‘Be careful!’: Thief wipes out after holding Lakeview man at gunpoint, steals car

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - A Lakeview resident was watering his lawn on Friday, June 17, around 7 p.m. when two men robbed him at gunpoint, stealing the keys to his car.

It was a moment the victim, who did not want to be identified, never thought would happen.

“They had pulled down a block and stopped right in the middle of the street,” he said. “They had neighbors on the lawn with kids playing and they saw them jump out with guns running toward me, and they scrambled everybody inside.”

The victim said he was tending to his yard Friday in the late afternoon when he noticed a blue car drive by. It stopped, and two men jumped out wearing black hoodies, dark sunglasses and wielding handguns.

The victim said he was held at gunpoint.

“The guy says ‘Give me everything,’ and I said look-- all I have is... I’ve been hosing, all I have is my car keys. Here take them.”

Not waiting for things to escalate, the victim tossed the gunmen his car keys. But just before taking his vehicle, one of the thieves wipes out in the wet grass.

“I had just had hosed the grass. It was wet and he came running around to jump in my car and he fell in the street. And I said be careful man!” said the victim, who, despite a traumatizing experience, was able to find humor in the thief’s struggle to escape.

“It was very scary and unfortunately it’s a real nice neighborhood, it’s 7 o’clock in the afternoon and people were out in the streets and they still had the nerve to do it.”

The victim said he is thankful it didn’t turn for the worse.

“It made me think because I’m out here all the time working in my garden,” he said. “A lot of times I’m, you know, facing away from the street, and you know, you don’t think about that. But now I have to think about it because it just happened so quick.”

And now, something as simple as yard work, is causing him to err on the side of caution.

He said the police arrived within minutes after making the 911 call. His stolen vehicle was found abandoned off Michoud Blvd. in the New Orleans East area.

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