NEW ORLEANS — In a city like New Orleans, where there's no shortage of restaurants, Clement Leach Jr. couldn't have picked a worse one — at least for his sake.
"We probably get, like, maybe 10 cops average in here a day just ordering because we give them a 10 percent discount,” said Kayla Filostrat, who was working the counter Tuesday at Sammy’s Deli on Elysian Fields Avenue.
And as usual, there were a handful of officers eating lunch there Tuesday afternoon.
It's not clear who called in the tip, but just after 2 p.m., U.S. Marshals and Orleans Parish sheriff's deputies showed up in force.
"I thought they were all coming in to eat. I was ready to take their orders. I chugged my coffee. I was ready to go," Filostrat said Wednesday.
Instead, they were there to take Leach, 49, into custody.
"I didn't notice anything unusual. He just kind of came in, ordered, sat down and sat with a group of people," Filostrat said. “I think it was a sandwich he ordered. Probably a hot sausage if I had to guess.”
The burglary suspect had been on the run since he escaped from his job at the Orleans Parish jail on Lundi Gras.
Leach was sitting at a table in the corner with a few other people when he was arrested.
"They kind of just scooped him and took him out. I feel like he just knew he was caught,” Filostrat said. “He was just like, 'Alright. Let's go.' He didn't put up a fight or anything."
Filostrat said the arrest didn't faze anyone in the restaurant.
"Well, being that it's New Orleans, nobody was surprised,” she said. “Everyone just kind of turned, stared at the situation and kept going. You know? Wasn't out of the ordinary for them. Just kept going on their business, eating their food."
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