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Gretna man accused of luring armed robbery victim via dating website

Posted at 2:14 PM, Feb 12, 2019
and last updated 2019-02-12 15:14:10-05

Thibodaux Police arrested a Gretna man early Tuesday after he allegedly robbed someone at gunpoint after luring them to a park with a dating website.

Kareem Acker, 25, was booked with Armed Robbery (Felony), Illegal Carrying of a Weapon in the Presence of a CDS (Felony), Illegal Possession of a Stolen Firearm (Felony), Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon (Felony) & Possession of Valium (Diazepam) (Felony).

Police were called to Martin Luther King Park at about 4:30 a.m., Chief Bryan Zeringue said. They found Acker, who had attempted to flee the scene but got stuck in the mud, the chief said. Officers told him to get out of the vehicle, but he wouldn’t, trying to get into the back of the vehicle, the chief said.

Turns out he was trying to reach a gun, and once he got hold of it, he threw it in the mud, the chief said. Officers also allegedly found drugs in the vehicle, the chief said. The gun officers pulled out of the mud was loaded and stolen, the chief said.

The alleged victim in the robbery told officers that they had met on a dating site and agreed to meet. Acker drove in from Gretna, picked up the victim in Terrebonne Parish and took the victim to the Thibodaux park, the chief said. Acker then allegedly pulled his gun and demanded the victim’s purse, money and cell phone. She said she gave him the money but wouldn’t give up her phone. That’s when Acker tried to flee and got stuck in the mud; that gave the victim time to call the cops, the chief said.

Acker denied that he robbed the victim, and only admitted to meeting the victim on a dating site. He told officers that the victim gave him the money when he picked her up in Terrebonne Parish. He also claimed that he was trying to leave because he found out the victim was anatomically male.

Based on evidence obtained during the investigation, Mr. Acker was subsequently arrested and transported to the Lafourche Parish Correctional Complex, where he remains on a $335,000.00 Bond, the chief said.