4 teens charged in ATV burglaries
Published 8:00 am Friday, December 30, 2016
Four Bogalusa teenagers were arrested Wednesday following a series of felony burglaries, including a break-in at Coach’s Poboys where the teens are alleged to have taken chips and a drink.
Lt. Patrick Lyons of the Bogalusa Police Department said one of the boys was a juvenile and therefore cannot be named. The three others are Damarrio Haynes, 18, Tyrase Brumfield, 17 and Latrevius Lucas, 17. He said all four suspects are in high school.
The burglaries occurred recently over the winter break and also included residential burglaries. The four are alleged to have taken two four-wheelers, a Nikon D40 digital camera, three Nintendo DS systems and some cell phones. The teenagers face two counts of theft over $5,000, one simple burglary charge for Coach’s and two vehicle burglary charges. All are felonies.
Police Chief Kendall Bullen said he is certain the main reason police were able to crack the case is due to community assistance. He explained that a tip led officers to the stolen merchandise, which was hidden.
“If it wasn’t for a citizen who trusted us to do the right thing, we probably wouldn’t have broken the case,” he said.
The four-wheelers are the most expensive items the youths are alleged to have stolen. Lyons estimated that one of the vehicles, a Honda 500 Foreman, is valued at $8,000. The other, a Polaris Sportsman, is probably worth $5,000, Lyons said.
Lyons explained that four-wheelers are notoriously difficult to track down because, once stolen, they’re usually taken to remote, rural locations and used on private property and away from public view.
However, thanks to the citizen’s tip, the two four-wheelers were discovered at about the same time as they were reported missing.
“We had got a call at about 9:18 (Wednesday) morning from Potomac Street in reference to a stolen four-wheeler,” Lyons said.
Police went out to see the victim and he provided private security footage. Lyons explained that the video showed two black males on the property, one of the males had a distinctive haircut and both people had dyed red hair. Lyons said he recognized the one of the males from earlier that morning.
“I’d seen the same black male walking out of a residence on Superior Avenue,” he said.
Bullen and Lyons declined to offer specifics about who tipped police off, but during the course of the investigation around the neighborhood, someone reported seeing four-wheelers hidden in some underbrush on old school property.
He said one of the four-wheelers had been hotwired and the second had been taken with a set of spare keys found nearby.
Lyons added that at some point anyone could be the victim of a burglary, so he would like to make clear that citizen tips could help everyone in a community.
“Thank goodness we had this one who told us he heard where the four-wheelers are at,” he said. “At some point everyone will be affected by crime. It might not be you tomorrow, but it could be.”
Lyons said the four teens were located a short distance away on Sabine Street and they confessed to the burglaries.