Maries County Sheriff Chris Heitman said he thinks the sheriff’s office has good leads and possibly has identified the suspects who violently used a handgun and threats to rob the Vichy Wye Restaurant on Sunday night, July 7. The sheriff said his office is waiting on subpoenas and search warrants and he hopes to have the case “wrapped up” by the end of this week.

The public was shocked, frightened and horrified by the video images of the armed robbery committed by two culprits that was captured by the restaurant’s security camera. In the video posted on the sheriff’s office Facebook page, the two culprits are referred to as “cowards.” The security video shows one of the suspects holding a waitress by the back of her neck and making her put her hands up in the air as a gun was held to her head. In this manner she was walked out of the restaurant area. A young man who worked at the restaurant came out of the kitchen area and was forced to kneel down with his hands above his head in the execution style. The short video was shocking and unsettling. Sheriff Heitman said the armed robbery event was very upsetting for all of the people involved. 

The incident occurred on July 7 at about 9 p.m. when the restaurant workers were cleaning up after the day’s work and two masked, gloved men who were heavily disguised with clothing came in through the restaurant’s unlocked back door. During the robbery, a shot was fired into the floor and the leg of a waitress named Emily was hit with a fragment of bullet or of the concrete floor. The culprits. who were described as black males on the Facebook post, got $20 from the liquor store but nothing from the restaurant’s register. They tired unsuccessfully to steal the waitresses tips but took her phone, shoes and her wallet with over $100 in it. 

Sheriff Heitman said many people were surprised and shocked by the violence the culprits used during the crime.