Baton Rouge man sentenced to 24 years in federal prison for robbery, gun, theft charges

BATON ROUGE – A man was sentenced to over 24 years in federal prison after being convicted of interference of commerce by robbery, among other gun-related charges. 

Forrest Hardy, 33, was convicted in a pair of gunpoint robberies over the span of two days from January 2020. On Jan. 7, Hardy entered a Boost Mobile store on Scenic Highway, pointed a gun at an employee, and demanded money from the registers. The employee gave him the money, and Hardy left the store in a gold Lexus. 

Just over 24 hours later, on Jan. 8, Hardy walked into a Metro PCS on North Foster Drive and again demanded at gunpoint that the employee give him money from the register. He also demanded the employee give him money from the safe in the back, which the employee did. Hardy also allegedly stole an iPhone from the safe, as well.

Police arrested Hardy later in the evening of Jan. 8 and obtained a search warrant which yielded key elements from both of the robberies. 

Hardy was convicted of interference of commerce by robbery. He was sentenced to 24 years and four months in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release. 

In 2007, Hardy was convicted of armed robbery in East Baton Rouge; in 2019, he was convicted of second-degree battery and false imprisonment in Lafayette.