Baton Rouge, LA – Forrest Hardy, 33, is facing a quarter-century behind bars after a federal judge handed down a 292-month sentence for robbing two Baton Rouge cell phone stores in a single night. Hardy, armed with a firearm, terrorized employees at both Boost Mobile and Metro PCS in January 2020, making off with cash and, in one instance, a brand new Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max.
The first robbery occurred around 6:41 p.m. at the Boost Mobile store on Scenic Hwy, practically in the shadow of the Baton Rouge Police Department’s Fourth Precinct station. Hardy, masked, brandished a firearm at an employee and demanded cash. He then fled in a beat-up 1999 Lexus SUV with noticeable damage to the right front quarter panel – a detail that would later prove crucial to his capture. Less than 24 hours later, Hardy struck again, this time at a Metro PCS store on North Foster Dr.
This time, Hardy escalated the threat, wielding a loaded Glock, model 22, .40 caliber pistol, complete with an extended magazine and weapon-mounted flashlight. He not only demanded cash from the register but also forced an employee to open the store’s safe, rummaging through it before making off with the contents, including that missing iPhone. Detectives quickly linked the gold-colored Lexus—with its distinctive panel damage—to Hardy, establishing him as the prime suspect.
The break in the case came later that same night. Baton Rouge Police stopped Hardy in the Lexus, spotting a black handgun with an extended magazine and a black mask in plain view on the passenger seat. The vehicle search yielded even more incriminating evidence: an assault-style firearm, the .40 caliber Glock used in the second robbery, the stolen cash, the ski mask, gloves matching those worn during the crimes, and a significant amount of ammunition.
Hardy’s criminal history is extensive. Court records reveal a 2007 conviction for armed robbery in East Baton Rouge Parish and a 2019 conviction for second-degree battery and false imprisonment with a dangerous weapon in Lafayette Parish. Prosecutors, Assistant United States Attorneys Robert W. Piedrahita and Jeremy S. Johnson, clearly highlighted Hardy’s pattern of violent behavior in their sentencing arguments.
U.S. Chief Judge Shelly D. Dick didn’t mince words, sentencing Hardy to 292 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release. The firearm used in the robberies was ordered forfeited. The investigation was a joint effort by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Baton Rouge Police Department, a grim reminder that even brazen crimes committed in plain sight don’t guarantee escape from the long arm of the law.
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