The St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s Office arrested a 13-year-old Reserve boy early Monday morning (April 13, 2026) and booked him with attempted theft of a motor vehicle and illegal possession of a handgun by a juvenile.
Investigators say the juvenile, who was arrested after a St. John Parish Sheriff’s Office Deputy discovered him leaving a business in the 500 block of West 10th Street in Reserve, is connected to 11 other vehicle break-ins that have been reported over a two-week span in April. All of the reported vehicle burglaries happened in Reserve.
On Monday, a SJSO deputy responded to the 500 block of West 10th Street at 12:35 a.m. in reference to a call about a suspicious person.
The deputy arrived on scene and saw the hazard lights of a vehicle going off. The deputy saw a person, later identified as the suspect, walking down the driveway of the business.
While being detained, the suspect advised the deputy that he had a gun in his pocket. Investigators believe that the gun was taken during a prior burglary involving the juvenile.
Investigators found a vehicle with the front driver side window busted out with glass on the ground. Inside the vehicle, the steering column was found to be broken along with the ignition panel. The estimated cost to repair the damaged vehicle is $2,700.
The juvenile also faces charges of:
- Criminal trespass – Immovable Property
- Simple burglary-Vehicle (Felony) – 12 counts
- Simple criminal damage to property (Felony) – 12 counts
- Juvenile curfew violation
Anyone with information regarding this case is encouraged to call the St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s Office TIPS line at 985-359-TIPS, the Criminal Investigations Division (Sgt. Gilberto Castellanos at 504-494-4170) or Crimestoppers at 504-822-1111. Citizens can also submit tips on the Sheriff’s Office website at https://stjohnsheriff.org/crime-arrests/crime-tips/give-us-a-general-crime-tip/