Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
A man who entered a Metairie convenience store armed with a machete and threatened an employee fled after he was confronted by a customer who was armed with a gun, according to authorities.
The blade-wielding suspect was later identified as Robert Merritt, 37, of Metairie. He was taken into custody after returning to the store while deputies were still investigating, a Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office arrest report said.
Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office deputies spent two hours searching for a handcuffed man who escaped from a patrol car in Harvey Monday morning.
The incident began just before 5:30 a.m. at a store in the 2100 block of Cleary Avenue on Friday. An employee told investigators the man later identified as Merritt approached him while he was outside the store, said Capt. Jason Rivarde, spokesman for the Sheriff's Office.
Merritt threatened to kill the employee, then walked inside and began taking beers, according to Rivarde. He's accused of again threatening to kill the employee, who had walked inside the store.
That's when an unidentified male customer who was also inside the store at the time pulled out his concealed gun and pointed it at Merritt, Rivarde said.
While Merritt was distracted, the employee grabbed the machete and called 911 for help. Merritt allegedly told the employee he'd leave if given back his machete, according to Rivarde. The employee handed back the blade, and Merritt fled the store, dropping his wallet.
No other information was available Monday about the other customer and whether he had a valid concealed-carry permit for the firearm.
Deputies responded to the scene and were still speaking with the victim when Merritt returned to the business, Rivarde said. The deputies tried to detain Merritt, but he resisted being handcuffed, the arrest report said.
One of the deputies used a TASER stun gun, and Merritt was taken into custody. He was arrested and booked into the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center in Gretna with aggravated assault and resisting arrest.
Bond was set at $1,000, but Merritt was released the same day because of crowding at the jail.
https://www.nola.com/news/crime_police/article_3029f2fe-cab7-11ea-be2e-2703184ae635.html