Leonard Gray / L’Observateur / July 1, 1998

LAPLACE – St. John Parish sheriff’s detectives arrested a Garyville teen-ager Tuesday and charged him with Sunday’s murder of Bobby Volion, committed during a robbery at Garyville’s Junior Food Mart.

“I just want something done!” Marie Volion weeped bitterly on Monday at the loss of her husband, whom she married last Christmas Eve. “It’s sowrong! As God is my witness, somebody’s gonna pay!” St. John detectives met that challenge and arrested Crandell Turner, 17,122-A East St., and charged him with first-degree murder and armedrobbery.

“We’re very confident we have the right person,” St. John Parish SheriffWayne L. Jones said as he announced the arrest Tuesday afternoon.Volion, 29, 107 South Apple St., Garyville, started work on Friday atJunior Food Mart, 2972 River Road at Historic Main Street, trying to earn enough money for medical treatment for his wife. He didn’t want to takethe job, as he would not be permitted to carry a firearm and he thought it was dangerous, but he needed the extra money.

Sunday night he was on the store’s telephone near the cashier’s post, talking with his wife. He was unarmed, not wearing a security guarduniform and standing with his back to the door. An intruder walked in andfired four times into his back, mortally wounding him.

According to Volion’s uncle, Allen Volion, the intruder called him by name before shooting him and then told the female cashier he was not going to shoot her as he took cash from the register and made his escape, possibly on a bicycle.

Jones said the suspect walked into the store, shot Volion, then walked to the register and said, “I’m not gonna kill you. Open the register. I want themoney.”Marie Volion, still on the telephone, heard the fatal shots. She hung up andphoned 9-1-1 at 10:03 p.m., and the first deputies arrived at the scenethree minutes later. Volion died shortly thereafter at St. James ParishHospital, Lutcher.

The store’s owner, Sonny Adams, commented: “This is the most brutal thing. It’s been hard on everybody.”Adams, who owns 17 convenience stores in south Louisiana, said the reason this store had a security guard was to head off loitering and shoplifting. The job was non-confrontational in nature, and the Garyvillepost was usually quiet, with no need for a gun, he said.

“I think we had one armed robbery there in 20 years,” he said.

Adams said of his guards: “I didn’t allow any of them to be armed,” and he added they were told to instruct people to leave if there was a problem. Ifthey resisted, the guards were told to phone the sheriff’s office.

“I’ll never own a store where I have to have an armed guard,” Adams said.

Bobby Volion took the job Friday out of the need to raise extra money for his wife’s medical treatment. Last week, Marie Volion severely shockedher left arm by touching a microwave oven with an electrical short. Theaccident left her with burns and no feeling in her entire arm. On Monday,her partially-blackened hand was in a brace, and she feared that without the treatment she could lose her arm.

Because of a congenital heart defect, Bobby Volion was unable to do heavy work. Marie Volion’s accident left the couple financially unsteady becausethey had no health insurance.

“He had done some work for us in that capacity last year and did a good job,” Adams commented, adding that’s what prompted them to offer him the job last Friday when the opportunity came up.

A $10,000 reward was offered by Adams for the arrest and conviction of Volion’s killer. Jones said he did not know if anyone would collect.”Garyville is still a fine community with outstanding citizens,” Adams concluded. “This has been a black eye.”Jones concluded: “It showed a total disregard for human life.”

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