Thanks to sharp-eyed police officers at the Poplarville Police Department and the local media, the armed robber who allegedly held up the Wendy’s restaurant in Slidell Sept. 7 has been arrested and is cooling his heels in the St. Tammany Jail after being extradited from Hattiesburg, Miss.

Slidell police spokesman Capt. Kevin Foltz said that Jimmy Owen, 31, 90 Lake Village Road, Slidell was arrested Monday in Hattiesburg on a charge of armed robbery and was returned to Slidell Tuesday.

According to police, Owen allegedly used a silver BB gun he had stolen from a Wal-Mart in Picayune, Miss., and made it to look like a handgun. When he was arrested in Hattiesburg, Owen had a black water gun, with the orange tip covered in electric tape.

jimmy owen

“It looked like he was going to try another robbery,” Foltz said.

During last week’s robbery, Owen allegedly walked into the Wendy’s restaurant on Pontchartrain Drive with the gun, ordered the employees to empty the cash registers, then asked for a bag to put the money in and fled the scene. Slidell police released video surveillance tape of the robbery to the local media.

The Poplarville Police Department was investigating an armed robbery of a local store in their town. There was video of the robbery, and a Poplarville detective recognized Owen on the tape, because the PPD has had several dealings with Owen. At the same time, a captain on the PPD saw the video of the Wendy’s robbery on a local television news show, and recognized Owen.

The PPD called Slidell police and told them of Owen’s identity. Poplarville detectives were able to locate Owen’s wife in Waynebough, Miss. She told police that both she and Owen were drug users, addicted to cocaine and heroin.

Owen and his wife had spent a week in New Orleans on a drug binge. She said that Owen would disappear for a while and the show up with money to buy more drugs. The couple left New Orleans and drove to Waynebough, where they dumped their car in front of a rehab clinic. Owen left his wife in Waynebough and went to Hattiesburg.

Meanwhile, the Slidell police discovered that Owen had an outstanding warrant from the Mandeville Police Department for felony theft. Slidell detectives drove to Hattiesburg and with the help of the Hattiesburg police, found Owen in a parking lot of a local Wal-Mart.

Foltz said he was arrested without incident. He was then extradited to Louisiana. As of Tuesday afternoon, Owen was still in the St. Tammany Jail waiting to be booked by the Slidell police.

Owen told detectives that he was high on drugs when he robbed the Wendy’s. He said after he left the restaurant, he went to the intersection of Oak Harbor and Lakeshore drives, and got rid of the gun and a shirt he was wearing. Slidell police were able to find the gun and shirt near a stop sign near the Northshore Harbor Center.

Foltz said Owen has an arrest record with the SPD. In January 2009, Owen was arrested for possession of stolen property and possession of illegal drugs. Back in 1998, Owen was charged with attempted murder after he rammed two Slidell police cars that were chasing him.

Foltz said he was being chased after he stole merchandise from a local store. Foltz did not know the disposition of the case, or if Owen had been convicted.