BATON ROUGE - At least five people have been taken into custody connected to vehicle burglaries and gun thefts across southeast Louisiana.

Law enforcement agents worked Wednesday morning to capture two people who they say are tied to multiple vehicle burglaries across different parishes in southwest Louisiana.

Baton Rouge Police officers disabled a white Honda on the South Acadian Thruway on ramp around 9:45 a.m. Law enforcement told WBRZ that two people jumped out of the car and both were taken into custody after an hour-long search in the area.

The East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office said the driver, 18-year-old Jakyrie Brown, was connected to two additional vehicle burglaries on Commerce Circle near Towne Center. Brown was booked for two vehicle burglaries, possessing a stolen motor vehicle, possessing a stolen firearm and possession of a machine gun because the stolen firearm was fully automatic.

Court records show Brown was released from custody in November after spending five months in jail connected to the death of Arnez Hawkins. Brown was arrested for second-degree murder, simple burglary and handling a firearm but was only indicted for obstruction of justice. He was in court on Jan. 13 for that charge. Documents say that Brown was arrested in 2023 when Baton Rouge Police officers caught him rummaging through a vehicle in the parking lot of Arlington Cottages and Town Homes along Ben Hur Road.

Sources told the WBRZ Investigative Unit that the suspects are focused on stealing guns from vehicles but will take off with the cars if the keys are left inside.

St. Gabriel Police Chief Kevin Ambeau said the white Honda was stolen from a Popingo gas station Tuesday morning. He said the driver went into the store and when he came out, his car was gone.

"Officer responded. Talked to the victim who said he left his car running with the keys in it, went inside the store, when he came out, his car was being driven off," Ambeau said.

Ambeau said that the driver reported it stolen and the license plate number was put into a camera system that is connected to license plate readers across multiple parishes. Law enforcement was notified around 6:30 a.m. Wednesday that the car was in East Baton Rouge Parish. 

Also on Tuesday morning, two vehicles were stolen and multiple others were rummaged through in the parking lot of Airgas in Geismar. The Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office said one of those vehicles was found at a truck stop in St. Gabriel by police officers. The other vehicle, a black 2019 GMC Canyon, is still missing. Deputies said three people were involved with the thefts.

"The same common denominator is that the keys were left in the vehicle," Ambeau said. "I think it might be a ring with the similarities to the crime, I think it might be a ring."

Iberville Parish Sheriff Brett Stassi said that Iberville and West Baton Rouge Parish deputies arrested three people from the Baton Rouge area on Wednesday who are connected to seven car thefts.

"I don't know how widespread this particular ring is, but every parish, every municipality has groups doing this type of crime in their areas," Stassi said. "All these people were from the Baton Rouge area, not from Iberville parish, yet they showed up in the most rural deadend part of our parish."

Officials said they stopped a car that was driven onto the Mississippi River Bridge, where it was disabled around 12:30 a.m. Wednesday. Deputies arrested 18-year-olds Timothy Bessie, Steven Smith and Joshua Stevens for seven counts of simple burglary of a motor vehicle, aggravated flight from an officer and resisting arrest. Smith was booked for an additional count of aggravated assault of an officer.