Two Armed Robberies Lands Louisiana Man in Custody

A Louisiana trucker had to have the tires of his rig flattened with stop sticks before police could stop him Friday night following two armed robberies.

Ricky Growe was eventually stopped on I-57 in northern Jefferson County after Marion County Sheriff's Deputies used stop sticks to flatten tires on the truck twice.

State Police initially began looking for the truck Growe was driving following a threat allegedly made to an employee and another driver at an Effingham truck stop.

The next incident was an armed robbery at Adult Time in Edgewood where a man matching the same description in a truck reportedly stole empty CD cases. Effingham County Sheriff's officials say the man raised his shirt and displayed a gun in his waistband.

The next report was in Dix where the gas station just off Interstate 57 on the Dix-Irvington Road was robbed at gunpoint.

At that point, Growe apparently headed back north on I-57. A Marion County Sheriff's Deputy was able to flatten some tires with stop sticks as he approached the Route 161 interchange. The truck then exited the interstate, but got back on heading south allowing the deputy to once again place the stop sticks out a second time and flatten additional tires.

The truck continued for about another mile before it stopped due to the blown tires.

Marion and Jefferson County sheriff's deputies reportedly recovered a firearm in the truck.

Growe was then taken to the Jefferson County Criminal Justice Center in Mt. Vernon where he remains pending the filing of formal charges.