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BRPD: Sex offender killed civic leader over back rent

Ronn Bell .jpg
Posted at 2:29 PM, Jul 16, 2019
and last updated 2019-07-16 17:17:49-04

A convicted sex offender living at a property owned by murdered activist Sadie Roberts-Joseph was arrested by Baton Rouge police overnight.

Baton Rouge Police say Ronn Jermaine Bell, 38, was booked today with first degree murder in connection with the slaying of Sadie Roberts-Joseph.

WBRZ reports that Bell was a tenant of Roberts-Joseph and owed her $1,200 in back rent.

Bell also is a convicted sex offender, records show.

A warrant for Bell's arrest had been made on Monday for not paying the annual registration fee for sex offenders, according to court records.

Records show that authorities reviewed video footage showing Bell leaving the area of where Roberts-Joseph's body was located. DNA was also recovered from the crime scene that matched Bell's.

Sadie Roberts-Joseph

A vigil is planned for Tuesday night at the Odell S. Williams Now & Then Museum of African-American History, which she founded in 2001, WBRZ reports.

To read WBRZ's coverage, click here.