NEW ORLEANS — The New Orleans Police Department shared surveillance video of a woman being carjacked in the 3400 block of Vespasian Blvd. in Algiers Tuesday morning.
The man in the video was armed and pulled the woman from the car, and he punched her twice, according to police. She tries to fight back, but he ended up driving off in her Honda CRV.
The suspect didn't get too far. Eyewitness News found out the car was abandoned at the Evergreen Supermarket less than a mile away.
"Well about 10 o’clock my dumpster guy came, and he called me up and said somebody is blocking the driveway, so I went outside I found the car with a flat tire and nobody in it," Abdel Judeh, owner of the Evergreen Supermarket said.
Not knowing it was stolen, Judeh said he called Three Brothers Quick Towing.
“We went over there and picked it up. Thinking you know somebody left it abandoned," Mubarak Esmail, owner of Three Brothers said.
Esmail said they picked it up between 10 and 11pm, and a few hours later the NOPD called the tow company called wanting to process the vehicle.
“They brought the crime lab to get evidence or fingerprints out of it," Esmail said.
According to Esmail, the car's owners came to pick up the vehicle, but the police must finish their work before he can turn it over to them.
“We pick up a lot from private properties. From gas stations mostly," Esmail said, "People steal cars, they leave them in the gas station abandoned. We pick them up, and then a day later we find out that it was a stolen car. We contact NOPD to recover it.”
The vehicle was in decent condition besides a flat tire, Esmail said.
“Sometimes, they’re not that lucky. They’re going to find the car running and they’re probably going to be crashed, burned or something," Esmail said.
Now, police are relying on people seeing the video and sending any tips to Crimestoppers of Greater New Orleans.
“I hope everything will be okay in this neighborhood. I’ve been here since ‘86 really and never had no problems," Judeh said.
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