(image via NOPD)
Bennie Keeler
Wayne Atlow
Three teens were arrested Tuesday in connection with an armed robbery from last week on Louisiana Avenue, and officers seized a loaded gun from the youngest of them when he was arrested at school, New Orleans police said.
The victim was walking in the 1900 block of Louisiana Avenue around 3 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 4, with three acquaintances from school, according to the NOPD report. One drew a gun and demanded money from him, while the second went through his pockets and took his money, the victim told police at the time.
After detectives identified the three assailants as 18-year-old Bennie Keeler, 17-year-old Wayne Atlow and a younger teen whose name was not released because of his age, they arrested all three at Cohen College Prep High School on Dryades Street on Tuesday, according to a subsequent report.
“While apprehending the subjects on school grounds, officers located a loaded Heckler & Koch Handgun on the juvenile perpetrator,” the report states. “A check of the confiscated weapon revealed the firearm was reported stolen from a vehicle burglary in the Second District on December 27, 2017.”
The two older teens were both arrested on a charge of armed robbery with a gun, the report states. The younger boy was taken to the Juvenile Justice Center on the armed robbery charge as well as possession of firearm by a juvenile, carrying of a firearm on school property and illegal possession of stolen firearms.
Anyone with additional information in the case is urged to call the NOPD Sixth District station at 658-6060 to speak to a detective, or CrimeStoppers at 822-1111 to leave an anonymous tip that could be eligible for a cash reward.
What other afterschool activities does Cohen College Prep offer besides armed robbery? Disheartening to say the least. (That’s a good looking H&K VP9 though; hope the owner gets it back soon.)