Man caught in eastern New Orleans after failing to pull off armed robbery at a Chalmette store; Had $3,000 cash in his vehicle and is booked in a N.O. robbery too

A Memphis man had $3,000 in apparently stolen money but tried his luck once too often when he came to Chalmette on Sunday night and failed to pull off an armed robbery when a store clerk wouldn’t give him any money and then failed to evade police who caught him in the city after a car crash, Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

Westlee Osborne, 29, was arrested about 8:30 p.m. June 7, hiding in the swimming pool of a motel on Chef Menteur Highway in eastern New Orleans. He faces an attempted armed robbery charge in Chalmette and an armed robbery charge in New Orleans.

He also was booked with traffic offenses involving a pursuit in which he allegedly drove 100 MPH at times.

Osborne, driving a rental car from Memphis, entered a convenience store/gasoline station at Paris Road and Judge Perez Drive about 8 p.m. and flashed a gun at a store clerk, Sheriff Pohlmann said.

But the clerk refused him money and when Osborne left empty-handed to flee in the car the clerk followed him out with a staple gun and used it to crack the rear window.

Osborne headed north on Paris Road into New Orleans, with a Louisiana State Police trooper and sheriff’s deputies pursuing.

He led officers down several streets at high speeds after reaching New Orleans but ultimately was driving the wrong way on Chef Menteur Highway when he crashed into another vehicle, injuring two.

Osborne then fled on foot but was caught and held by New Orleans police after trying to hide in a swimming pool of a motel, authorities said.

He was taken to a hospital for injuries received in the crash but later jailed in New Orleans, where he was being held in lieu of $195,000 bond. He was on parole from an aggravated assault conviction in Tennessee when arrested.
In New Orleans, Osborne was booked with armed robbery, two counts of negligent injuring, aggravated flight from an officer and criminal trespass.

Authorities said Osborne robbed one gas station/convenience store Sunday morning in Carrollton, before he attempted to rob a second one Sunday night in Chalmette.

New Orleans Police said Osborne entered a Chevron station in the city at 5:20 a.m. and asked the clerk for cigarettes. When the clerk turned around, authorities said, Osborne pointed a black handgun and robbed the business of about $1,500.

Osborne tried his luck again at the gas station/store at the corner of Paris Road and Judge Perez Drive in Chalmette but got nothing.

He got rattled and fled when the clerk refused to give over any money.
A Louisiana State Police unit was the first to spot the suspect’s vehicle, a silver car with Tennessee plates.
Osborne. in New Orleans, first went to Hayne Boulevard, then to Downman Road before ending up going the wrong way on Chef Menteur and crashing.

More than $3,000 in cash was recovered from his abandoned car at the end of the chase. All three law enforcement agencies involved in the pursuit took part in Osborne’s arrest.