By ROBIN SHANNON

Staff Reporter

LAPLACE — Authorities in St. John are investigating a pair of unrelated armed robberies in the LaPlace area that occurred this past weekend.

Lt. Dane Clement, public information officer for the St. John Sheriff’s Office, said the first incident occurred around 5 p.m. Saturday when a 48-year-old man told deputies an unidentified gunman robbed him of his bike.

A report from the sheriff’s office said the victim told police he was riding in the 1000 block of West Airline Highway when a man with a handgun stopped him. Clement said the gunman ordered the victim off the bike and the victim complied. The suspect then rode the bicycle north on Cambridge Drive. Clement said responding deputies found the bike around 5:15 p.m. in the 2200 block of Cambridge Drive.

The second incident involved the holdup of a gas station in the 900 block of East Airline Highway.

Clement said two men walked into Birdie’s Food and Fuel around 9:30 p.m. Saturday and demanded money from the cashier. Clement said one man stayed near the front door of the store as a lookout while the other went behind the counter armed with a gun.

The cashier handed over an undisclosed amount of cash, and the two men fled the area on foot heading west on Airline Highway.

No arrests have been made and anyone with any information is asked to contact the St. John Sheriff’s Office at 985-652-6338.