by Wesley Harris
Ruston Police arrested a Simsboro man Thursday night after a series of purse snatchings and other crimes across north Louisiana earlier in the week.
Jorge F. Aguilar, 47, was arrested at his Martha Street residence in Simsboro after a brief standoff in which he refused to come out and surrender.
Aguilar has been booked at the Lincoln Parish Detention Center for simple robbery, access device fraud, and resisting an officer. Other north Louisiana law enforcement agencies are expected to file other charges.
The Ruston purse snatching occurred about 5 p.m. Monday in the Hobby Lobby parking lot as a woman walked to her car with her grandchildren.
Ruston Police Chief Eric Watson said a senior citizen from El Dorado was lured away from her vehicle in the parking lot by a man who told her she had dropped something. As she was looking for the supposed item, the man snatched her wallet and fled in a red Ford pickup truck.
Watson credited investigators Hannah Laborde and Chris Davis, along with collaboration with other area agencies, with working hard to identify the vehicle and the suspect.
Watson said police did not have a license plate initially but through the use of modern technology was able to acquire information that led to identifying the truck and ultimately the suspect.
License plate readers and surveillance video played a huge role in the investigation, Watson said. Ruston detectives used information from West Monroe, Minden, Bossier City, and RPD’s own license plate readers in the investigation.
“The suspect was apparently using different license plates and that threw us off for a bit,” the chief said.
On Wednesday evening, West Monroe Police responded to an attempted purse snatching in the 100 block of Trenton Street. A Hispanic male driving a red Ford F-150 with a black bed cover attempted to steal a purse from a woman before fleeing the scene.
Minutes later, West Monroe officers responded to a robbery in the 400 block of Thomas Road. A man believed to be the same suspect driving the same vehicle reportedly snatched money from a victim and again fled the area.
The suspect reportedly used stolen credit cards in Minden. Police said the Minden business where the card use occurred was extremely helpful in the investigation.
Once a possible suspect was pinpointed, RPD investigators went to El Dorado and showed a photo lineup to the victim. Based on her identification, arrest warrants were obtained for Aguilar and search warrants for his truck and residence.
On Thursday night, the Lincoln Parish Sheriff’s Office located the truck at the Martha Street residence.
Watson said LPSO deputies and RPD officers directed Aguilar to come out of the residence—a camping trailer—but he refused. Chemical agents were deployed and Aguilar finally surrendered after about 20 minutes.
When the truck was searched, evidence related to the Ruston purse snatching was located as well as several license plates from Montana, Arizona, and Texas.
Watson said Ruston’s violent crime rate is low and that purse snatchings are extremely rare.
“Monday I was not happy we had a purse snatching in broad daylight,” Watson said. “We are fortunate we don’t have many crimes like that. But a lot of witnesses cooperated at the scene and agencies from Bossier City to West Monroe shared valuable information to help put this case together.”
In addition to praising his investigators, Watson touted the excellent coordination between north Louisiana agencies in tracking down and sharing information gleaned from license plate recognition technology and other sources.
In several community meetings, Watson has expressed the value of existing technology Ruston needs to acquire to be more effective in preventing and investigating crime.
Watson said even in daylight hours, “situational awareness” in public is necessary to ensure safety. Situational awareness is the ability to recognize potentially risky situations and make decisions to avoid harm.
Aguilar appeared in Third District Court in Ruston on July 9 for arraignment on an unrelated simple battery charge.
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