Investigative techniques conducted by the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department, with assistance from the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Department, netted two suspects involved in a Craigslist sale that turned into an alleged armed robbery.
Chief Investigator Marc Ogden said that the case began on Sunday just after 5 p.m., when deputies responded to a call of an armed robbery outside the Skate Station in Carriere.
When they arrived, they spoke with the complainant, who said he was meeting a potential buyer for his motorcycle who contacted him via the website Craigslist.
But when the “buyer” and his accomplice arrived, the victim was robbed at gunpoint for the motorcycle, Ogden said. As one of the suspects drove away with his motorcycle, the victim used his cellphone to capture images of the motorcycle and suspect vehicle fleeing the scene. Ogden said those images were used as evidence to help investigators determine possible suspects, tracking them back to Jefferson Parish, Louisiana.
That information was used to identify 23-year-old Britten Parsons of 1648 Maplewood Drive, Harvey, La., and 24-year-old James Fincher of 35 Dumas Bailey Road, Picayune as suspects.
Ogden said witness reports from Jefferson Parish stating the motorcycle had been seen in the area led his team to Parsons’ home.
After contacting the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Department for assistance, warrants were secured for Parsons’ home and outlying buildings. Ogden said that during that search the stolen motorcycle and a gun believed to have been used in the robbery were found. The motorcycle had been dismantled and painted in an attempt to disguise it, he said.
Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Department took both suspects into custody at that time. Fincher was arrested by that agency for possession of stolen property and Parsons was arrested for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and receiving stolen property.
A hold was placed on both suspects by the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department for the offenses of conspiracy to commit armed robbery and armed robbery.
Ogden said he does not expect Parsons to receive a bond, since he was on probation for state and federal charges at the time of Sunday’s crime. Those previous convictions were for trafficking firearms, residential burglary, second degree rape and armed robbery in Alabama, Ogden said. Parsons also had a prior conviction for residential burglary in Pearl River County, the chief investigator said.