TPSO: Arrest of 4 out-of-town individuals for stealing cell phones, list of numbers recovered
Published 7:54 am Monday, February 20, 2023
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The Tangipahoa Parish Sheriffs Office reports the arrest of four individuals after an early morning search warrant lead to the recovery of 40 iPhones, and various other objects.
Early this morning, Chief Jimmy Travis was contacted regarding a subject who was pick-pocketed while attending Mardi Gras in New Orleans. According to the complainant, the victims cell phone was stolen from his pocket, but was able to trace the iPhone to an AirB&B in the Tickfaw area.
Chief Travis along with patrol deputies and detectives responded to the residence, and after conducting initial interviews with the subjects was able to secure a search warrant for the home. Upon conducting the search warrant, 40 iPhones were recovered from a backpack along with various credit and debit cards, identification cards, and other items.
The true identify of the four individuals remain unknown, however they are all Hispanic, two of them being males and the other two being females. It is believed the subjects flew to New Orleans from Miami to attend Mardi Gras, where they devised the pick-pocket scheme.
Chief Travis asks that anyone who was victim of a pick-pocket in the area St Charles Avenue in New Orleans, and specifically lost an iPhone as a result, are urged to file a report with the New Orleans Police Department.
Those attending Mardi Gras and similar events such as fairs and festivals, are always encouraged to remain aware of their surroundings. A suggestion for preventing a pick-pocket is to always keep wallets and phones in a front pants pocket rather than a back pocket while in a large crowd.
The four subjects have been transported to the Tangipahoa Parish Jail, where they will be booked as John and Jane Doe until their identities can be confirmed.
**All persons accused of a crime are considered innocent until proven guilty.
List of Phones Now Available for Pick-Pocket Victims
The Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office reports the Digital Forensics Unit has completed processing the phones recovered following the Mardi Gras pick-pockets being arrested on Saturday morning.
Chief Jimmy Travis says that of the 40 phones recovered, only 5 phone numbers were not identifiable/recoverable as the devices did not contain a SIM card and forensic tools were not able to extract a phone number. As for the remaining phones, several owners have already been contacted. The following list contains phone numbers for which TPSO has been unable to make contact:
213-XXX-0250
225-XXX-0288
225-XXX-3275
337-XXX-9253
504-XXX-3785
504-XXX-9484
504-XXX-4278
504-XXX-9834
504-XXX-5181
504-XXX-9853
504-XXX-5759
504-XXX-0680
504-XXX-8185
504-XXX-0886
504-XXX-8607
504-XXX-1230
504-XXX-8698
504-XXX-1424
504-XXX-8906
512-XXX-8884
707-XXX-2929
985-XXX-1923
985-XXX-3394
985-XXX-3983
For privacy purposes, the exchange prefix has been redacted.
If you believe your phone number matches one in the list, please contact TPSO so that we can make arrangements to get your property returned.
Chief Travis would like to commend Detective Michael D’Amato for his work in this investigation, as his the fast, diligent work brought the case to conclusion much faster than anticipated.