ST. TAMMANY PARISH, La. — After months of investigation, two New Orleans men have been arrested in connection to one of several gun store break-ins that happened on the Northshore in April.
According to the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office, Kahliq Williams, 20, and Richard Jones, 22, were arrested in May and stand accused of breaking into a Covington-area gun store on the morning of April 17. Officials say they stole dozens of guns from the business.
The pair now faces charges of burglary, handing of machine guns (five counts each), theft of firearms (45 counts each) possession of stolen items and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
The arrests come as part of a multi-parish investigation into several gun store burglaries that happened on the Northshore in April.
"Over the past several months, investigators from the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the New Orleans Police Department, the Slidell Police Department and Louisiana State Police, have worked on a joint investigation," an STPSO spokesperson said.
Several guns stolen from the store were recovered as part of the investigation. In April, NOPD officials said they believed some of the guns still missing were used during at least one shooting in the city.
In late April, Slidell police arrested five New Orleans teenagers after the group allegedly broke in to two other St. Tammany gun stores and stole numerous guns.
The were captured after leading officers on a chase across the Twin Spans. The chase ended when an officer laid out spike strips, which stopped the car near the Orleans Parish line.
Slidell Police Chief Randy Fandal said he believed the teens, along with others they are associated with, were responsible for several gun store burglaries, carjackings and robberies in St. Tammany, Orleans and Jefferson parishes in March and April.
Williams was first arrested on May 20 in Jefferson Parish for an unrelated offense and will be transferred to the St. Tammany Parish Jail. The circumstances surrounding Jones' arrest were not provided by officials.
ATF officials said they will continue to investigate the burglaries and more arrests may be coming.
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