Two Suspects in Jail Following Investigation into Northshore Gun Store Burglaries

The St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office has obtained arrest warrants for Kahliq Williams (20) and

Richard Jones (22), both of New Orleans, for burglarizing a Covington-area gun store.

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 relative to several gun store burglaries on the Northshore. During the course of that joint investigation, a Covington-area gun store was burglarized in the early morning hours of April 17, 2020 and numerous guns were stolen during that burglary. 

Investigators from the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office, working in collaborative efforts with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the New Orleans Police Department and Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, were able to identify Williams and Jones as two suspects responsible for the burglary. The subsequent investigation resulted in the recovery of several guns from the burglary. 

Williams was taken into custody on May 20, 2020 by the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, while in commission of an unrelated offense.  Williams is in the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center, and pending his release, will be transported to the St. Tammany Parish Jail, where he will be booked on arrests warrants for the following charges: Simple Burglary, Illegal Possession of Stolen Things Over $5,000, Handling of Machine Guns (5 counts), Theft of Firearms (45 counts), and Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor.

Jones was arrested by the New Orleans Police Department and booked into Orleans Parish Prison on May 22, 2020 for crimes committed in Orleans Parish. On June 1, he was transported to the St. Tammany Parish Jail and booked on warrants for the following charges: Simple Burglary, Illegal Possession of Stolen Things Over $5,000, Handling of Machine Guns (5 counts), Theft of Firearms (45 counts), Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor, and Possession of Firearm or Carrying Concealed Weapon by a Person Convicted of Certain Felonies

The investigation relative to this burglary, as well as other gun store burglaries on the Northshore, is ongoing.

“Protecting the communities of St. Tammany Parish is a vital part of our mission,” said ATF New Orleans Field Division Special Agent in Charge Kurt Thielhorn. “ATF will continue to provide expertise and resources to investigate burglaries of lawful enterprises that are part of the community. I would like to thank all of our law enforcement partners for working tirelessly to ensure justice will be served.”

Sheriff Randy Smith thanks all of the other agencies involved who continue to work together with our deputies to bring justice for our local gun store owners.  “Arrests like these would not be possible if it wasn’t for the joint effort of law enforcement working together,” Sheriff Smith said.