New Orleans Man Sentenced to 300 Months for Hobbs Act Robberies and Weapons Violations

NEW ORLEANS, LA – United States Attorney Duane A. Evans announced today that MARVIN LEGENDRE, age 40, of New Orleans, was sentenced on January 4, 2024 by U.S. District Judge Carl J. Barbier to 300 months imprisonment, 3 years of supervised release, and a $500 mandatory special assessment fee after previously pleading guilty to a  five-count indictment.

The indictment charged LEGENDRE, in Counts 1 and 3, with Hobbs Acts Robberies, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1951(a). Counts 2 and 4 charged LEGENDRE with using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c)(1). Count 5 charged LEGENDRE with being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 922(g)(1). 

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s New Orleans Violent Crime Task Force, in conjunction with New Orleans Police Department and the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office, investigated several Hobbs Act Robberies linked to LEGENDRE. On March 7, 2021, LEGENDRE committed an armed robbery at a Cricket Wireless store in Chalmette, LA and on March 10, 2021, LEGENDRE committed an armed robbery at a Boost Mobile store in New Orleans.  Using both physical and video surveillance to track a vehicle that LEGENDRE, used for the robberies, agents located LEGENDRE’s residence. After executing a search warrant for the residence, LEGENDRE was arrested. The search of the apartment yielded the clothes he wore during the robberies and other evidence, including  firearms.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the New Orleans Police Department, and the St. Bernard Sheriff’s Office.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Inga Petrovich and Mike Trummel of the Violent Crime Unit.