boys were dressed head to toe in clothing stolen

Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office deputies were still on the scene taking fingerprints at Politics, a burglarized Metairie sneaker boutique, Tuesday morning when employees noticed a very familiar jacket on the back of a bystander. The bystander's cohort was clothed in an equally familiar and rare pair of teal sneakers.

"I said, 'Man, that's all the stuff from our store,'" Politics' owner Patrick Bowden recalled. The thieves had apparently returned to the scene of the crime draped in the evidence.

Deputies eventually rounded up a quartet of teenagers, three boys and one girl. The boys were wearing stolen shirts, hats, socks and jackets that still had Politics price tags, according to Glen T. Boyd, spokesman for the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office.

The burglary occurred about 3 a.m. Tuesday at the boutique, located in a strip mall a 3504 Severn Avenue. Someone broke into the business, which specializes in rare sneakers and other urban wear, and cleared out about $5,000 worth of merchandise, Bowden said. A customer noticed the broken glass and notified employees around 5 a.m.

Investigators were still on the scene about 7:30 a.m. when employee Wendell Carter  noticed a small group of people watching the commotion about a half-block away near a McDonald's restaurant. It was Carter who spotted the silver, 10 Deep jacket on one of the teens and recognized it as one that had just been shipped to the store.

"It hadn't been sold," Carter said. "Nobody else would have had it." The teens tried to casually walk away when they realized they had caught the attention of the employees. But Carter and Bowden followed while on the phone with 911.

During the walk/chase, Carter also noticed the teal sneakers, $165 Nike Air Penny 5's. He had personally ordered the limited edition shoes, referred to as "Dolphins," and knew no other local retailer would have had them in stock.

When deputies finally caught up to the teens, the boys were dressed head to toe in clothing stolen from Politics, Bowden said. They told investigators they purchased the gear on Canal Street in New Orleans, Boyd said. But the clothing still had the Metairie store's price tags.

Morris Mims, Darius Garrison, Anthony Dempster and Koyann Williams, all 18 and from 4218 Hessmer Ave., Metairie, were arrested and booked at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center in Gretna with simple burglary and possession of more than $1,500 in stolen property, Boyd said. Williams allegedly acted as a lookout for the boys when they burglarized the store.