Police say same man could have committed two seperate burglaries
Published 12:00 am Monday, December 18, 2006
BY KERI CHAMPION
Staff Reporter
LAPLACE- St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s Office is investigating the possibility that the same man committed two armed robberies over the weekend.
A report issued by the SJSO stated that on Friday, Dec. 8 a caller from the Walgreen’s at 1815 West Airline Highway advised deputies that a man with a gun had entered the store.
The report stated that the gunman came into the store and grabbed the manager with the gun still in hand and wrestled him to the floor.
“Give me what I want!” the suspect said.
“Sometime during the struggle the gunman became distracted and the manager was able to grab the gun, but the suspect was able to maintain the weapon,” said Mike Tregre, spokesman for St. John Sheriff’s Office.
“The gunman was able to free himself from the manager’s hold and escaped, running to the rear of the store on foot. He was unsuccessful in taking anything from the store,” he said.
The suspect was a black male and was wearing a long black jacket and white knit mask to cover his face at the time of the attempted robbery.
“We suspect that there may have been another person involved. The investigation so far has led officers to believe that a vehicle was parked in the rear of the store to ensure an escape,” Tregre said.
Lead investigator is Det. Lt. Juan Watkins.
On Saturday, police responded to a second call regarding a robbery in progress at the Mini Hui Mart in LaPlace. The suspect in this case was a black male about 5’10”. He was wearing a white mask, blue jeans and a black quilted jacket.
“The gunman entered the store from the front door armed with a handgun and approached the cash register. When he reached the register, he took the register from the store and fled in an unknown direction,” Tregre said.
An undisclosed amount of money was taken from the register and officers are continuing their investigation. Detective Jerry Fountain is the lead investigator in this case.
If anyone has any information regarding these two crimes please call SJSO at 985-652-9514.
