JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A man accused of fatally shooting a 13-year-old in December 2022 wants to be tried separately from the man accused of driving in the ambush shooting.
Kentrevious Garard was scheduled to appear in court Tuesday for a motion hearing ahead of his trial -- a trial he wants to be separated from fellow defendant Marcel Johnson. However, the hearing was pushed to Wednesday.
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Investigators say Johnson drove a car, while Garard fired shots at an SUV at the intersection of Moncrief and New Kings Road, killing 13-year-old Prince Holland.
Johnson and Garard are both charged with murder in connection to the fatal shooting.
But Garard wants the cases to be tried separately.
In November, Garard’s attorney filed a motion to dismiss the charges against him, but it was amended.
And recently, his attorney filed a document to have a separate trial from Johnson. In the document, his attorney argued the evidence against Johnson was overwhelming and there was little evidence against Garard.
Last June, the State Attorney’s Office dropped interrogation footage and phone calls in the murder investigation, including several jail calls made by Garard and a nearly four-hour-long interrogation of Johnson.
RELATED: New evidence images, 911 calls released nearly a year after murder of 13-year-old Prince Holland
Two detectives were in the interrogation room with Johnson.
Johnson told detectives there was tension between him and Garard as they followed the red SUV that Holland was riding in from football tryouts.
He said when the two pulled up to the intersection, Garard said, “Let the shots off.”
The shooting started, and then Johnson drove to Garard’s house. Police said more than 20 bullets were fired in the vehicle. Holland was killed, and another young boy and the football coach, who was the driver, were hit.
Johnson admitted to police that he was scared.
He said Garard warned him, “If you tell anything, you die.”
Johnson realized the wrong person was shot once he started seeing news articles about the 13-year-old.
He told detectives there was no plan, that he had barely anything to do with it and didn’t know why the red car was targeted.
The detective reminded Johnson that Garard was his friend, and despite him saying he didn’t know what Garard was going to do, he was a part of the case now.
One detective asked Johnson how he would feel if someone were to shoot up a car with his 1-year-old daughter inside.
He replied that person should “be under the jail.”