Did human trafficking gangsters kill Allie Rice?

After reading last week’s Bayou Justice column on Louisiana State University student Allison “Allie” Rice’s murder, a retired Baton Rouge police officer contacted me with a theory. He suggested the “carjackers” described by the Baton Rouge Police Department destroyed Allie’s SUV because they had no interest in the vehicle. The attackers, he believes, planned to abduct Allie and only killed her when she attempted to escape.

Although police have said they have no indication that Allie’s murder resulted from gang violence, the former officer said she may have been the random victim of “guerilla pimps,” gang-affiliated privateers who kidnap women for sale to gangs or drug cartels abroad. He said this problem has existed for years, hidden by officials not wanting to cause panic and negatively affect the revenue of downtown businesses.

The retired lawman’s suggestion seemed preposterous until I verified his assertions.

The United Nations International Labor Organization defines Sex Trafficking as the second largest criminal enterprise in the world, and the Department of Justice’s National Gang Center cites street gangs as North America’s primary source of human trafficking. In 2022 alone, according to the DOJ, street gangs in the United States earned more than $150 billion from selling people.

In addition, Covenant Rescue—an international non-profit measuring human trafficking in the United States—ranks Baton Rouge among its top ten cities for sex trafficking based on data collected from the National Human Trafficking Hotline.

Paula Jones, a writer for BRProud.com, reported, “According to a 2021 report from Louisiana’s Department of Children and Family Services, an estimated 759 people were victims of human trafficking in Louisiana, 530 of whom were children. The report went on to say that 692 of the victims were female, 63 were male, and 4 were not gender identified.”

The Department of Justice reports: “While gangs historically focused on drug trafficking and illegal weapons trade, gang involvement with human trafficking—one of the world’s fastest-growing criminal enterprises—has increased. Gangs today focus on coercing victims into sex trafficking, minimizing the risk of detection, and maximizing profitability.”

Last Fall, BRPD Chief Murphy Paul spoke at a news conference following the attack on Allison Rice. He said, “Based on investigative intelligence, suggested and identified gangs in our city are looming.” He went on to estimate the number of gangs in the city exceeded eight.

This is significant as city officials today seldom mention street gangs.

However, in a 2011 interview with The Advocate newspaper, the District Attorney’s Office in Baton Rouge identified eleven active groups in the city. Assistant District Attorney Otha Nelson identified nine male-dominated gangs—Young Guerillaz, Citi Boyz, Baby Guerillaz, Big Money Block Boyz, Dumb Way Boys, Big Dogs, Banks Town Mafia, Retarded Boyz, and the Bottom Boyz—and two unnamed female-ran gangs.

This revelation prompted several studies on the subject.

In 2013, the Baton Rouge Area Violence Elimination project identified thirty Baton Rouge street gangs with 500 members. However, Ed Shihadeh, a criminologist at Louisiana State University, refuted that number, concluding that Baton Rouge hosted over 42 street gangs.

Last year, 18th Judicial District Attorney Tony Clayton discussed the gang problem with the Baton Rouge Rotary Club. He called these groups the biggest catalysts for crime in East Baton Rouge, West Baton Rouge, Iberville, and Pointe Coupee parishes.

“We have kids on the street who are 12, 15, 16 years old, and they have more guns than our cops,” he said. According to Clayton, gang leaders send juveniles to commit crimes because prison sentences are more severe for adults.

Leischen Stelter, a professor at American Military University, wrote in 2021: “Across the nation, there has been a dramatic rise in gang activity and gang-controlled sex trafficking rings. Gangs become sex traffickers because it is more profitable than narcotics or firearms with little to no financial investment.” The “resource,” he wrote, is also renewable. “Gangs can resell women repeatedly, and running a profitable sex trafficking ring requires fewer people than drug rings.”

Given those facts, the police officer’s theory regarding Allie Rice’s attempted abduction seems plausible. However, The Fuller Project, established to debunk myths about human trafficking, reports that trafficking through abduction is uncommon.

They explain, “Although there are cases of kidnapping in human trafficking operations, these are relatively rare. Unlike those in movies, only some victims are coerced or forced into trafficking.” Instead, they report, organized crime gangs entice victims through drugs, job offerings, and con artists called Romeos, who develop romantic relationships with their victims.

Citing data from the respected Polaris Project, The Fuller Report also offers data supporting the officer’s theory. Contrary to myth, the study determined most trafficked victims are adult American-born citizens, nullifying the stereotypical profile of foreign-born juveniles.

Armed with these facts, I decided to revisit the circumstances of Allie Rice’s death. Baton Rouge Police describe the attack as a random, failed carjacking. But, considering Allie’s youth and beauty, her attackers may have wanted more than her sports utility vehicle.

Allie, a 21-year-old senior and marketing major, worked part-time with her brothers at The Shed BBQ near LSU. Around 2:19 the morning of September 16, 2022, driving westbound on Government Street, Allie stopped her silver SUV for a stalled train in the 1500 block.

According to an eastbound eyewitness watching from across the tracks, two men approached Allie from between the cars of the stopped train. Both men appeared to be black males in their mid-20s or younger, standing nearly six-foot tall. Both dressed in dark clothing, but one wore a red hoodie covering his face.

Although the stopped train blocked much of the witness’s view, the young men may have been attempting a conversation with Allie.

Unfortunately, the witness could not determine any group affiliation for Allie’s shooters, nor could he hear what the men asked of her. But evidently, Allie refused their offer. Less than ten minutes after the men approached, a volley of shots began near the front of Allie’s car as she attempted to escape, her vehicle reversing in a half U-Turn.

Later, police found the college senior and her SUV riddled with bullets. Her attackers had fired at least a dozen times, destroying the car and killing Allie.

The coroner found bullets in her chest and defensive wounds on her arms.

According to witnesses, police found the SUV’s driver’s side window and front windshield blown out and bullet holes in both doors.

Clearly, Allie’s attackers had no interest in her car.

For readers not sold on the retired officer’s gang-related human trafficking theory, there are other reasons criminals might be interested in Allie more than her vehicle.

At three on the morning of January 15, four men left another LSU student, 19-year-old Madison Brooks of Covington, on a Baton Rouge highway, where an oncoming car struck and killed her. On Monday, January 23, the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office arrested the four on charges including raping the sophomore before abandoning her on the roadway.