LAPLACE — The charges are mounting for a LaPlace man linked to gunplay and a string of local vehicle burglaries, but police say the threat to the community is still in place.

Originally arrested Oct. 20, Raychez Patterson was charged with simple burglary and possession of a schedule II controlled substance. Three days later, the 20-year-old’s charges mounted with two counts of principal to simple burglary and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon added to his plate.

He is now being held in custody in lieu of a $135,000 bond.

St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s deputies responded to Reserve’s Terrio Drive last week in reference to a vehicle burglary.

During the course of the investigation, detectives learned four males were walking in the area during the early morning hours of Oct. 20, pulling on vehicle door handles and entering unlocked vehicles.

Police said nothing specific was targeted, as the criminals were just grabbing whatever was available.

A Sheriff’s Office release said Patterson, a convicted felon, was quickly identified as one of the suspects, leading to his Oct. 20 arrest.

At the time of booking, only one complainant filed a vehicle burglary report.

Since that time, the Sheriff’s Office received more complaints of vehicle burglaries in Reserve, where “detectives determined that Patterson was also involved in.”

Police said at least one of the four suspects was armed during the burglaries, but it is not believed Patterson was the gunman.

With little to share publicly about the identities of the other three suspects, police can only say they are black males who were wearing dark-hooded sweatshirts.

The Sheriff’s Office recently circulated home surveillance video of a group of criminals breaking into a vehicle in Riverland Heights that included a man in a Tulane sweatshirt pointing a gun at a local home.

Police said they do not think the Patterson investigation and Riverland Heights cases are related.

According to the Sheriff’s Office, the investigation is ongoing since more suspects are involved.

Anyone who may be able to identify the burglars is encouraged to call the Sheriff’s Office TIPS line at 985-359-TIPS, the Criminal Investigations Division at 985-359-8769 or Crimestoppers at 504-822-1111.

Tips can be submitted at stjohnsheriff.org/submitatip.php.