Monroe gas station shooting suspect charged for his alleged involvement in additional shootings

All persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

MONROE, La. (KTVE/KARD)– A suspect in the Monroe gas station shooting on Louisville Avenue has been charged for his alleged involvement in additional shootings throughout Ouachita Parish.

On November 1, 2023, around 12:44 AM, the Monroe Police Department began investigating a shooting that occurred at the Fast Stop located on Martin Luther King Jr Drive. According to officers, the victim was struck by gunfire while he was a passenger in a moving vehicle. The victim was transported to the St Francis Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries. According to authorities, the victim stated that he was also shot while walking alone in West Monroe, La.

The West Monroe Police Department was investigating a shooting that occurred at Ludwig which was about 100 yards from the location the victim said he was at the time. According to authorities, the victim told officers the same story. The victim’s friend told officers about the shooting near the Fast Stop Convenience store.

According to officers, video footage from the store showed a white Toyota Camry driving as shots were being fired. The victim was reportedly shot in his buttocks. According to authorities, the gunfire allegedly came from two suspects who exited a blue Dodge Charger parked at the store.

Further investigation revealed that the suspects in the Dodge Charger and the Camry were in opposition to one another. According to reports, all three suspects were seen on video footage allegedly brandishing firearms and exchanging gunfire with the victims. A residence to the southeast side of the store sustained significant damage outside and inside of the home shattering the glass shower doors.

According to authorities, the residence was occupied by an 82-year-old female victim at the time the home was allegedly struck by gunfire. It was also learned that the Dodge Charger was involved in the shooting at Ludwig Street in West Monroe and officers were able to identify and locate the driver of the Charger. On December 4, 2023, the driver was interviewed by authorities and stated that they had given a ride to a person named “Bobby” who was later identified as Tristan Barber, along with two of his friends that the driver did not know.

According to officers, the two friends were later identified as two juveniles. The driver drove the three suspects to West Monroe where they allegedly committed a Drive-by-Shooting. According to reports, the driver then drove the three suspects to the Fast Stop in Monroe and gunfire came from the vehicle the victim was riding in. The driver also stated that two of the three suspects allegedly returned fire upon the vehicle the victim was riding in.

The driver then stated that they drove two of the three suspects away from the scene and the third suspect ran from the scene on foot. According to reports, the video footage showed that the third suspect allegedly brandished a gun and fired as he ran. The driver stated that they did not know that the three suspects were planning to commit either shooting.

On December 14, 2023, officers conducted a follow-up interview with the driver and during the follow-up, the driver stated the true identities of the shooters that were in the Dodge Charger with the driver were Barber and the two Juveniles. According to officers, on December 21, 2023, they conducted another follow-up with the driver and the driver confirmed Barber and the two juveniles were the individuals who committed the shooting in West Monroe and Monroe by pointing each individual out on video footage from the shooting.

The driver stated the three suspects were feuding with the victim and wanted to kill him. According to reports, Barber was seen on video allegedly using an assault rifle in the shooting. Officers requested an arrest warrant for Barber for Attempted Second-Degree Murder, Criminal Conspiracy, Aggravated Damage to Property with a Firearm, and Convicted Felon in Possession of a Firearm.

On March 29, 2024, at 2:18 PM, the Monroe Police Department responded to a shooting on Louisville Avenue. According to officers, they located two victims who sustained multiple gunshot wounds and were later airlifted to Shreveport, La. for advanced medical treatment.

While investigating the scene, officers located 27 spent shell casings from two separate handguns. According to authorities, the victim’s vehicle was struck 12 times indicating 15 bullets were unaccounted for. Authorities reviewed video from the scene that showed the suspect vehicle, a 2015 Chevrolet Cruze with silver color bearing, arrived at the parking lot at 2:05 PM and parked.

According to officers, the suspects remained in their vehicle waiting for the victim’s vehicle to leave and allegedly followed behind the victim’s vehicle as it entered traffic in the parking lot to exit the lot onto Lamy Lane. As the victim’s vehicle came to a stop, two suspects exited the vehicle and approached the victim’s vehicle.

According to authorities, both suspects allegedly began to shoot the victim’s vehicle as the vehicle turned to head south in the parking lot to evade gunfire. The victim’s vehicle lost control and crashed into the Murphy Oil gas station which was occupied by a single employee.

According to reports, the direction the alleged shooters were shooting in was in line with customers of the gas station along with the intersection of Lamy Lane and Louisville Avenue and Super 1 Foods. During this investigation, officers received information from multiple informants that Barber and Kilarious Owens were the alleged shooters in this case.

While officers were reviewing the video of the shooting, they observed Barber and Owens exiting a vehicle. According to reports, on April 9, 2024, officers were provided information from the Bossier City Police Department that shell casings matched the handgun located in a traffic stop on April 5, 2024, where Owens was arrested.

The handgun was reportedly stolen from the victim during a homicide on March 11, 2024. According to officers, they interviewed a witness who stated on March 12, 2024, the other suspect in the homicide sold Owens the stolen handgun for $250. On April 10, 2024, officers obtained a search warrant for Owens’s phone and found a message thread that included multiple YNN members.

According to officers, one of the contacts in the message thread was titled “Chopstick.” Authorities learned that the number belonged to Barber. Officers knew Barber’s street name to be “Chapo” and noticed Barber was called “Chopstick” in the message thread. On March 12, 2024, a search warrant was obtained.

Barber was the passenger in a vehicle pursuit where he fled on foot and evaded officers, losing his phone. According to officers, they were able to confirm, this with the account holder of the AT&T account that the number was associated with. Officers located a new contact in the thread with the contact name “Chopstick New Number.”

According to reports, a search warrant was obtained for Barber’s number which showed the device associated with this telephone number to arrive at Murphy Oil from the east at the same time the suspect vehicle arrived. Barber was identified as a member of YNN and had two active warrants, one through the Monroe Police Department for Attempted Second-Degree Murder and other weapon charges, and one through the West Monroe Police Department for multiple counts of Attempted Second-Degree Murder and other weapon charges.

According to reports, the two warrants are from the shooting involving a West Monroe street gang. With this information, officers requested an arrest warrant for Barber.

As of May 22, 2024, Barber has been charged with the following offenses;

• 5 counts of Attempted Second-Degree Murder
• Simple Criminal Damage to Property
• Aggravated Criminal Damage to Property
• Criminal Conspiracy
• Illegal Use of Weapons
• Two counts of Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon