Caught On Camera: Hammer-wielding suspect breaks into Felipe’s

NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — Owners of Felipe’s Taqueria are fed up with criminal activity happening at their locations. Now all three of their locations have experienced crime.

“Smashed that a bunch of times with hammer, breaking it and shattering the whole glass,” Pike Howard, Owner of Felipe’s Taqueria said.

Caught on Camera around 2 a.m., this guy can be seen breaking into Felipe’s with a hammer in Mid-City.

“They were thinking there is money in the cash drawers, but there’s nothing there to take,” he said.

While police are investigating, Pike Howard says enough is enough.

“This is not the first time, this is actually the third time,” he said.

Within the past year, all of the three Felipe’s locations in New Orleans have been hit by criminals.
A few months ago, their French Quarter location was shot up with bullets. Then in October, surveillance video caught the crooks stealing cash registers and tequila from the Uptown Felipe’s.

“It is defeating, deflating. Is there something we can do as a community if it is not getting done at a higher level. The judicial system is letting minors in and out. It is a wagon wheel,” Howard said.

To replace the glass shattered it will cost Felipe’s $2,500.

“We are investing in a new location, a 4th location in Metairie, and it kind of makes you feel like the dumbest guy in the room, when you are trying to do something for a community you care about. It is hard to grasp and understand, why this is happening,” he said.

For his business, the third time is obviously not the charm, but he’s hoping it is the last time something like this happens.

“It has got to stop because at some point we are going to have a hard time recovering from it,” Howard said.