LEONARD GRAY / L’Observateur / August 26, 2000

HAHNVILLE – A New Orleans man was convicted Thursday of two counts of armed robbery in the case of the June 10, 1999 Burger King robbery in Ormond.

Ty Collins, 28, was described by Assistant District Attorney Kim McElwee as “very dangerous,” and she is seeking a maximum 198-year term.

“Not a day less would be suitable,” she said.

Sentencing is set in 29th Judicial District Court Sept. 18.Earlier this summer Christopher Sanborn, 24, also of New Orleans, received a 75-year sentence for his part in the crime.On July 26, Sanborn and Collins took a porter at the restaurant at gunpoint from behind the building where she was dumping grease. They took herback into the restaurant and put her in the cooler.

They then approached manager John Carroll, pistol-whipped him in the head with a .38 revolver, causing a gash which required 18 stitches, andforced him to open the restaurant’s safe.

Then the robbers shot Carroll in the thigh and buttocks, locked him in the cooler and made off with cash from the business.

“I’m very, very relieved we got this guy,” McElwee commented after the three-hour wait for the 12-person jury to return.

Two other people were involved in the robbery, according to McElwee, Danielle Kenner (Sanborn’s girlfriend) and Marian Sanborn (Sanborn’s cousin). They dropped Sanborn and his accomplice off at the Burger Kingand picked them up afterward following their unsuccessful attempt to steal the manager’s car. They drove back to New Orleans, split the moneyand went to a truck stop casino.

Kenner and Marian Sanborn testified against both Collins and Christopher Sanborn, and they will receive suspended sentences in return for their testimony.

Sanborn, sentenced by Judge Kirk Granier, had no prior felony record.

Collins, with two prior armed robberies on his record, faces a potential 198 years in prison.

The robbery itself, McElwee said, “shows how susceptible we are to the New Orleans crowd.”

Return To News Stories