By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – A 23-year-old LaPlace man was robbed at gunpoint Friday as he walked home from a LaPlace shopping center, according to a release from the St. John the Baptist Sheriff’s Office.

Authorities were called out to a home in the 1500 block of Lafreniere Drive in LaPlace around 11:50 p.m. Friday, where they met the victim. Capt. Dane Clement, spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office, said the man told deputies he was robbed near the shopping center in the 1300 Block of West Airline Highway about an hour and a half before he called police.

The man told deputies he was walking home from the shopping center when two men approached as he walked near the back of the mall, Clement said.

“One of the suspects, armed with a handgun, told him to ‘empty your pockets or I will shoot,’” Clement said. “The victim gave the suspects his wallet that contained a bank card and a social security card.”

Clement said the victim, who was not injured in the incident, fled the area on foot toward his home. The victim told deputies one suspect was tall with long dreadlocked hair and wearing a red shirt and a white rag on his neck. He said the other suspect was shorter with short hair and wearing a red shirt and black jeans. The two suspects fled the area in an unknown direction.

Clement said anyone with information regarding the robbery should call St. John Parish sheriff’s detectives at 985-359-8769 or Crimestoppers at 504-522-1111.