A man wanted for attempted murder in Monroe was captured on the Grambling State University campus along with the recovery of a fully automatic machine gun last Tuesday.
Tristan M. Barber, 19, of Monroe, was arrested in a GSU dorm room about 9:30 a.m. Tuesday morning by the Lincoln Parish Sheriff’s Office. Barber was wanted in connection with a shooting at a service station in Monroe on March 29.
Information was received that Barber was staying on the GSU campus, possibly in Wheatley Hall dorm. He was located in a dorm room and was placed under arrest. The woman assigned to the dorm room said she had known Barber for a few weeks and that he stayed in her room Monday night.
The woman identified a backpack belonging to Barber. The backpack contained a Glock .40-caliber pistol with an extended magazine that had been converted into a fully automatic machine pistol. The firearm, backpack, and a cell phone were seized as evidence.
Barber’s arrest stems from a March 29 shooting near the Murphy USA gas station outside the Walmart Supercenter on Louisville Avenue in Monroe. According to Monroe Police, two men were shot.
MPD said two groups of people were having an argument about a female when one group began shooting at another vehicle. The car crashed into the gas station, causing damage.
A criminal history check showed Barber was a convicted felon.. He was booked at the Lincoln Parish Detention Center on three charges related to the arrest: possession of firearm by convicted felon, possession of a firearm in a firearm free school zone, and possession of a machine gun.
Monroe PD charges include two counts of attempted second degree murder, illegal use of a dangerous weapon, and possession of a firearm by convicted felon.
Including Barber, three suspects have been arrested in the Monroe shooting with police still searching for other suspects. In a press release, MPD said the suspects who have been arrested so far are YNN gang members. MPD has arrested more than 60 members of the local gang in the past two years with the recovery of dozens of firearms.
Norris Kelley II, 18, of Monroe, was arrested during the investigation at Wheatley dorm after drug paraphernalia, marijuana residence, and over $5,000 cash were found in his vehicle.
This information has been provided by a law enforcement agency as public information. Persons named or shown in photographs or video as suspects in a criminal investigation, or arrested and charged with a crime, have not been convicted of any criminal offense and are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
