Piccadilly paintball pistol robber caught

A former employee of the Gonzales Picadilly on Airline Highway was arrested Wednesday within hours of allegedly robbing the restaurant with a camouflage paintball pistol.

Tyrone Central Huggins, 24, of 225 E. Railroad St. was booked with armed robbery and held in the parish jail on a $75,000 bail.

Gonzales police officers responded to the robbery call around 6 a.m., according a release from the department, and interviewed victims of the crime at the scene.

Employees said a man wearing a bandana to cover his face, and a black Piccadilly baseball cap, kicked a windowpane out at the take out counter and gained access to the interior of the restaurant.

Using the paintball pistol, Huggins allegedly order ordered one of the kitchen employees to the floor while the store manager was forced to open the safe at gunpoint.

The robber then left with an undisclosed amount of money from the robbery.

The two victims told investigators they could not see the robber’s faces, but said they thought they recognized the voice of Huggins, who had been recently terminated from the restaurant.

Police put Huggins residence under surveillance, and after obtaining a search warrant, arrested him on outstanding bench warrants about three hours later.

During the search, items linking Huggins to the crime scene were found, according to the release.