Louisiana Pharmacy Robbery and Shooting Results in 20 Year Sentence for Indiana Man

Published February 25, 2022

An Indiana man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for attempting to rob a Louisiana pharmacy. 

Louisiana – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced on Tuesday, February 22, 2022, that Richard Sansbury, age 28, a resident of Indianapolis, Indiana, was sentenced for his participation in the June 17, 2019, robbery of the CVS pharmacy located at 4901 Prytania Street in New Orleans.

Judge Greg G. Guidry of the United States District Court imposed a sentence for each count of the three-count indictments to which Sansbury pleaded guilty. Sansbury was charged with conspiracy to commit robbery involving a controlled substance under Title 18, United States Code, Section 2118. For count one, the court sentenced Sansbury to 121 months in federal prison through the Bureau of Prisons. Sansbury was charged with armed robbery involving controlled substances under Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2118(a) and (c) (1). For count two, the court sentenced Sansbury to 121 months in federal prison through the Bureau of Prisons. Counts 1 and 2 were set to run concurrently.

Sansbury was charged in count three with discharging a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c)(1)(A) (iii). Sansbury was sentenced to 120 months in prison for this count by the court. The sentence imposed in count three will follow the sentences imposed in counts one and two. Sansbury will be placed on supervised release for four years after completing his prison sentence. The court imposed a $300.00 mandatory special assessment fee.

According to court documents, Richard Sansbury and his co-defendant, Alan Parson, entered the 24-hour pharmacy armed with weapons at approximately 6:06 a.m. They were both dressed in hooded sweatshirts and blue medical gloves. Sansbury entered the store, took a firearm from his waistband, went behind the front counter, and zip-tied a cashier. Sansbury led the cashier to the store’s restroom. Parson went to the back of the store, near the pharmacy, and pushed another employee to the ground before securing another employee’s feet with zip ties. Parson then stuffed several pill bottles from the pharmacy’s safe into a large trash bag. Sansbury also entered the pharmacy and zip-tied the second employee’s hands.

Sansbury and Parson attempted to flee through the store’s entrance but were met by responding New Orleans Police Officers. Sansbury and Parson got into a shootout with the officers, and one of them was shot in the shoulder. The robbery, which took place inside a CVS pharmacy, was captured on video, as was the subsequent shootout with police.

This case is being prosecuted as part of the federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, which is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s efforts to reduce violent crime. PSN is an evidence-based program that has been shown to reduce violent crime. PSN brings together a diverse range of stakeholders to identify the most pressing violent crime issues in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and collaborates with community-based prevention and reentry programs to achieve long-term crime reductions.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New Orleans Police Department investigated the case. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys David Haller and Brittany Reed of the United States Attorney’s Office’s Violent Crime/Strike Force Unit.

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