BY ROBIN SHANNON
L’Observateur

LAPLACE — A LaPlace woman was taken into custody last week in connection with the March armed robbery of a sporting goods store, said a spokesman for the St. John Sheriff’s Office.

Capt. Dane Clement, public information officer for the Sheriff’s Office, said authorities in Jefferson Parish apprehended Aretha M. Miller, 40, on an unrelated incident Tuesday. He said arresting deputies picked up on the warrant for her arrest in St. John, which had been entered into a national database.

Clement said Miller, whose address is listed at 1113 Sugar Ridge Drive, LaPlace, was booked into the Sherman Walker Correctional Facility in LaPlace and is being held on a $75,000 bond. She was charged with the March 21 armed robbery of Hibbett Sports store on Airline Highway in LaPlace. Clement said detectives are not releasing any details on what made Miller a suspect in the incident.

According to a report on the robbery, a woman wearing a wig entered the store around 7:15 p.m. and began randomly grabbing several clothing items off the store racks. As she moved toward the exit the suspect “verbally challenged” an employee standing near the door. As the clerk questioned the woman’s comments, the suspect pulled out a box cutter and threatened the clerk again. The clerk backed away, and the woman left the store and got into a red vehicle driven by another suspect. The car fled the area heading north on U.S. 51.