Horse Feathers
Well-Known Member
A Lake Charles man was arrested Tuesday for stealing thousands of dollars worth of toys that were meant for some 18,000 children of low-income families, police said.
After getting several tips about the theft, Sulphur Police detectives and Calcasieu Parish sheriff's deputies were led to Johnny Pappillion, 45, who later confessed to taking the toys. Pappillion took investigators to a storage building, where the toys were recovered, said Sulphur Police spokesman Mel Estess in a news release.
John Lamar, area coordinator for the Southwest Louisiana Toys for Tots program, said he made the discovery on Saturday, after he went to a local store in Sulphur to collect the toys from the donation bin. The store manager informed him that someone from the charity had already been by to pickup the toys. Lamar said that person was an impostor.
Lamar then checked in with about 70 other retailers across Calcasieu Parish. Each of the retailers reported the same thing: someone claiming to be with Toys for Tots had already been through to pickup the donations.
"Every store we went to, all the toys were gone, except one or two or three or four," said Lamar.
The only store in which the impostors were not successful was at the Walgreens located on U.S. Highway 171. The manager there found the person claiming to be a Toys for Tots volunteer to look too suspicious, according to Lamar.
Workers with the Walgreens in Sulphur said as soon as customers started hearing about the stolen toys, they immediately started calling, wanting to replace some of the merchandise.
Lamar said area retailers have been informed to call him whenever someone drops by to pickup toys so he can verify their identity. He also said his volunteers will have a Toys for Tots logo on their shirt and carry an identification badge.
Pappillion was booked into the parish jail on five counts of theft. State District Judge David Ritchie set bond at $50,000. He also was booked by Sulphur Police on three counts of theft and three counts of false personation. Bond on those charges was set at $125,000.
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After getting several tips about the theft, Sulphur Police detectives and Calcasieu Parish sheriff's deputies were led to Johnny Pappillion, 45, who later confessed to taking the toys. Pappillion took investigators to a storage building, where the toys were recovered, said Sulphur Police spokesman Mel Estess in a news release.
John Lamar, area coordinator for the Southwest Louisiana Toys for Tots program, said he made the discovery on Saturday, after he went to a local store in Sulphur to collect the toys from the donation bin. The store manager informed him that someone from the charity had already been by to pickup the toys. Lamar said that person was an impostor.
Lamar then checked in with about 70 other retailers across Calcasieu Parish. Each of the retailers reported the same thing: someone claiming to be with Toys for Tots had already been through to pickup the donations.
"Every store we went to, all the toys were gone, except one or two or three or four," said Lamar.
The only store in which the impostors were not successful was at the Walgreens located on U.S. Highway 171. The manager there found the person claiming to be a Toys for Tots volunteer to look too suspicious, according to Lamar.
Workers with the Walgreens in Sulphur said as soon as customers started hearing about the stolen toys, they immediately started calling, wanting to replace some of the merchandise.
Lamar said area retailers have been informed to call him whenever someone drops by to pickup toys so he can verify their identity. He also said his volunteers will have a Toys for Tots logo on their shirt and carry an identification badge.
Pappillion was booked into the parish jail on five counts of theft. State District Judge David Ritchie set bond at $50,000. He also was booked by Sulphur Police on three counts of theft and three counts of false personation. Bond on those charges was set at $125,000.
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