LEONARD GRAY

NORCO – When asked to describe the attempted escape of a fleet-footed bank robbery suspect, New Orleans resident Ikaika A. Kalili, St. Charles Parish sheriff’s deputy Richie Oubre said, “When he hit the curve, he was kicking it in high gear.” Kalili evaded numerous law enforcement officers, including deputies in a helicopter borrowed from Jefferson Parish, for six hours Tuesday until his arrest for allegedly being the getaway driver at a bank robbery in Norco. Capt. Patrick Yoes of the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office reported that First American Bank, at 903 First St., was confronted by a young armed gunman at 1 p.m. Tuesday, who demanded money while a second young man waited in a green 1995 Buick LeSabre. While the gunman left the bank, a red dye packet placed with the money exploded, drawing the attention of an off-duty sheriff’s deputy driving in the neighborhood. The deputy called in the bank robbery, even earlier than the bank itself, Yoes said, and the chase was almost immediately on. The vehicle hurtled along First Street, turned right onto Good Hope Street, and left onto River Road, heading toward New Sarpy. PHOTO: Lt. Gil Schmidt of the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office keeps a lookout for suspected bank robber Ikaika Kalili as a Jefferson Parish helicopter sweeps overhead. Kalili was arrested hours later hiding under a shed in Destrehan. (Staff Photo by Leonard Gray) Apparently desperate to somehow find Airline Drive, the suspects turned onto Ormond Meadows Drive and the LeSabre was halted by the dead-end. At that point, with deputies on their tail, the men left the vehicle, leaving behind a gun and the robbery loot. One slipped and fell in the canal near the track and Ralph H. Williams III, 19, of 4512 Press Drive, New Orleans, was taken into custody by deputies Oubre and Alfredo Ramirez without incident. Meanwhile, Kalili, 21, of 4516 Congress St., New Orleans, darted into the wooded area between Van’s Lane in New Sarpy and Ethel Schoeffner Elementary School in Destrehan. Deputies ringed the thicket and penetrated the brush, using K-9 squads, but were unable to locate Kalili. The parish’s Emergency Operations Center used a block-calling telephone system to warn residents on adjoining streets. Meanwhile, the suspect had managed to cross a canal and hide under a backyard shed on Acadia Street, where he was eventually found at 6:34 p.m. Kalili and Williams were each charged with armed robbery and armed robbery with use of a firearm. Bond was set at $500,000 each by 29th Judicial District Judge Kirk Granier.