Shreveport, LA: Alleged panhandler booked on kidnapping, robbery charges

SHREVEPORT, LA (KSLA) –

Police say James Parker, 49, of the 3800 block of Baxter Street in Shreveport is behind bars on charges connected to panhandling on Tuesday, Oct.30, as well as a kidnapping and robbery on Thursday, Nov. 1.

An investigation of the two crimes began with the second one, when, at about 9:30 p.m. on November 1, police assigned to the department’s Robbery Intervention Detail responded to a simple robber complaint reported in the 1100 block of Shreveport-Barksdale Highway.

Officers there learned that a woman who had been pumping gas was accosted by a man who tried to steal her gas card. The woman told police the man fled after he failed to steal her belongings.

The woman gave police the man’s description, and police later spotted a man who fit that description just blocks from the scene of the attempted robbery.

Police say the man was seen panhandling at the time.

During an investigation, police linked the man arrested and charged with panhandling to an incident that occurred two days earlier.

That’s when police say a man was robbed at gunpoint and forced to drive to multiple ATM locations and withdraw money.

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