Cops: All 4 New Orleans attack suspects now in custody; one confessed to pastor
NEW ORLEANS -- All four men accused in the brutal beating of two tourists in New Orleans' French Quarter Saturday are in custody, reports CBS affiliate WWL-TV.
Authorities
said the group mugged two Boston-area men who were in town for a
religious convention, leaving one of them in critical condition. The
attack was seen on graphic surveillance video.
The first suspect,
21-year-old Dejuan Paul, was taken into custody Monday after reportedly
confessing to his pastor and turning himself in. Joshua Simmons, 18, was
arrested early Tuesday after someone told police where he was.
WWL-TV
Records
show Rashaad Piper, 20, and Nicholas Pogozelski, 18, were booked into
the Orleans Justice Center in the early morning hours Wednesday, the
station reports.
The video shows the attack on James Curran and
Tim Byrne, Unitarian Universalist Association information-technology
staffers, around 9 p.m. Saturday while they were walking back to their
hotel.
Curran was punched in the face. He suffered a fractured
nose, a family member told WWL-TV. Byrne, who was knocked unconscious
and fell face first on the sidewalk after he was punched, suffered
"serious brain injury," according to the warrant.
Police have said
Byrne was hospitalized in critical condition, but his condition has
since improved slightly. Curran was treated and released.
All four
suspects face second-degree robbery charges instead of simple robbery
because of the severity of the injuries, police have said.