Harlan Kirgan
Eunice Police Detective Robert Brickley says solving four armed robbery cases was a months long endeavor that he looks back on with satisfaction.
“No one got hurt. The good guys went home. The bad guys went to jail,” was one way Brickley summed up a case that started on Feb. 16 with an armed robbery at the Frog City Travel Plaza and Casino in Rayne.
Algernon Wilson and Larryl Fisher were indicted by a federal grand jury in June on four counts of armed robbery. In October, they entered guilty pleas and sentencing is scheduled in January.
The indictment states $4,600 was taken from a casino employee in Rayne.
The next armed robbery was on Feb. 22 at the Basile State Bank in Eunice. The indictment stated, $7,066 was taken.
That was when Brickley and partner Detective Joey Peloquin began their investigation. Brickley said he and Peloquin eventually became the lead investigators.
“When Basile State Bank got robbed, a black male entered the bank with a firearm and demanded money,” Brickley said. “We got video footage of him, but we could not make a positive ID on him. His face was covered, but he didn’t wear gloves so we can identify him as a black male. He leaves the bank on foot and then we lose him out of sight,” he said.
The Eunice bank robbery was similar to the one in Rayne where the armed robber left the casino on foot.
The federal indictment stated Wilson and Fisher were acquaintances from Crowley.
Wilson would borrow a female acquaintance’s vehicle, the indictment stated. Fisher was the person who would commit the robberies and during the robberies Wilson would be on the cell phone with Fisher, telling Fisher what to say while the robbery was taking place, the indictment stated. Wilson was the person who orchestrated the robberies, it stated.
After the Basile State Bank robbery, Brickley contacted the FBI.
“They came in and offered assistance and the investigation just kind of stayed open,” he said.
The break in the case occurred on March 7 when the Wilson and Fisher did an armed robbery at the Advance America office in Eunice. They took $455, but it wasn’t the end of the day’s business for the two robbers.
“When the Advance America robbery happened, we were able to get a photograph of the suspect. A clear photograph. We began the investigation not able to identify him whatsoever,” Brickley said.
“We are hustling that day trying to get an ID on them,” he said. “We make telephone calls to surrounding agencies. We get the pictures sent to them to see if they know them. While we are on a new cell phone call with the Evangeline Parish Sheriff’s Office it is known to us there was an armed robbery that just occurred in Ville Platte at a pharmacy. That piqued our interest because it is a couple of hours later. Someone had a chance to leave Eunice and got to Ville Platte.”
Brickley and Peloquin headed to Ville Platte.
The armed robbery at the Ville Platte Clinic Pharmacy was the beginning of the end for the robbers.
The robbery occurred like the previous three. Fisher entered the pharmacy with a firearm.
“He demanded controlled substances from the pharmacist. He filled his backpack with the controlled substances and left. Wilson was waiting outside in the get-away vehicle. As Fisher came out, the pharmacists from the pharmacy were chasing him. Wilson, who was on the phone with Fisher as Fisher left the pharmacy, told him to change directions and he would pick him up at the back of the pharmacy. Fisher complied with the request. After Wilson picked up Fisher, police attempted to stop them leading to a high-speed chase. Wilson wrecked in a curve, disabling the vehicle,” a court document stated.
Wilson was captured and later identified as from Crowley.
The armed robberies by this time were being investigated by Eunice, Rayne, Crowley and Ville Platte police, State Police and the FBI, he said.
Brickley has particular praise for Crowley Police.
“They were very helpful because it was determined that both suspects were originally from Crowley, Louisiana, and they were key in identifying both suspects. And, they were key on directing us to cooperating witnesses. So, during the investigation we discovered a good amount of evidence to identify both suspects and connect both suspects to all four robberies,” he said.
Wilson and Fisher were arrested on state charges, but the Federal Bureau of Investigation took the case to the U.S. Attorney and the case ended up before a federal grand jury where they were indicted on each robbery.
The two men, both in their 30s, pleaded guilty to the count involving the Ville Platte pharmacy. They face up to 20 years in prison and fines up to $250,000.
“Even after they were arrested and charged on the state side, we still continued to investigate to gather more evidence to build the federal case,” Brickley said.
“We followed up every lead,” he said.
“No minor how minor it sounded we looked into it. We ran it until it was a dead end,” he said.
“I truly commend the agents with the FBI for their assistance and their resources that they provided to us and I feel that the feeling is mutual,” he said
“It was a pretty top-notch investigation,” he added.
The pieces fell together on March 7 when, instead of surveillance photos, there was a real person to identify.
The investigation yield DNA evidence, pills, clothing, but Brickley doesn’t believe any stolen money was recovered.
About the experience, Brickley said. “I enjoyed it because it was like putting puzzle pieces together. “
Brickley said he has been with the Eunice Police Department for most of 22 years and most of that time as a detective. And, in some ways he grew up in the department because his father, Richard, was chief of detectives.
“It gave me an opportunity to work with other agencies. Work with federal agents and almost be a part of the federal side of things. We had their resources. We conducted surveillance in areas that I wasn’t familiar with and it was thrill.” Brickley said.
“But the biggest satisfaction that I got out of the case was when I contacted the employees of Basile State Bank to tell them that an arrest was made, because it gave them a sense of peace knowing that he’s not still out there,” he said.