RESERVE, La. (WGNO) — A man has been arrested in the River Parishes after deputies say he attacked an elderly man and then carjacked someone else.
The St. John Parish Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest of 38-year-old Mark Anthony Browning, Jr. of Reserve where he is accused of battery, carjacking, and even sneaking contraband into a correctional facility.
On Tuesday, April 19, SJSO responded to a disturbance in the 200 block of Parker Lane in Reserve.
When they arrived, deputies found a 77-year-old man who said he had hired Browning that morning for some construction work at a friend’s house.
After hiring Browning, the man later returned home to find no work had been done. When the man told Browning his work was no longer needed, Browning then reportedly physically attacked the man and smashed the windows of his truck.
When the victim tried to call 911, deputies say Browning grabbed the victim’s phone, smashed it on the ground, and then ran away from the scene.
The victim sustained several facial injuries in the incident, but SJSO reports the violence did not stop there.
Just after this incident, the SJSO responded to a different report at a gas station on West Airline Highway in Reserve.
When they arrived, another male victim told detectives he was pumping gas when a man fitting Browning’s description punched him in the face and stole his vehicle. However, the vehicle wasn’t gone for long.
SJSO then responded to the area of West 19th and Nancy Street in Reserve for a call of an unoccupied vehicle parked on the railroad tracks — the same vehicle stolen from the gas station.
After searching the nearby area, deputies found Browning in a field near West 19th Street where he was arrested.
Browning was booked in the St. John Parish Correctional Center where he was later found with a glass pipe containing methamphetamine residue. He faces the following charges:
- Carjacking
- Flight from an officer by vehicle
- Taking contraband into a penal institution
- Interfering with emergency communication
- Multiple counts of criminal damage to property
- Second-degree battery
Browning is being held on a $120,000 bond.
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