Louisiana Man Sentenced to 24 Years After Robbing a Business Across the Street from A Police Station

Louisiana - On October 21, 2022, United States Attorney Ronald C. Gathe, Jr. announced that U.S. Chief Judge Shelly D. Dick sentenced Forrest Hardy, age 33, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to 292 months (24 years, 4 months) in federal prison following his convictions for interference with commerce by robbery. The Court further sentenced Hardy to serve five years of supervised release following his term of imprisonment and ordered that the firearm involved be forfeited.

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, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana 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 obeyed, and Hardy removed and pocketed the cash. Hardy then raced out of the store and into a 1999 Lexus SUV.

The following day, detectives recognized the vehicle driven by Hardy and established him as a suspect in this heist based on investigation 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 stored in its safe in the storage area while pointing his gun at the employee. The victim led the robber to the storage room out of fear for his protection. The victim watched Hardy digging through the safe from his vantage position. Hardy departed the scene of the heist in the same vehicle he used the night before, a 1999 Lexus SUV. Notably, the safe had an Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max the day before the robbery, and the Apple iPhone Pro Max was no longer in the safe following the robbery.

Later, on the evening of January 8, 2020, at around 8:25 p.m., Baton Rouge Police Department officers stopped Hardy in the 1999 Lexus SUV, which displayed the distinctive coloring on one of its sides. On the front passenger seat, law enforcement authorities noticed a black pistol with an extended magazine and a black mask. Hardy was then apprehended by police.

During the execution of a search warrant on the 1999 Lexus SUV, law enforcement personnel discovered an assault-type firearm, a .40 caliber Glock semiautomatic pistol with an extended magazine, stolen cash, a ski mask, Hardy's gloves used during the robberies, and ammo.

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 investigated this case. Assistant United States Attorneys Robert W. Piedrahita and Jeremy S. Johnson prosecuted the case.