Third incident in Reserve leads to suspect being booked

By ROBIN SHANNON

Staff Reporter

RESERVE – St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s deputies arrested a Reserve man Monday in connection with a string of home burglaries occurring in the area over the past few months, the latest of which happened the morning of his arrest.

Maj. Mike Tregre, spokesperson for the St. John Sheriff’s office said detectives have physical evidence tying Alton Placide Jr., 37, 519 Homewood Pl., Reserve, to three separate home invasions, but would not elaborate further. Placide was targeting homes within a short distance of his own residence in Reserve.

&#8220This crime particularly concerned me since it involved local homes being broken into,” Sheriff Wayne Jones said. &#8220I’m happy to see our detectives made this arrest in this case.”

Tregre said Placide’s latest invasion occurred early Monday morning when he forced entry into the home of a 73-year-old woman and her 53-year-old daughter in the 200 block of E. 6th Street.

According to police reports, around 2:30 a.m., the 53-year-old was awakened by her dog barking in the rear of the home. When she went to investigate, Placide, a heavy built black man, wearing black clothing and a black mask, confronted her with a gun and knocked her to the ground.

Placide then asked the victim if anyone else was home. She then proceeded to inform the suspect her mother was sleeping in another room. The suspect had both victims sit together while he searched the residence. The suspect then fled the residence taking an undisclosed amount of cash.

Tregre said the 53-year-old victim received three stitches behind her left ear as a result of the fall. He said the 73-year-old was not injured in the incident.

Tregre said Placide is linked to a similar home invasion in the 100 block of nearby Hickory Street on September 22, and is the prime suspect in a July 22 burglary a few blocks from there. Tregre said in both those cases, Placide tied up his victims and proceeded to rob them at gunpoint.

Placide, who was booked into the Sherman Walker Correctional Facility late Monday evening, was charged with three counts of accessory after the fact to armed robbery, one count of illegal possession of stolen firearms, and possession of stolen things. He is being held on $135,000 bond.