Jefferson Parish man convicted in bank robbery, carjacking

A Jefferson Parish man will be sentenced on Wednesday after a jury convicted him of carjacking a family and speeding away with an 18-year-old girl in the back seat of that car.

The jury spent less than an hour deliberating before returning guilty verdicts against William Frye on simple robbery, carjacking, and second-degree kidnapping charges.

The incident happened on November 30, 2022. On that day, Frye robbed a bank on the Jefferson Highway near Arnoult Road before running out of the business, dumping some of his belongings, and jumping a fence. Frye landed on the property of a Berwick Street business. That's where he jumped into a car with its engine running. The teen in the backseat unsuccessfully tried to fight off Frye, who then sped away in the car. The teen jumped out of the moving car, breaking her pelvis.

Frye hit a parked car trying to get away and later ditched the vehicle about a mile from where he stole it. Authorities later tracked him to a motel room on Airline Highway and arrested him. Detectives found money from the bank robbery on Frye and in the motel room. They also used DNA evidence from the stolen car to tie him to the crime. On top of that, the teen victim from the carjacking also identified Frye as the suspect after seeing his mug shot in an online news report about his arrest.

The carjacking charge calls for a minimum 20-year prison sentence. The kidnapping charge carries a maximum 40-year prison sentence.