Authorities have obtained a warrant to arrest a man who is awaiting trial for a 2020 armed carjacking on allegations that he fatally stabbed a physical therapist outside her 7th Ward home before stealing her car Tuesday.
Bryan Andry, 47, faces second-degree murder and armed robbery charges following the slaying of 60-year-old Portia Pollock, New Orleans police said. He remained at large late Thursday.
Andry, who spent much of the last year behind bars, was able to post bond in February after it was reduced by newly elected Criminal District Court Judge Angel Harris. He was also supposed to be wearing an ankle monitor, but it was either not functioning, he had removed it, or he never got one on at all.
Police haven’t said publicly how they linked Andry to Pollock’s death. But multiple law enforcement sources familiar with the case said officers identified him through surveillance camera footage, a description provided by an eyewitness and Crimestoppers tips.
Additionally, the sources said, Andry called friends and family.
Bryan Andry, via JPSO
Pollock was leaving her home and was headed for her car about 7:30 a.m. when she was attacked, police said. Paramedics took her to a hospital to be treated for a stab wound to the chest, but doctors there pronounced her dead.
Meanwhile, Pollock’s killer fled with her dark-colored, 2016 Honda CRV. It is unclear if the vehicle has been recovered.
Before Pollock’s killing, Andry had spent most of the last year in jail after a grand jury indicted him on two counts each of armed robbery with a firearm and being a felon in possession of a gun.
One charge centered around allegations that Andry, who was armed, went into a Walgreens at the corner of South Claiborne and Napoleon avenues and stole cash on March 17, 2020. During the holdup, he allegedly told a clerk, "B****, I'll shoot you and kill you," court records show.
The other stemmed from an armed carjacking Andry allegedly committed that same day in the 1900 block of Frenchmen Street, about a mile from where Pollock was stabbed to death Tuesday. During that stickup, court records allege, Andry clutched at his waistband and said, "Don't make me use this gun."
Former Criminal District Court Judge Franz Zibilich set bail for Andry at $245,000. But on Feb. 1, Harris — whose platform as a progressive candidate helped her to unseat Zibilich last fall — reduced Andry’s bail to $95,000, granting a defense motion to drop the amount, records show.
Andry's bond reduction also occurred at a time when coronavirus cases were surging in New Orleans but vaccines weren't being distributed inside the parish jail.
An oak-lined stretch of North Dorgenois Street turned into a disturbing crime scene Tuesday morning when a physical therapist was stabbed to d…
Andry soon made bond, and as a condition of his release from jail, he was supposed to wear an ankle monitor that tracked his movements.
However, it does not appear that Andry was wearing a functioning ankle monitor, or one of the devices at all, when Pollock was killed. Investigators had to turn to other methods that didn't rely on the ankle monitor's coordinates when they were attempting to track him down following Pollock's slaying, the sources said.
When Andry posted bond in New Orleans on Feb. 1, he was transferred to the Jefferson Parish jail and booked on a charge of illegal possession of stolen things after he was found driving a car that was reported stolen, Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office Capt. Jason Rivarde said.
He posted a $15,000 bond in that case and was released from the Jefferson jail on Feb. 5.
Court records in Orleans and Jefferson parishes show he's since appeared for virtual and in-person hearings in each parish, respectively. However, when he was released from the Jefferson jail, there were no instructions in his file to return Andry to New Orleans to equip him with an ankle monitor, the Sheriff's Office spokesman said.
Andry has an extensive arrest history in New Orleans dating back to 1991. He received a 15-year prison sentence after pleading guilty in 2005 to aggravated burglary as a two-time offender, records show.
Besides the armed robbery case in Harris’ courtroom, Andry was also out on bond in connection with a crack cocaine possession charge filed against him by Orleans Parish prosecutors in July 2020. He was due in court for both Orleans cases on June 15.
Andry would receive mandatory life imprisonment if ultimately convicted of murder. If also convicted of armed robbery, he could get up to 99 more years behind bars.
New Orleans police have asked anyone with knowledge of Andry's whereabouts to call Crimestoppers at (504) 822-1111. Tipsters may be eligible for a cash reward.
Matt Sledge and WWL-TV's Danny Monteverde contributed to this report.
A physical therapist was stabbed to death during a carjacking outside of her 7th Ward home on Tuesday, according to a law enforcement source a…
