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CVS robbery suspects may be 'Mob Gang' from Indiana, authorities say

Authorities believe the men from Indiana are known as the "Mob Gang" and robbed dozens of drug stores.

NEW ORLEANS — Arrest documents shed new light on what investigators say happened moments before two armed robbery suspects were involved in a shootout with New Orleans police officers Monday morning.

According to those documents, the two men barged into the store with military-like precision. 

Richard Sansbury, 26 of Indianapolis, was booked on charges of attempted first-degree murder of a police officer, armed robbery and false imprisonment with a weapon. He is one of two suspects accused of shooting at three New Orleans Police Department officers after robbing a CVS store in the city's Uptown area.

The second suspect, Alan Parson, 18 and also of Indianapolis, faces the same charges. 

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According to the warrant for Sansbury's arrest, the two men entered the store in the 4900 block of Prytania Street around 6 a.m. and wore hooded sweatshirts pulled over their heads and medical gloves to hide their identities.

Court records also stated that the suspects bound two employees with zip ties at gunpoint  and filled a large trash bag with drugs from the pharmacy safes. 

Sansbury allegedly pulled a handgun from his waistband and tied up the store's cashier with zip ties while the other man moved to the pharmacy section. The second man tied up a second employee then filled a large trash bag with pill bottles from the pharmacy's safe.

RELATED: Shooting is 4th this year in which officer has shot someone

Sansbury and Parson were on their way out of the store when confronted by police.  who told them to surrender. The two men then retreated into the store before returning and opening fire, wounding one officer in the shoulder. They continued shooting while trying to run away from the store but were also shot.

The wounded officer was taken to University Medical Center for treatment and was listed in stable condition as of Monday afternoon. NOPD Superintendent Shaun Ferguson said the officer was "in good spirits."

Parson collapsed in the front yard of a home less than two blocks away, in the 1300 block of Lyons Street where he was taken into custody. He was also taken to University Medical Center for treatment.

Police arrested Sansbury nearly three hours later, hiding in a nearby yard in the 1100 block of Upperline Street.

RELATED: Alleged shooter of NOPD officer hid in nearby yard after shootout, neighbor says

Besides local investigations, Federal agents are also investigating whether Sansbury and Parson may have been involved in prior pharmacy robberies in other states using the same M.O., sources said.  

Both suspects are from Indiana where authorities believe a group known as the "Mob Gang" may have robbed dozens of drug stores.

"All they're doing is looking for people to get what they want and the end result is they're looking for money," said Steve Dubois with Indiana Crimestoppers. "Whoever they have to use, abuse, destroy to get it they will."

Indiana authorities said they believe the gang members stole thousands of pills, then sold them on the streets for $15 a pill.

Sansbury appeared in Orleans Parish Magistrate Court Tuesday and Judge Harry Cantrell set his bond at $1.15 million. Parson's bond is $1.7 million. 

The NOPD Force Investigation Team (FIT) is investigating the incident. Federal officials and the Independent Police Monitor were also on the scene following the shootout, officials said.

NOPD officials said body camera video from the responding officers' vests were turned on and captured the incident. That video will be available for viewing within 10 days, according to the NOPD's video release policy.  

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