Bank Robbery Nets Slidell Man 45 Years in Prison
July 3, 2025
District Attorney Collin Sims reports that on July 2, 2025, 50-year-old Herbert Davis of Slidell pled guilty to armed robbery with a firearm and was sentenced by Judge Vincent Lobello to 45 years in prison without benefit of parole. Assistant District Attorneys Tiffany Dover and Shelby Stoop prosecuted the case. Detective Kyle Taylor with the Slidell Police Department led the investigation.
Shortly before noon on November 2, 2023, a man, later determined to be Herbert Davis, entered a bank on Gause Blvd in Slidell. Wearing a black baseball cap and a black face mask to conceal his identity, Davis approached a teller and pointed a semi-automatic handgun at him. While throwing a drawstring bag toward the teller, Davis demanded the teller fill it with money. The teller quietly placed approximately $6,000 into the bag and returned the bag to Davis. Davis then fled the bank on foot.
Upon notification of the armed robbery, officers with the Slidell Police Department responded to the bank and immediately began their investigation. In addition to surveillance video from the bank itself, detectives also obtained video footage from other sources in the vicinity of the bank. Those videos showed after committing the robbery, Davis walked to a pickup truck parked approximately a block from the bank and drove away. The truck had no license plate but detectives utilized other database sources to obtain the license plate number affiliated with the truck. It revealed the truck was registered to Herbert Davis.
Detectives obtained search warrants for both the truck and the Slidell residence of Davis. On November 3, 2023, detectives spotted Davis driving his truck in Slidell. Patrol officers attempted to conduct a traffic stop of Davis but Davis eluded the officers by running stops signs and driving more than 30 miles over the speed limit. Officers were eventually able to stop Davis. A search of his truck revealed a latex glove similar to one worn by the bank robber as seen in the bank video. Also recovered from his truck were various denominations of U.S. currency, a black face mask and a radio capable of monitoring police radio transmissions. A search of the residence belonging to Davis led to the discovery of an empty gun case and an owner’s manual for a semi-automatic handgun consistent with the one used in the robbery. Detectives obtained an arrest warrant for armed robbery and arrested Davis on the warrant.
When Davis was questioned about the robbery, he denied any involvement. Davis was transported to the Slidell city jail. The next day, Davis alerted a correctional officer he wanted to speak to the detectives again. When the detectives returned to the jail, Davis said he was ready to tell the truth. He said he was experiencing financial problems and the idea to rob a bank just popped in his head. He said he drove to a parking lot near the bank and sat in his truck for a long period. He said he prayed about it for a while before entering the bank but should have prayed more. Davis was asked what he did with the money. He said he threw the bag of money out the truck window when the patrol officers were pursuing him. Detectives went to the area where Davis said he discarded the bag and they were able to recover it. It still contained nearly $6,000 in cash.
During the guilty plea and sentencing of Davis, two bank employees gave verbal statements in court as to how they were impacted by the traumatic experience of being robbed at gunpoint. Davis and several of members of his family gave testimony seeking sympathy from the court. Before imposing the 45-year prison term, the court noted Davis put the victims in real danger of losing their lives. The court also noted that Davis was able to sell some property to post his bond but chose not to consider that option when he instead decided to rob the bank during a financially difficult time.
Davis has prior felony convictions for simple burglary, unauthorized entry of a business and possession of stolen things. He faced up to 104 years in prison on the charge of armed robbery with a firearm.