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UPDATE: Man arrested following truck theft at Covington Academy store

(Photo courtesy of St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office)

UPDATE: On Wednesday, October 6, the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest of Andrew Barbazon in Natalbany.

Barbazon was taken into custody by the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office and booked as a fugitive into the parish jail.


In a statement announcing the arrest, St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Randy Smith expressed his gratitude towards the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office, saying:

“I cannot thank Sheriff Daniel Edwards and the men and women of the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office enough for the assistance they have provided to us on this case and the hours they have put in helping us locate this man to get him off the streets.”


UPDATE: On Monday, October 4, STPSO identified the man wanted in this incident to be 33-year-old Andrew Barbazon.

Police report a search warrant was executed at Barbazon’s residence in Tangipahoa Parish, however, the subject was not there and has yet to be located.

Barbazon is wanted for first-degree robbery following the incident that occurred at Academy Sports and Outdoors on October 2.

Anyone with any information on his whereabouts should contact the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office at (985)898-2338.


COVINGTON, La. (WGNO) — On Saturday morning, St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s deputies responded to the Academy Sports and Outdoors, located at 7205 Pinnacle Parkway in Covington, after a woman reported a white male, armed with a rifle, stole her truck.

According to police, deputies arrived at the store within minutes and began investigating the incident. After deputies reviewed video footage from the store, it was learned the unknown white man removed an airsoft BB rifle from its packaging and discarded the empty package in the store. The man then exited the store and was in the parking lot for some time.

The woman was loading her packages in the back of her truck when the unknown man walked up and entered the driver’s side door of her truck. The man then drove off in the parking lot towards Interstate 12.

Shortly after 11:00 a.m., police located the truck on Haynes Road, in Tangipahoa Parish.

The St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office is working with the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office to identify and locate the man.

If anyone has any information to assist with the investigation, call the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office at (985) 898-2338.