METAIRIE, La. — It was at their Metairie home last July when authorities say a 91-year-old man and his 81-year-old wife were kidnapped by a 16-year-old boy from Kenner.
“It’s shocking first of all,” said director of care management and nutrition at the Jefferson Council on Aging Jeanne Curole.
Curole doesn’t know the victims, but knows how vulnerable the older population can be.
“Day-to-day life for seniors is overwhelming in many aspects,” Curole said. “They’re faced with food insecurity, sometimes safety in their home, not just outside of the home and in the community, but in the home itself.”
According to the district attorney’s office, Alexsy Mejia was wearing a mask and had a gun when he broke into the couple’s home in the 4900 block of Elmwood Parkway. When the couple couldn’t meet his $100,000 demand authorities say Mejia forced them at gunpoint to drive to their bank on Williams Boulevard.
Once there, authorities say Mejia waited in the car as the couple went in to withdraw cash. Despite threats from Mejia, authorities say the wife asked an employee to call police. Curole says seniors shouldn’t let fear stop them from speaking up, because that’s what perpetrators are counting on.
“It’s definitely good for them to filter out what’s being told to them and speak up for themselves. Being outspoken is key to sometimes getting out of a bad situation,” Curole said.
When Kenner police officers got to the bank, Mejia ran. He was found hiding in a garbage can a street over on Martinique Avenue. Authorities say he confessed saying he targeted the couple because of their age and said he wanted money to buy a car. Authorities say he knew the couple because he did yard work for them in the past.
“Not all people should be trusted and just because you build a rapport with that person doesn’t necessarily mean that person is trustworthy,” Curole said.
Curole knows it’s hard to say whether a crime like this could be prevented, but says seniors must stay vigilant day-to-day.
“They can make friends with the people in their neighborhood, maybe have a buddy system when they go out, have appropriate lighting around the home,” Curole said.
Mejia was tried as an adult and convicted on two counts of aggravated kidnapping and one count of aggravated burglary. He now faces a life sentence. He’s set to be sentenced Nov. 9.
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