A Jefferson Parish jury convicted a man Wednesday of armed robbery. The jury found that 50-year-old Shawn Carter threatened a store clerk with a hammer to get the clerk to open up the store's cash register in the February 2021 crime.
Prosecutors said Carter stole cash, liquor, and the clerk's iPhone in the robbery. Gretna police canines were able to track Carter's scent from the Atlanta Falcons cap and shirt he discarded while fleeing the scene. While canvassing the area, officers found the claw hammer from the robbery discarded in storm drain.
The Jefferson Parish District Attorney's officer presented DNA evidence linking Carter to the cop, shirt, and hammer.
It was not the first time Carter ran afoul of the law for using a hammer as a weapon. In 1994, Carter used a hammer to beat 20-year-old Christian Smith to death in a home in Gretna. The hammer was found embedded in Smith's skull.
Charged with second degree murder, Carter pleaded to guilty to manslaughter and received a 40 year sentence. He was released on parole in 2014.
Judge Ray Steib is scheduled to sentence Carter on the robbery conviction on August 21.
