Two arrested, one wearing ankle monitor, in robbery near Coliseum Square

Kerwinell J. Singleton (via opcso.org)

Ray Allen (via opcso.org)

Two alleged armed robbers were arrested Saturday afternoon shortly after stealing a man’s SUV from him at gunpoint just off of Coliseum Square, police said.

Shortly before 2:45 p.m. Saturday, a man was parking on Terpsichore just off Prytania when he noticed two men standing on the corner, one standing and one on a bicycle, said Detective Kristen Krzemieniecki of the NOPD Sixth District persons-crimes division. The man headed on to an address in the 1400 block of Terpsichore, but as he put the keys in the front door, the man on the bicycle rode up to the house, ran up the porch and pointed a gun at him, demanding his keys, Krzemieniecki said.

The victim started to hand over the house keys, but the gunman said he wanted his car keys instead, “the keys in your pocket,” and when the victim tried to pull the car key off the ring, the gunman grabbed the set and ran off the porch toward the SUV, leaving the bike behind, Krzemieniecki said. The victim ran inside and called police, and when he looked outside again, his SUV was gone, Krzemieniecki said.

About an hour later, a Sixth District sergeant on patrol saw the stolen SUV on First Street at Claiborne and attempted to stop it, but the two people inside jumped out and ran off. Police surrounded the area and found the driver, 20-year-old Kerwinell Singleton, under a house in the 2200 block of Philip Street, and the passenger, 18-year-old Ray Allen, under a house in the 2200 block of Freret. The victim was able to identify Allen as the man who robbed him and Singleton as the same build of Allen’s companion on the sidewalk, and both were arrested on charges of armed robbery, illegal possession of stolen thing and flight from an officer.

Allen was also wearing a court-ordered location-monitoring bracelet on his ankle, said Sixth District Commander Bob Bardy. Court records show he is awaiting trial on a burglary arrest from June.