KENNER, La. — Two teens were arrested after leading police on a chase and then crashing the stolen car into a Kenner canal.
On Tuesday at about 2:15 a.m., Kenner Police say officers received a F.L.O.C.K. police camera alert of a stolen Kia Soul, entering the City of Kenner. The vehicle had been reported stolen on Sunday.
Kenner Police officers pursued the stolen vehicle assisted by the Louisiana State Police and the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office.
The vehicle was located by Kenner Police officers at the intersection of Airline Highway and Williams Boulevard. Police say the driver of the stolen vehicle observed officers closing in on the intersection and fled down Airline Highway.
The stolen vehicle then struck a parked vehicle and crashed into the drainage canal near West Napoleon Avenue and North Hullen Street in Metairie.
The driver and a passenger both fled from the vehicle. The passenger was apprehended by responding officers almost immediately and the driver was captured with the assistance of the Jefferson Parish K-9 Division in a back yard, minutes later.
Both suspects were juveniles, the driver of the vehicle was a 15-year-old from Kenner, and the passenger was a 14-year-old from Metairie.
The arrests in Kenner comes as The FBI recognizes today as World Day Against Trafficking of Persons.
“Right now across the FBI we have more than 1,600 pending cases involving human trafficking,” said Special Agent in Charge Lyonel Myrthil of the FBI New Orleans Division. “The overwhelming majority of these cases involve U.S. citizens who are recruited and trafficked right in their hometowns and even their homes. We understand the victims of these crimes are often coerced with money or drugs and our victims specialists work closely with them to reduce the trauma of the criminal justice system and ensure their needs are met every step of the way,” added Myrthil.
Since 2020, the FBI says the agency has received nearly 2000 human trafficking tips from the public.
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