October 07, 2022  |  08:43 am

St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s deputies have arrested an unidentified man who was caught in the act while burglarizing a Mandeville-area business.

Shortly before 4:30 a.m. Friday (October 7) morning, STPSO deputies were dispatched to a business in the 4900 block of Louisiana Highway 22 near Mandeville in reference to a burglary in progress.

When deputies arrived, they observed a man inside the business using power tools in an attempt to gain entry to business’ safe. He exited the business through a hole he had cut in the side of the building.

The man, who was armed with a firearm, began fighting with deputies in an apparent attempt to elude capture.

He was ultimately taken into custody and placed in the back of a patrol unit. A second altercation occurred as deputies were attempting to secure him in the rear seat of the patrol unit.

An STPSO deputy was injured during the altercation.

Both the man and the deputy were transported to a local area hospital, where they were treated for minor injuries.

The man, who did not provide his name nor have identification on his person, was arrested on one count each of Business Burglary, Resisting Arrest and Aggravated Battery. He was booked as a John Doe into the St. Tammany Parish Correctional Center, pending identification.