After a monthslong investigation into alleged drug trafficking and gun violence by members of a Zion City street gang, two associates were arrested on homicide charges this week — the most serious charges yet to come from the ongoing probe.
Marvin Payne, 32, and Jeremy Payne, 29, are accused in an Aug. 16 double shooting on Simplex Street in Zion City, a neighborhood off Plank Road near Glen Oaks. Jordan Jenkins, 26, was found dead in a ditch after the shooting and another man was hospitalized with injuries.
The suspects are somehow related, but Baton Rouge police were unable to pinpoint exactly how. Both were identified in court records as members of the 5400 Boys, which authorities called a violent drug gang responsible for dealing heroin, cocaine and other illegal substances.
Various local law enforcement agencies have been involved with an ongoing investigation into the group, which has already yielded several arrests — but no charges this serious. The other cases accused members of drug and weapons offenses.
Marvin Payne has been arrested multiple times in recent months, though he quickly posted bond and was released in those cases. He was booked in May for possession of drugs and weapons, then booked again in June after investigators ran tests on the firearms and identified two as fully automatic machine guns, which reload automatically and fire continuously with one trigger pull.
In the court records for both cases, East Baton Rouge deputies identify Marvin Payne as a leader of the 5400 Boys. When released on bond in June, a judge ordered him to "refrain from criminal contact," court records show.
He was charged with attempted first-degree murder in 2009, then later pleaded guilty to illegal use of weapons and aggravated criminal damage to property. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but the remainder of the sentence was suspended in lieu of probation. His probation conditions included staying away from a Plank Road seafood restaurant and nightclub, attending parenting classes and obtaining a GED.
Jeremy Payne has a less extensive criminal history. Authorities have been trying to bring criminal charges for his alleged connection to the 5400 Boys.
Deputies filed an arrest warrant in June citing a state law that prohibits street gang affiliation, but almost immediately recalled the warrant after realizing they had misunderstood the law.
"This statute was found to be a modifier to other criminal charges in reference to a case. The accused has no pending criminal charges at this time," deputies wrote in their request to recall the warrant.
In their latest arrest, Baton Rouge police accused both Paynes of being at the scene of the Aug. 16 shooting. Their arrest warrants contain no information about a possible motive, though they identify the men as members of the 5400 gang.
Authorities have said previously they believe the group is responsible for multiple homicides. No additional information was immediately available Tuesday about whether more arrests or charges are expected soon.
The arrests came amid an ongoing spike in both opioid overdoses and deadly shootings. The combination has placed added pressure on local law enforcement agencies to crackdown on large-scale drug trafficking organizations and perpetrators of gun violence.