Acting U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced today that a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Louisiana has indicted SAMUEL TAYLOR, age 23, of Harvey; JONATHAN BAHAM, age 24, of New Orleans; and ARLANDER CELIUS, age 23, of Terrytown, for crimes associated with a string of armed robberies in Orleans and Jefferson parishes.
Specifically, TAYLOR was indicted for the offenses associated with the robbery of a Dollar General in Avondale, on July 9, 2017; the robbery of the Fidelity Bank in Algiers, on September, 7, 2017; conspiracy to rob the Whitney Bank on South Carrollton Avenue on Sept. 27, 2017; conspiracy to use firearms in furtherance of a crime of violence, and two counts of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of crimes of violence. If convicted, TAYLOR faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
BAHAM was indicted for conspiracy to rob the Whitney Bank on South Carrollton Avenue on Sept. 27, 2017, and conspiracy to use firearms in furtherance of a crime of violence. BAHAM faces a maximum sentence of twenty years in prison for these alleged crimes.
CELIUS was indicted for conspiracy to rob the Whitney Bank on South Carrollton Avenue on Sept. 27, 2017; being a felon in possession of a firearm on that same date, and conspiracy to use firearms in furtherance of a crime of violence. CELIUS and faces a maximum sentence of twenty years in prison for these alleged crimes.
Acting U.S. Attorney Evans stated that an Indictment is only an allegation, and that the defendants are presumed innocent.
Acting U.S. Attorney Evans also praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Violent Crime Task Force, the New Orleans Police Department’s Second District, and the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office in investigating this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorney Myles Ranier is handling the prosecution.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
