BATON ROUGE, La. >> Two men wanted in the murder of a Baton Rouge teenager were chased by a police officer but escaped early yesterday morning, police said. Local teen murdered
in Baton Rouge robberyAssociated Press
Police believe the men were two of the three suspects wanted for murdering Demetrius White, 18, who was shot dead Saturday night on a Baton Rouge street. Police said three men tried to rob White, then shot him and drove off when he resisted.
At about 1 a.m. yesterday, officers spotted a burgundy car similar to the one spotted by witnesses of the killing. The officers attempted to stop the car, but two men bailed out of the car and escaped on foot after a brief pursuit.
"We think there's a good chance it's the same car used in the crimes," said Baton Rouge Police Cpl. Don Kelly.
Investigators are searching the car for clues to the suspects' identities, Kelly said.
Police believe White's killers also may have carjacked three men early Sunday morning, Kelly said. The gunmen forced the men to lie on the ground, then stole their wallets and keys. The robbers fled, some in the victims' car and others in the burgundy car, Kelly said.
White had recently moved to Baton Rouge from Hawaii with his father, who works at Lane Memorial Hospital in Zachary, Kelly said. His mother, an Army nurse still stationed in Hawaii, learned on Mother's Day that her son had been murdered, he said.