Lake Charles Police used photos from Instagram and old-fashioned police work to investigate, arrest and book a juvenile who allegedly pointed a gun at a police car.
In May, detectives with the Lake Charles Police Department (LCPD) obtained a photo from an Instagram post showing a hand holding a handgun. In the photo, the handgun is pointed through a window at a fully marked LCPD unit. The officer who had parked the car was responding to a call at a Lake Charles apartment complex at the time. Law enforcement resources determined the Instagram account was registered to a 17-year-old male juvenile.
On Monday, June 13, 2022, Detectives obtained another photo from the same Instagram account. In this photo, the male juvenile is standing on the hood of a different fully marked LCPD unit, pointing a handgun through the driver’s side windshield of the vehicle. This photo was posted in the late night/early morning hours of the previous day and footprints were found on the police car.
Lake Charles Police provided the photo, which we cropped:
Detectives secured a juvenile custodial affidavit, signed by Judge Mitch Redd, for illegal possession of a handgun by a juvenile and threatening a public official.
At approximately 2:56 p.m. on Monday, June 13, 2022, officers with the LCPD SWAT Team observed the juvenile traveling in a vehicle along with other occupants. They made contact with the juvenile at a business in the 3800 block of Gerstner Memorial Drive. The juvenile was armed with a handgun at the time.
The juvenile was taken into custody without incident and a second weapon was seized from the vehicle in which he was a passenger. Evidence indicates that both handguns seized are the same firearms used in the two Instagram posts.
Following the juvenile’s arrest, Judge Mitch Redd signed another juvenile custodial affidavit for additional charges, including a second charge for illegal possession of a handgun by a juvenile, illegal possession of a stolen firearm and illegal carrying of a weapon.
The juvenile remains in custody at the Juvenile Detention Center.
This is an ongoing investigation.
Anyone with additional information is asked to contact lead Detectives Sgt. Dustin Fontenot or Sgt. Kevin Hoover by calling 337-491-1311.
