ERIK SANZENBACH / L’Observateur / June 14, 2000

RESERVE – Marie’s Texaco Station at the corner of Airline Highway and Central Avenue in Reserve was the scene of an attempted armed robbery Friday night that left a cashier wounded.

According to St. John Parish authorities, a tall, thin, black male dressed indark clothing and wearing a ski mask entered the gas station around 11 p.m.Witnesses said the suspect brandished a handgun and demanded money from the cashier.

The cashier made a run for the door behind the counter, but the robber jumped over the counter and grabbed her. In the ensuing struggle the robberfired his gun at the cashier’s head, but the bullet ricocheted off the woman’s forehead.

The robber then jumped back over the counter and fled the store in a white car with tinted windows and a loud exhaust. Authorities said he headed downCentral Avenue toward River Road.

The cashier, whose name was not released, was taken to River Parishes Hospital, where she was treated and released.

However, Capt. Mike Tregre of the St. John Sheriff’s Office said the womenchecked back into the hospital two days later complaining of headaches.

Despite an unsuccessful robbery,Tregre warned that the suspect is “a very bold and dangerous person. He tried to rob the store during normal businesshours when there were lots of people.”Anybody with any information on this incident are urged to call the sheriff’s office at 652-2773 and ask for Detective Sgt. Andy Breaux.

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