New Orleans Man Pleads Guilty to Armed Bank Robbery and Shooting at Drivers in Carjacking Attempts
New Orleans, Louisiana — A 41-year-old man has pleaded guilty to five federal charges, including armed bank robbery, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and three counts of attempted carjacking, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana announced. Joseph Carsice entered the guilty plea on October 20, 2026, and is set for sentencing on January 16, 2027. On the firearm count alone, he faces a mandatory minimum of five years up to life imprisonment, which must run consecutively to any other term.
According to court documents, on December 15, 2023, Carsice entered a bank located on Canal Street in New Orleans armed with a rifle and demanded cash from the tellers. The tellers complied, filling the bag Carsice threw on the counter with $10,241 in U.S. currency. During his attempt to flee, Carsice confronted multiple drivers and fired upon their vehicles in an attempt to carjack them and escape.
Under the penalties announced by the U.S. Attorney's Office, the armed bank robbery count carries a maximum of 25 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000; the firearm count carries a mandatory minimum of five years up to life imprisonment and a fine of up to $250,000; and each attempted carjacking count carries up to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
The case was investigated by the FBI New Orleans Violent Crime Task Force and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Dawkins of the Violent Crime Unit. U.S. Attorney David I. Courcelle announced the plea. The case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, the Department of Justice's nationwide initiative to combat violent crime.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 照片：路易斯安那州New Orleans市中心Canal Street与LaSalle Street路口（Infrogmation 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons，资料图）
