The long arm of the law finally caught up to Metairie resident and suspected burglar Nicholas P. Banta.
Banta, 30, who is the prime suspect in six business burglaries in St. Charles Parish, was arrested by the United States Marshal Service in Orlando, Fla. Banta was found in an apartment complex trying to pass himself off as one of his aliases.
Last summer, Banta is suspected of burglarizing six businesses, which included both supermarkets and convenience stores inside the parish. In each of the crimes, the burglar gained entry by cutting a hole in the roof of a business before lowering himself via ladder into the building.
While committing the burglaries, the perpetrator used an extensive array of cutting tools and devices to attack cash registers and ATMs inside each business.
The crimes didn’t target cash exclusively; assorted items ranging from butterfly shrimp to checks were also lifted from some of the premises.
Banta allegedly would be on the roof and out of site in literally seconds after staking out his target locations in advance and disabling the alarm system.
During the crime wave, the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office instituted a plain-clothes task force, which worked for weeks attempting to apprehend Banta in the act. The office believes it was that pressure that caused Banta to stop hitting businesses inside the parish and eventually flee the area.
On May 23 of 2007, Banta, along with four accomplices, was arrested and booked with 20 counts of simple burglary in connection with break-ins at 20 businesses in Metairie and River Ridge between February 2006 and February 2007. Banta was also charged with five counts of auto theft for stealing vehicles from other businesses and using them in the burglaries. Together, the men made off with over $200,000 worth of merchandise and cash from the businesses.
The first of the six business burglaries in St. Charles Parish took place while Banta was out on bond for the Jefferson Parish burglaries.
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