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Caraway said police "don't necessarily recommend" the actions of the Dream Communications owner but added, "Everyone has the right to defend themselves."
Thwarted robbery was third in Kenner block
By Mary Sparacello, The Times-Picayune
February 01, 2010, 6:43PM
Three times in three years, merchants in the 3200 block of Williams Boulevard in Kenner have pulled guns to thwart robberies. But it wasn't until the third holdup that anyone died.
Kenner police said Monday that Angel Armando Hernandez, 34, of New Orleans was shot dead and German Alberto Hernandez Zuniga, 25, of Covington was wounded when they mugged the owner of Dream Communications & More as he leaving work. A third suspect fled and remains at large.
Dreams Communications is a wireless phone shop that also cashes checks for clients, Police Chief Steve Caraway said. It is the check-cashing business that is likely to be the motive for the robbery, Caraway said.
Detective Shaun Watson, a Police Department spokesman, said the bandits approached the owner Friday about 8:45 p.m. in the parking lot of the store at 3226 Williams. One struck him in the head with a revolver, grabbed his backpack and pushed him into the alley. But the owner pulled a pistol and shot Hernandez and Zuniga, Watson said.
Zuniga will be booked with armed robbery when he is released from University Hospital, Watson said.
Police have not identified the business owner, and he would not speak with a reporter Monday. They do not plan to file criminal charges against him because they consider the shooting was justified.
This was the second thwarted robbery at Dream Communications in eight months.
On June 5, two armed men entered the business, demanded money and were led to a back office where a victim and one of the bandits struggled, police said.
An employee in a nearby business heard noises and came to investigate. That person pulled a gun, and the would-be robbers fled.
Two suspects were arrested and are scheduled for trial in March, said detective Brian McGregor, another Police Department spokesman.
In 2007, a pawnbroker from a shop next door to Dream Communications chased an armed robber out of his own store, firing gunshots at the getaway car. That robber was never found, McGregor said.
Watson said police think the three incidents are unrelated.
Caraway said police "don't necessarily recommend" the actions of the Dream Communications owner but added, "Everyone has the right to defend themselves."
"In this particular case here, it appears the owner of the store was defending himself after he was pulled into the alleyway," Caraway said.
Caraway said police "don't necessarily recommend" the actions of the Dream Communications owner but added, "Everyone has the right to defend themselves."
Thwarted robbery was third in Kenner block
By Mary Sparacello, The Times-Picayune
February 01, 2010, 6:43PM
Three times in three years, merchants in the 3200 block of Williams Boulevard in Kenner have pulled guns to thwart robberies. But it wasn't until the third holdup that anyone died.
Kenner police said Monday that Angel Armando Hernandez, 34, of New Orleans was shot dead and German Alberto Hernandez Zuniga, 25, of Covington was wounded when they mugged the owner of Dream Communications & More as he leaving work. A third suspect fled and remains at large.
Dreams Communications is a wireless phone shop that also cashes checks for clients, Police Chief Steve Caraway said. It is the check-cashing business that is likely to be the motive for the robbery, Caraway said.
Detective Shaun Watson, a Police Department spokesman, said the bandits approached the owner Friday about 8:45 p.m. in the parking lot of the store at 3226 Williams. One struck him in the head with a revolver, grabbed his backpack and pushed him into the alley. But the owner pulled a pistol and shot Hernandez and Zuniga, Watson said.
Zuniga will be booked with armed robbery when he is released from University Hospital, Watson said.
Police have not identified the business owner, and he would not speak with a reporter Monday. They do not plan to file criminal charges against him because they consider the shooting was justified.
This was the second thwarted robbery at Dream Communications in eight months.
On June 5, two armed men entered the business, demanded money and were led to a back office where a victim and one of the bandits struggled, police said.
An employee in a nearby business heard noises and came to investigate. That person pulled a gun, and the would-be robbers fled.
Two suspects were arrested and are scheduled for trial in March, said detective Brian McGregor, another Police Department spokesman.
In 2007, a pawnbroker from a shop next door to Dream Communications chased an armed robber out of his own store, firing gunshots at the getaway car. That robber was never found, McGregor said.
Watson said police think the three incidents are unrelated.
Caraway said police "don't necessarily recommend" the actions of the Dream Communications owner but added, "Everyone has the right to defend themselves."
"In this particular case here, it appears the owner of the store was defending himself after he was pulled into the alleyway," Caraway said.