A Gonzales woman frustrated by a raft of mechanical problems with her newly purchased car attempted to get a refund from the Kenner dealership where she bought the vehicle.
The only problem, Kenner police say, is that she demanded her money back while her boyfriend was holding the dealership's employees at gunpoint.
Mahogany Landry, 21, was arrested April 19 and booked with attempted armed robbery, being a principal to aggravated assault with a firearm and using offensive words.
Her boyfriend, J'Sinn Bazille, 20, is in custody in another parish but has not yet been booked in connection with the refund row, according to Capt. Michael Cunningham, spokesperson for the Kenner Police Department.
Landry appeared in Jefferson Parish Magistrate Court on July 1 for a preliminary hearing in her case. Kenner Detective Aaron Savoie testified that Landry bought a 2012 Nissan Altima from Auto Nation, a dealership located in the 2300 block of Williams Boulevard.
Landry returned to the business on April 12, angry about some mechanical issues she'd been experiencing. Despite the deal being an "as-is" sale, the employees were in the process of trying to take care of the problems, Savoie testified.
Landry, however, was insistent on a refund of the more than $5,000 she'd paid, according to authorities. At some point, Bazille, who'd accompanied Landry to the business, pulled a gun from the waistband of his pants and ordered the employees to listen to his girlfriend and return her money, Savoie said.
Though it was Bazille holding the pistol, Landry didn't attempt to stop him or calm the situation, Savoie testified. The dealership told the couple they would pay for the car's repairs.
"They didn't want to hear it. They wanted the refund," Savoie said.
The dealership's employees then explained that they didn't have cash in the store. The money was kept in a bank account. Landry and Bazille agreed to follow the employees to the bank to retrieve the cash, according to Savoie.
As soon as the employees got outside the dealership, they fled and called authorities, Savoie said.
Landry was arrested in Gonzales and transferred to Jefferson Parish on April 19.
Criminal Commissioner Paul Schneider ruled there was probable cause to hold Landry as charged.
"Maybe she didn't know when they arrived that the boyfriend was going to pull a gun ... but once he's pointing the gun and then demanding a refund, once she tries to leave to go the bank to get the refund, I believe she became a principal to both matters," he said.
Landry was released July 2 from the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center on a $175,000 bond.
Bazille was being held at the Ascension Parish jail on a gun charge and a fugitive charge. Once transported to Jefferson Parish, he will be booked with attempted armed robbery, aggravated assault with a firearm and disturbing the peace, Cunningham said.