NOPD: Suspect in home-invasion on Broadway says Tulane football standout “orchestrated” attack

A Tulane linebacker regarded as one of the best in his conference was arrested Friday on a charge of armed robbery amid accusations that he “orchestrated” a broad-daylight home invasion on Broadway in which he acted as though he was a victim, police said.

Trent Mackey, 22, was visiting a fellow Tulane student in the 600 block of Broadway on July 12 when two men burst in, forced her to the floor at gunpoint, ransacked the apartment and left, the victim and police said at the time. The victim followed the men outside, spotted them and demanded her belongings back, and they returned her cell phone and laptop before running away, according to accounts at the time.

Investigators said at the time that they had questions about the story provided by Mackey — who was not identified by Uptown Messenger at the time because he was still considered a victim in the crime, not a suspect — but that he may have been targeted because of his status as a “high-profile” football player at Tulane. Some of his behavior the day of the crime drew investigations’ attention, however, such as the fact that he left the scene before police arrived to go to a friend’s house and did not return until they instructed him to do so, they said. The victim, however, said that day she doubted Mackey would have done anything to harm her, because “he has too big a heart.”

On Friday, following a month of investigation, police arrested 19-year-old Robert Murray as one of the suspects in the robbery, and Murray “implicated Trent Mackey as the person who orchestrated the incident,” according to a NOPD news release. Mackey refused to speak to detectives about his alleged involvement, so he too was arrested, police said.

Robert Murray 19, and Trent Mackey 22, were booked today with Armed Robbery. The Armed Robbery took place July 12, 2012 at approximately 1:35 P.M., inside of a home in the 600 block ofBroadway Street.

New Orleans Police and Tulane Police Detectives worked in conjunction following up on witness statements and leads on the suspects for approximately one month. During that time the detectives gathered the name of Robert Murray 19, who was possibly one of the suspects involved in the Armed Robbery. During the course of the investigation, the detectives positively identified Murray as one of the suspects responsible for the Armed Robbery.

Today, Murray was arrested and agreed to a taped statement. In the statement, Murray implicated Trent Mackey as the person who orchestrated the incident. The detectives investigated the information and arrested Trent Mackey. Mackey did not cooperate with the detectives and elected to claim his 5th Amendments Rights.

Murray and an unknown suspect entered the residence through the unsecured front door and put one victim on the floor at gunpoint. Murray and the unknown suspect proceeded to speak to the second alleged victim, Trent Mackey. Murray and the suspect took the victims cell phones, laptop and purse.

The suspects fled the location on foot north on Broadway then turned right (downtown) onHampson Street towards Audubon Street then unknown. Witnesses observed the subjects in a dark blue or grey in color Chevrolet Cobalt, unknown license plate with light tinted windows.

The car used in the incident was Robert Murray’s. The investigation is on going and detectives are working to identify the third suspect in the incident.

Two weeks after the incident, Mackey was named the 2012 Conference USA Preseason Defensive Player of the Year by the conference’s head coaches. Born in Gretna, Mackey graduated from Carencro High and went to Duke for his freshman year, according to his official Tulane biography, but was dismissed from the team in early 2009 for an unspecified “violation of team standards,” ESPN reported, and he transferred to Tulane afterward.