Slidell teens charged with more than 50 car burglaries

A two-month spree of car burglaries in the Airport Road area of Slidell ended this week with the arrests of a Slidell man and woman by the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office.

According to a statement released by the Sheriff’s Office, Ryan Lewis, 19, 1585 Hunter’s Point, Slidell, was arrested July 27 on 15 counts of simple burglary. Jennifer Lavin, 17, 111 Leonell Court, Slidell, was arrested Aug. 4 on 11 counts of simple burglary.

Detectives with the Sheriff’s Office began an investigation of a rash of car burglaries in the Bel Air and Royal subdivisions off Airport Road in May.

All the cars burglarized were unlocked, and Lewis and Lavin would allegedly open the cars and steal any property inside. Sheriff’s Office spokesman George Bonnett said investigators recovered nearly $10,000 worth of stolen property from Lewis’ home that included cameras, GPS units and CD and DVD players.

According to investigators, a resident saw Lewis breaking into her car parked in front of her house on July 27 and called the Sheriff’s Office.

Information gleaned by investigators from the attempted theft led to Lewis’ house on Hunter’s Point. After getting permission, detectives searched Lewis’ home and recovered a number of items reported stolen.

After questioning Lewis, detectives found out he and Lavin were partners in crime. According to the Sheriff’s Office, deputies went to Lavin’s house, and she surrendered without incident Aug. 4.

After more questioning, Lewis and Lavin said they had broken into more than 50 cars. So far, investigators have identified only 16 victims, and they have a lot of recovered property that has to be identified and returned to the owners.

Bonnett urges anyone living in the Airport Road area who was a victim of a car burglary to call Detective Ray Smith at 645-2466 to see if any of the recovered stolen items belongs to them.

The car burglary case also led to an arrest of Bradley J. Landrum, 19, 906 Dolly Madison Court, Slidell, on Aug. 7 for possession of stolen property. Detectives said Landrum had allegedly purchased a GPS unit from Lewis that had been stolen from a car.

Bonnett urges anyone who purchased items from Lewis or Lavin to contact the Sheriff’s Office immediately to avoid any criminal penalties.

Lewis and Lavin both posted $10,000 bonds and were released from parish jail.

Bonnett said more charges against the pair are expected in the near future.