Ville Platte police are searching for two, male suspects following a robbery at the B & S Grocery and Meat Market on Monday.
According to a VPD spokesperson, the robbery happened around 3:30 a.m on Monday and the suspects are juveniles.
Store owner Scott Dupre declined an interview with KATC, but said he wants the suspects to be held accountable for breaking into the front window of his business and stealing cigarettes and vape refills.
Life-long Ville Platte resident and B & S Grocery shopper Cheryl Fontenot, said she's urging police to take action.
"We need people, law enforcement officials that actually stop people for our crimes and [people that make sure] that they get sentenced and served," Fontenot said.
Fontenot said Ville Platte is not the quiet community that she once grew up in.
"It's like nobody trusts anybody," Fontenot said. "You need law enforcement and I don’t know what's going on, but it's bad!"
Fontenot is not the only resident raising concerns about the crime in the area.
Her fiance, Justin Melancon said something has to be done.
"We really didn’t have too much crime around here until recently," Melancon said. "Now they're breaking into the local store everybody goes to, they breaking into Dollar General and it's just getting bad around here. It never used to be like this."
Melancon told KATC he knows what it's like to break the law and suffer from the consequences.
Now, he said his mission is to teach young people there's more to life than serving time and losing your family.
"Ya'll have probably seen me around ," Melancon said. "You all probably know my background and everything too...doing time and doing all of that stupid stuff and it’s really not worth it."
KATC requested surveillance footage of the B & S Grocery burglary.
However, VPD declined because the footage reveals the suspects are juveniles.
If you have any information regarding the B & S Grocery being burglarized, you're encouraged to contact Ville Platte police.
