New Orleans Saints and Pelicans owner Gayle Benson was sitting in her car Uptown last weekend when a man barged in and apparently tried to steal the vehicle, police and team officials confirmed Friday.
The man abandoned his plan when Benson screamed for him to get out. Investigators are now searching for a suspect, the Saints and New Orleans police said.
Police released details about the encounter in a statement that didn’t identify Benson by name. But longtime Saints and Pelicans spokesman Greg Bensel confirmed her vehicle was the target of what police have classified as an attempted auto theft.
According to police, someone parked a white Nissan Titan directly next to Benson’s car in the 6200 block of South Claiborne Avenue about 2:15 p.m. last Saturday, Oct. 10. A man emerged from the Titan and got into Benson’s car, police said.
Police said the man got back into the Titan and fled when Benson ordered him out of her car.
“While she was very shaken at the time, she was unharmed and is doing fine,” Bensel said in a statement Friday. “She wanted to send her sincere gratitude to the men and women of the New Orleans Police Department that responded so quickly and professionally.”
Bensel and a police source said the intruder approached while Benson was seated in the back of her car and her driver had gone inside of a business on the block. Police said they didn’t classify the crime as an attempted carjacking because there’s no evidence the intruder realized Benson was inside the vehicle before he got in.
Investigators haven’t named any suspects in the case and asked anyone with information to call Crimestoppers at (504) 822-1111.
Benson’s brush with the would-be car thief comes as overall crime in New Orleans has dropped more than 11% when compared to 2019, according to unofficial City Council statistics. As of Thursday, crimes such as carjackings and auto thefts were down nearly 18% and 76%, respectively, those stats show.
The attempted theft of the NFL and NBA owner’s car also came amid an eventful few weeks for her football team.
Since Oct. 3, the Saints have dealt with a coronavirus scare while traveling to Detroit, the suspension of star wide receiver Michael Thomas after a fight at practice, and are looking into relocating their home games to LSU’s Tiger Stadium to accommodate fans, who haven’t been able to attend contests at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome because of coronavirus restrictions.
Fullback Michael Burton initially received a positive coronavirus test result after the Saints had already flown to Detroit, but it was deemed a false positive, and the game against the Lions was played as scheduled.
The next weekend, the Saints suspended Thomas for at least one game after he punched safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson at last Saturday’s practice ahead of their game against the Chargers. Thomas reportedly didn’t like how Gardner-Johnson was defending him.
The Saints began meeting with LSU officials on Tuesday to discuss using Tiger Stadium as their home venue since fans haven’t been allowed to attend games at the Superdome due to New Orleans-specific coronavirus guidelines. While Gov. John Bel Edwards signed off on the Saints’ plan to have a limited number of fans attend games on Sept. 1, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell has since denied the Saints’ requests to have the Superdome at 25% capacity for games.
Cantrell on Thursday essentially gave her blessing to the Saints’ playing in Baton Rouge, saying during a press conference that Tiger Stadium is “a great place to play temporarily.”
The Saints haven’t made any definitive plans for Tiger Stadium as of Friday morning, Bensel said.
