Evansville, IN – Evansville police recovered three handguns and arrested one suspect after a report of armed individuals near a vehicle led detectives to uncover a robbery that had not initially been reported to authorities.
Officers responded around 9:30 p.m. to the area of Eleventh Avenue and Franklin Street after receiving a report of subjects with a gun near a vehicle. When officers arrived, two males near a white Dodge Charger fled after being ordered to stop.
During the pursuit and investigation, officers located two handguns that had been tossed underneath the vehicle. A third handgun was later recovered nearby.
Detectives determined the incident was connected to a robbery that had occurred the previous night at an eastside bar but had not been reported to police.
According to the investigation, the victim was inside his vehicle with the offenders when his handgun was taken. The victim was also threatened with being shot during the robbery.
One of the offenders reportedly left his cell phone inside the victim’s vehicle.
Rather than immediately reporting the robbery to law enforcement, the victim arranged to meet the offenders on Franklin Street the following day. The plan was to exchange the cell phone that had been left behind for the return of his stolen handgun.
The arrangement ultimately resulted in a third party calling 911 to report subjects with guns outside an establishment.
One of the suspects, 19-year-old Ladarrius L. Barnes, was located several hours later near Illinois Street and Tenth Avenue after fleeing from an officer.
Barnes was arrested and charged with robbery with a deadly weapon, a Level 3 felony; theft of a firearm, a Level 5 felony; two counts of intimidation with a deadly weapon, both Level 5 felonies; unlawful carrying of a handgun, a Level 5 felony; and resisting law enforcement, a Class A misdemeanor.
Police said the second offender had not been located at the time of the initial release.
