AMY SZPARA

LAPLACE – A Marrero man who allegedly broke into a LaPlace Rent-A-Center by busting through a glass door with a cement block and then walking away with a stereo was arrested early Sunday, according to authorities. After a St. John the Baptist Parish sheriff’s deputy stopped the man because he fit the description of a burglar wanted in St. Charles Parish, the stereo and other possibly stolen items were found in the suspect’s possession, authorities said. John Washington, 34, 2020 Betty St., was booked with possession of stolen items, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of cocaine, operating a vehicle while under suspension, fugitive from another agency and two counts contempt of court. According to Capt. Mike Tregre of the St. John Sheriff’s Office, the Rent-A-Center, located at 150 J. Belle Terre Blvd., was burglarized Saturday morning around 6:08 a.m. Deputies were dispatched to the store after an alarm was set off, and upon arriving they found a shattered door and a cement block inside. A Sony shelf stereo had been taken. Later that day the sheriff’s office received a call from the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office concerning a burglary at the Norco Eckerd Drugs, said Tregre. Deputies were on the lookout for a burgundy van and a man who was about six feet tall, wearing blue jeans and a blue shirt. Early Sunday morning Deputy Kyle Ory of the St. John Sheriff’s Office spotted a van and driver fitting the description heading west bound on Airline Highway in LaPlace just past Main Street. The suspect continued driving, turning onto Carrolwood Drive, on to Dominican Drive and then to Ormond Boulevard. Ory followed the van into an apartment complex. “The driver then stopped and fled on foot,” said Tregre. Sgt. Larry LeBlanc caught the suspect, and upon checking him out found he had outstanding warrants. A crack cocaine pipe was allegedly found in Washington’s front right pocket and two rocks of crack cocaine were allegedly found inside a pack of cigarettes. The shelf stereo was sitting on the passenger seat of the van. According to Tregre, detectives are still investigating to determine if the van was stolen. They are also still trying to determine if Washington was the man who broke into Eckerd Drugs. “We’re looking into this case and a few others where the person had the same MO.’ We are looking into what he was doing out here and why he was in St. Charles Parish,” said Tregre, adding that jewelry found on Washington is also suspected of being stolen. “We are trying to find out all we can about him (Washington), just as much as we can.” Washington is being held at the Sherman R. Walker Correctional Center in LaPlace. Tregre said investigators will be working closely with the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office on the cases. “This was a pretty good catch,” said Tregre.