criminal “Allen persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty.” or arrested and charged with a crime have not been convicted of any criminal offense. They are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
