Louisiana Man Faces Up to 30 Years After Pleading Guilty to Robbing a Business Across From Police Station

United States Attorney Ronald C. Gathe, Jr. announced that Forrest J. Hardy, age 33, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, pled guilty before U.S. Chief Judge Shelly D. Dick to interference with commerce by robbery, brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, and possession of firearms by a convicted felon. As a result of his plea, Hardy faces up to 20 years imprisonment for the robbery conviction, 10 years imprisonment for the possession of a firearm by a convicted felon conviction, and a mandatory minimum consecutive term of imprisonment of not less than seven years and up to life for the brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence conviction.

According to admissions made during his plea, on or about January 7, 2020, at approximately 6:41 p.m., Hardy entered the Boost Mobile Store, located at 8180 Scenic Hwy, Baton Rouge, across the street from the Baton Rouge Police Department’s Fourth Precinct police station, and pointed a firearm at an employee while wearing a mask. After Hardy demanded money from the cash registers, the employee complied, and Hardy removed and pocketed the cash. Hardy then ran out of the store and into a 1999 Lexus SUV.

The following day, detectives identified the vehicle driven by Hardy and developed him as a suspect in this robbery based on investigative leads. Hardy’s car was captured on video, allowing detectives to identify it as a gold-colored Lexus with distinctive coloring on the right front quarter panel.

On January 8, 2020, at approximately 7:20 p.m., Hardy entered a Metro PCS cellular phone store at 1966 North Foster Dr., Baton Rouge, wearing a green jacket and a black mask over his face. Hardy then demanded cash from the register while brandishing a loaded Glock, model 22,.40 caliber pistol with an extended magazine and a weapon-mounted flashlight. He took the money from the register and pocketed it. Hardy demanded the cash that the company kept in its safe in the storage room while pointing his gun at the employee.

The victim led the robber to the storage room out of fear for his safety. The victim observed Hardy rummaging through the safe from his vantage point. Hardy fled the scene of the robbery in the same vehicle he used the night before, a 1999 Lexus SUV. Notably, the safe contained an Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max the day before the robbery, and the Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max was no longer in the safe after the robbery.

Later, on the evening of January 8, 2020, at approximately 8:25 p.m., Baton Rouge Police Department officers stopped Hardy in the 1999 Lexus SUV, which bore the distinctive coloring on one of its sides. A black handgun with an extended magazine and a black mask were seen in plain sight on the front passenger seat by law enforcement officers. Hardy was then apprehended by police.

A day or so later, during the execution of a search warrant on the 1999 Lexus SUV, law enforcement personnel discovered an assault style firearm, a.40 caliber Glock semiautomatic pistol with an extended magazine, stolen cash, a ski mask, Hardy’s robberies gloves, and ammunition.

Hardy had previously been convicted of armed robbery in East Baton Rouge Parish in 2007 and of second-degree battery and false imprisonment with a dangerous weapon in Lafayette Parish in 2019.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Baton Rouge Police Department both looked into the case. Assistant United States Attorneys Robert W. Piedrahita and Jeremy S. Johnson prosecuted the case.

U.S. Attorney Gathe stated, “I would like to publicly thank our Assistant United States Attorneys and our partners, the Baton Rouge Police Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for the time and effort to prepare this matter for trial. Their efforts led to the government removing a violent offender and several guns off the street.”