Police: Neighbors’ dispute leads to fatal shooting
A dispute between neighbors turned deadly Friday when one man shot and killed another on South Amite Drive near North Stevendale Road.
Family and friends of Rannell Allen Sr., 35, 16667 S. Amite Drive, Baton Rouge, said he was gunned down by a neighbor just before 6:30 p.m. in front of his 4-year-old daughter.
Police believe the neighbor, Troy Mullen, 41, 16726 S. Amite Drive, Baton Rouge, was involved in the shooting but have not determined whether it was in self defense, police spokesman Cpl. Tommy Stubbs said.
Investigators have been given conflicting stories about the shooting and what led up to it, he said.
Police arrested Mullen late Friday and booked him into East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on a count of felon in possession of a firearm, but he was released after he posted bail the following day.
“In these types of investigations, we have to be perfect,” Stubbs said. “There’s no room for error.”
LaKeisha Allen, Rannell Allen’s niece, said Monday she witnessed the incident, which occurred while she was sitting outside visiting with her family and friends.
She said the shooting followed an argument Allen’s girlfriend, Tanisha Jones, had with Mullen’s girlfriend.
Mullen’s girlfriend was upset with Jones for yelling at her child, who was playing in the street when Jones almost ran him over while backing out of her driveway, Allen said.
Less than an hour after Jones and the woman exchanged words, Jones pulled up to her house from running an errand and found Mullen sitting on the back of his pickup truck across the street holding a sawed-off shotgun, Allen said.
Mullen walked across the street to Rannell Allen’s house with the gun and pointed it at several people, including Jones, before shooting Rannell Allen in the chest, Allen said. Rannell Allen was reaching for his own gun when he was shot and killed, she said.
Mullen kicked Rannell Allen, took his weapon and then jumped into the bed of his pickup truck driven by his girlfriend, Allen said.
Mullen pointed the shotgun at bystanders as he was driven from his neighborhood, Allen said.
“This killing was senseless,” Allen said. “It did not have to happen.”
Jones, who is pregnant with her and Rannell Allen’s second child, said the shooter and his family moved into the house across the street from them about two weeks ago and that they didn’t know each other.
She said her boyfriend of seven years is “a nice man, who wouldn’t bother anyone.” He worked for a local landscaping company and enjoyed spending time with his family, Jones said.
Shaintaril Wilson, a friend of Rannell Allen’s, said his family and friends are upset and scared that Mullen isn’t behind bars.
“We are afraid,” she said.
Anyone with information about this incident can contact police at (225) 389-4869 or Crime Stoppers at (225) 344-STOP or (225) 344-7867.