MARRERO, La. — An armed robbery suspect ran from police in Marrero Thursday, according to the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office, and after a several hours long man hunt, that search ended with a deputy shooting the suspect several times. He is in the hospital recovering from the gunshot wounds and he will be booked on several counts.
According to JPSO, the shooting comes after a five-week investigation into four armed robberies and residential burglaries where 50-year-old Louis Alexander was developed as a suspect. During the investigation, deputies recovered multiple guns believed to be used during the crimes.
"It was a lot of commotion, drones, helicopters, really scary," said Laura Bates who lives in Marrero. "All the streets were blocked off, they had the expressway blocked off, I couldn't even get in my yard."
According to JPSO, it was around 3:30 p.m. Thursday when deputies were in the 300 block of Avenue B getting ready to serve a search warrant. Alexander saw deputies and ran off.
Detectives pursued him and set up a perimeter in the area and used dogs, drones and the department's air support unit in the search. After several hours, Alexander was found under a house in the 4000 block of School Drive, according to JPSO said.
Judy Gehring lives next door to that home.
"They were checking under the houses, checking around the houses, they said he came through my yard and everything," Gehring said.
According to Captain Jason Rivarde with JPSO, Alexander refused to come out.
"They tried multiple times to get him to come out once they found out which house he was under. They deployed chemical agents, an OC spray (pepper spray) under the house to get him to come out, make it uncomfortable under there, he stayed under there. K9 units were there. He was informed of their presence, told they would put a dog in. It didn't come to that. Unfortunately the deputies had to fire at him," Rivarde said.
"About 10 o'clock I heard a bunch of bullets like, 'pop, pop, pop, pop, pop!' I was like, 'Oh my God.' so I laid on the floor," Gehring said.
When released, Alexander will be booked on residential burglary and armed robbery counts. Records show he was sentenced to 250 years in 1997 for five armed robbery counts and was likely out on parole.
In this case , Rivarde couldn't confirm whether Alexander was armed.
"We're going through all of that now," he said.
The deputy who shot Alexander will be interviewed to determine whether he took the appropriate actions.
"That deputy took the actions he felt he needed to take at the time and we'll go through an investigation to determine if those actions were appropriate. My understanding initially is they were appropriate," Rivarde said.
According to JPSO, Alexander was shot several times.
"I think in the arm, leg and once in the abdomen," Rivarde said.
Alexander is still in a hospital recovering and he is expected to survive the injuries," JPSO said Friday.
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