Mamou store clerk foils robbery attempt

Nicholas N. Istre probably didn’t anticipate what the store clerk would do when he -- wearing a bandana over his mouth and nose -- brought what looked like a 9 mm pistol into the Exxon station at the southeast corner of Sixth and Poinciana streets in Mamou and demanded money.

Without hesitating, the clerk called police and told them to get to the store right away, said Marie Potter, Mamou police detective.

Istre immediately ran from the store and fled into an alley behind the store, where police found him minutes after the botched robbery occurred, shortly after 7 p.m. on Monday, July 8.

Potter said when she first saw the gun, which she said Istre threw into a ditch behind the gas station, it “looked real.” But upon further examination, she said it turned out to be a pellet gun.

Istre, 26, 129 Fifth St., Mamou, was found hiding behind the Exxon station minutes after he fled from the store. Potter said he gave a “full confession,” when he was brought to the police station.

Within an hour, police also took into custody three people in a car that was driven to the Exxon station to pick up Istre. Those included Vincent Mark Lanaux, 23, 412 Elm St., Mamou; Kenaveon K. Cook, 20, 1314 Mouton St., Opelousas; and Erin Danielle Dupre, 26, 5153 Eunice-Iota Highway, Eunice.

All four were transferred to the Evangeline Parish Jail July 10, where they were charged with armed robbery and were each being held on $100,000 bonds at press time.

Potter said the four were found because of “good old police work,” after the clerk called. Officers Joshua Uhlman and Wesley Childress worked the case, and officer Robert McGee assisted Potter.

Detective Potter said citizens around the Exxon store “had their eyes open,” and were able to help police find the four people they arrested.