[StBernard] After Walgreens robbery in Chalmette, two Gretna men booked with aggravated kidnapping

[Westley Annis]

After Walgreens robbery in Chalmette, two Gretna men booked with aggravated
kidnapping

Benjamin Alexander-Bloch, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
Print Benjamin Alexander-Bloch, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune By Benjamin
Alexander-Bloch, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune 
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on August 25, 2014 at 12:58 PM, updated August 25, 2014 at 12:59 PM

Two Gretna on Monday were booked on charges of armed robbery and aggravated
kidnapping after attempting to rob a Walgreens in Chalmette and herding a
customer and two employees into a back room at the store, according to the
St. Bernard Parish Sheriff's Office.

Leonard Gibson, 43, and Ben Amos, 27, both of the 800 block of Fried Street,
were arrested Monday morning after the incident at the store on the corner
of Judge Perez Drive and Paris Road, according to Sheriff Jimmy Pohlmann.

Gibson also was booked on charges of possession of a stolen gun and
possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, as he was carrying a revolver
that had been reported stolen in Texas, the sheriff said.

"The call and the quick response by our officers prevented a possible
hostage situation or worse,'' Pohlmann said.

He said an employee managed to call the Sheriff's Office about 4:30 a.m.
Monday as the robbery was in progress. No one was injured and the only item
stolen was a cell phone from an employee, which was recovered, according to
the Sheriff's Office.

Pohlmann said the men had bandanas covering over their faces, and that they
each gloves and used wraps to try and tie up the three victims.

Investigators believe at least one more person is involved because another
man appeared to have dropped them off at the store, according to the
Sheriff's Office.