Alexandria, La. (9/8/2022) – The Alexandria Police Department has arrested two individuals concerning the kidnapping and armed robbery of a delivery driver that occurred on August 31.
Today, APD detectives arrested James Recardo Wallace, 37, and Antonio Strong, 39, both of Alexandria. Each was charged with one count of aggravated kidnapping and one count of armed robbery.
Wallace and Strong were booked into the Rapides Parish Jail, Detention Center 1 today at around 2:30 pm, no bond information is available at this time, and APD provided no booking photos.
Initially, officers were investigating reports of two incidents involving the suspects. In the first incident, a delivery driver was forced at gunpoint to drive the suspects to an ATM. The victim was unable to withdraw money, and the suspects left.
In the second incident, a man claimed he saw two men lying in a ditch, and when he stopped to offer aid, they beat him and stole his car. During the investigation, it was discovered the alleged victim, Antonio Strong, fabricated the incident in an attempt to elude capture. When arrested, Strong was driving the vehicle he falsely reported being stolen.
Police Chief Ronney Howard stated, “Sometimes in criminal cases, people will provide false or incorrect information, which is why you can’t always believe the first thing you hear,” he also stated, “Detectives need time to be able to investigate, sort out the details and find the truth. It is a deliberate process, and that’s one reason we have to be cautious with the information we share in the early phases of an investigation. In this case, our detectives did an outstanding job following the evidence and apprehending the suspects.”
According to arrest records, Wallace has numerous previous arrests for charges, including driving under suspension/revocation, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession to distribute CDS II, flight from an officer, theft, and theft of a motor vehicle.
Strong also has a number of previous arrests, including possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, simple strangulation, domestic abuse; theft less than $500; battery of a police officer; resisting arrest; possession of a gun with drugs; production/manufacture/distribution with the intent of fentanyl, carfentanil, mixture or analogues thereof; possession of CDS 4; production/manufacture/distribution CDS 1 analogs thereof or counterfeit substances; and production/manufacture/distribution heroin.
If anyone has any additional information about this incident, or any other crimes in the Alexandria area, please contact Crimestoppers at 318-443-7867 (443-STOP), the Alexandria Police Detective Division at (318) 441-6460, or APD Dispatch at (318) 441-6559.
A law enforcement Related agency has provided this information as public information. Persons named or shown in photographs or video as suspects in a criminal investigation, or arrested and charged with a crime, have not been convicted of any criminal offense and are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
