(La Porte, IN) - A man suspected in the theft of nearly $2,000 in cash from a business at gunpoint in La Porte last year is now in custody.

 

Xavier Cooper, 23, of Elkhart is in the La Porte County Jail on multiple charges including armed robbery. He’s scheduled for an initial hearing Friday in La Porte Circuit Court.

 

According to court documents, Cooper and one other man stormed inside Advance America in the 1100 block of W. Indiana 2 in March of 2024 and jumped over the counter. Guns were held to a female worker manning the register at the short term cash loan company.

 

She retrieved the money from two different locations as ordered by the suspects wearing masks and gloves, police said.

 

The men fled in a vehicle located abandoned and still running in an alley a short distance away on L St.

 

Investigators were led several months later to a third man, who’s now facing homicide charges in Allen County,  who said he picked up the suspects right away the robbery and drove them to South Bend, court records disclosed.

 

Police believe they have identified the other suspect, who has not been charged yet.

 

Cooper could face an up to 16 year sentence along with additional time on the remaining counts.