Three juveniles arrested, identified in teen's murder near Mall of Louisiana

BATON ROUGE – Testimony from a police detective at a preliminary hearing for young teenagers accused in a murder case near the mall explained how police tracked the juvenile suspects immediately after gunfire last Saturday on The Grove Avenue.

Inmond Street, 15; Frederick Tate, 16; and Bradley Payne, 14 are facing charges related to the killing of Gyron Lebeuf, 17. The three boys were booked into juvenile jail Thursday on second-degree murder charges.

They all appeared in juvenile court Friday morning. Hearings for Tate and Street were delayed due to issues with finding attorneys. Payne’s hearing went on, as planned, and a bond was set at $30,000.

During the hearings, a police officer said Baton Rouge Police dispatched a helicopter soon after reports of a shooting on The Grove Avenue – a street near the Mall of Louisiana featuring businesses and high-end apartments. The officer said witnesses reported a group of three teenagers were asking for rides out of the area after the shooting. The group became somewhat suspect to witnesses and police used a helicopter and video surveillance from stores to identify and follow their movements in the area.

The officer described an air support division using video to follow the three boys and said video recorded one of the teenagers throwing something onto the ground as they left the area and hid in nearby woods.

Police said investigators later found two pistols in the area where they noticed one of the boys toss something.

The testifying officer insinuated the boys were found hiding in the woods Saturday night and detained. Baton Rouge Police did not reveal charges were filed against suspects until Thursday night – five days later.

Gyron Lebeuf, the 17-year-old victim, was shot five times by two guns, the detectives testified at the hearing Friday morning.

Police are awaiting DNA and fingerprint analysis to determine which one of the suspects fired the guns.

Police also believe Lebeuf had a gun, too, but it was not fired, police said. The gun was found near where Lebeuf was found shot.

Police were called to the scene around 7:15 p.m. Saturday. Family members believe the victim was targeted.

"This was an execution to me it was planned premeditated, they tried to kill my little cousin, and they killed him," said Gwendolyn Davis, Lebeuf's cousin.

The testifying officer said the shooting appears to have started with an argument and Lebeuf may have punched one of the suspects before being shot.

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