By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s deputies have arrested a LaPlace man who allegedly flashed some sort of badge before robbing a boy in the parking lot of a LaPlace convenience store Wednesday.

Sean Schnyder, 44, of 1600 Marseille Drive, was booked on simple robbery and false impersonation of a police officer charges after deputies obtained a warrant for his arrest Friday morning, said Capt. Dane Clement, spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies responded to the incident just before 2:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Ole Tyme Saver store in the 1700 block of Carrollwood Drive, said Clement. He said when deputies arrived they found the victim, who went to the store Wednesday with two other older boys.

The victim told deputies he and the other two boys rode their bikes to the store. When they got to the store, a man, later identified as Schnyder, approached them in the parking lot, showed them a “police-type” badge and said, “This is official police business,” according to Clement. The suspect grabbed the victim and pulled him behind a dumpster. The other two boys ran inside the store for help. The boy attempted to pull away from the man, but was pushed against the dumpster. Clement said the man went through the boy’s pockets and stole money before fleeing behind an adjacent two-story building. Deputies canvassed the area but could not locate the suspect after the incident. Clement said investigators used surveillance footage to get a better description and identification of the suspect. Schnyder was booked into the Sherman Walker Correctional Facility in LaPlace. His bond has not been set.