NEW ORLEANS — A suspect is dead after an armed robbery, carjacking, and alleged sexual assault that happened in Violet shortly before 9 a.m.
"It’s not just a carjacking. The most concerning part is the sexual assault on a young female victim. That’s the most disturbing part, and it was done at gunpoint," St. Bernard Sheriff James Pohlmann said during a press conference.
Deputies were called to the residence about an armed robbery at 9 a.m. When they arrived, they found a 25-year-old female victim. She told deputies that she was trying to sell electronics to the 26-year-old Violent native, Deiondre Brock.
"When she exited the vehicle, she was approached by a male who asked her to enter a side gate of a residence. She did so, and as soon as they got through the side gate, the perpetrator brandished a weapon and, at that point, made her go to the back of the house, and he sexually assaulted the victim," Pohlmann said.
Brock had contacted the victim on social media.
After the assault, Brock stole the victim's SUV and fled the scene. Deputies pursued the car into New Orleans onto the Claiborne Bridge, also known as the Judge Seeber Bridge, where the suspect had crashed into two other cars.
When deputies approached the vehicle, they found Brock in the vehicle with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Pohlmann says the victim is being treated at the hospital.
The incident is still under investigation.
Anyone with information about this incident or any other criminal activity in St. Bernard Parish is asked to call the Sheriff’s Office at (504) 271-2501, the Criminal Investigations Bureau’s tip hotline at (504) 271-TIPS or 8477, or Crimestoppers GNO at (504) 822-1111. Callers to the CIB tip hotline or Crimestoppers can remain anonymous and could be eligible for a cash award from Crimestoppers.
The bridge was closed briefly while deputies from the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff's Office and officers from The New Orleans Police Department.
Stay with WWL for the latest on this developing story.
