By KEVIN CHIRI
Slidell news bureau
SLIDELL – “Sophisticated,” “smart,” “organized.”
Those are not usually the words law enforcement wants to use when describing criminals, but they were the words used several times as eight New Orleans law enforcement agencies held a joint press conference to announce the first big break in an ATM theft ring that has gotten away with over $500,000 in cash across Southeast Louisiana.
What is hoped to be the beginning of the end to the scheme, which has plagued New Orleans area law enforcement for nearly a year, came last week when two New Orleans men were caught allegedly trying to duplicate the ATM theft at a Slidell location on Gause Boulevard.
Slidell Police Chief Randy Smith hosted the press conference to announce the arrest of 36-year-old Marvin Hudson and 44-year-old Allden Jones, who were captured after a high speed chase that ended in a barricaded standoff in a luxurious New Orleans home.
Smith said the break came on Sunday morning about 4:30 a.m. when Slidell Police received a call from the Cash Cow, located at 1255 Gause Blvd., alerting them that the ATM had been broken into. Officer Jason Seals arrived within seconds and spotted the two suspects fleeing from the business, Smith said.
A high-speed pursuit drew in New Orleans Police and Louisiana State Police as it headed across the Twin Spans before the men pulled into a residence on Morrison Road in New Orleans East. After a 30-minute standoff, the pair surrendered peacefully where police recovered a stolen vehicle and over $12,000 in cash allegedly stolen from the Cash Cow.
Joining Smith at the press conference were a total of eight agencies that also included the FBI because the possibility of a multi-state theft ring is being investigated. Law enforcement at the press conference suggested the arrests could be the tip of the iceberg for a ring that goes far beyond Southeast Louisiana.
What law enforcement does know is that they had struggled for nearly a year to catch the perpetrators of the ATM theft ring Smith called “sophisticated and organized.”
According to Smith, those involved in the scheme—which is anticipated to be many more than Hudson and Jones—would spend plenty of time methodically choosing a location, then testing the alarm system, and watching to see how quickly police would respond to the alarm.
After they felt comfortable with the location, the group would arm themselves with power tools, designate one person as a lookout, and enter the business by utilizing several different methods. In some cases, they were able to defeat the alarms, in others, they were able to get in and out the business within one to two minutes.
After making entry, the suspects would use their power tools to either steal an entire ATM, or defeat a safe inside of the business. At times, they would get away with upwards of $20,000 in cash. Sometimes, the suspects would even steal the surveillance system from the business.
Smith said that law enforcement agencies throughout the region began sharing information on the theft ring that started in New Orleans and pulled off approximately 80 thefts in the South Shore area.
In May of this year, the group moved to the North Shore, according to St. Tammany Sheriff’s Office Det. Bobby Juge, who said they had their first incident on May 4 off Carroll Road near Slidell. Since that time, St. Tammany had been hit approximately six more times before the Slidell case that led to the arrests.
“These two criminals made a crucial mistake which led to their capture,” Smith said. “They came to Slidell where their luck ran out.”
Cash Cow locations, which are scattered throughout Southeast Louisiana, were one of the prime locations that were hit, law enforcement said.
“We had one Cash Cow location hit, and they also stole the video camera that was there,” Kenner Police Chief Michael Glaser said. “Looking back we could see that they purposely tripped the alarm several times to see when we would come, and then when they made the real hit they tripped three alarms on Williams Boulevard at the same time.”
Smith said the suspects would not only spend a lot of time tripping alarms to see how police response time was, but even stole cars so they would not be using their own vehicle in the burglary.
Hudson and Jones each face a burglary charge, aggravated flight from an officer, and possession of a stolen vehicle, all from the Slidell incident.
One law enforcement official said the two men arrested did not seem to be stealing for the sake of a drug habit, but were simply living “the good life with all the money. You should have seen the house we caught them in—it was pretty nice. They were living an elaborate lifestyle with the money.”
Both suspects have prior criminal records, but Smith said he did not have that information at the time of the press conference.
Although Hudson and Jones refused to cooperate with authorities, during the past week all the law enforcement agencies involved had several meetings in order to share information and evidence gathered from each of their cases. By doing so, Hudson and Jones have been linked to several of the unsolved, high-dollar burglaries scattered throughout south Louisiana, and more arrests are expected to follow.
So far, the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office and the New Orleans Police Department currently have active warrants. The Gretna Police Department, Kenner Police Department, New Orleans Police Department, St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office, and St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office are expected to file additional charges at a later date.
Both Hudson and Jones are currently being held at the St. Tammany Parish Jail.