JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The mother of 13-year-old murder victim Prince Holland said she is frustrated after a motion was filed to have separate trials for the accused men.
Thursday, a judge said the decision on whether to try 27-year-old Kentrevious Garard and 25-year-old Marcel Johnson separately may take time due to “court logistics.”
Garard and Johnson face murder charges in connection with Holland’s death.
RELATED | Accused shooter in Prince Holland’s death wants separate trial from accused driver
According to investigators, in December 2022, Johnson drove a car while Garard fired shots at an SUV at the intersection of Moncrief and New Kings Road, killing Holland.
Garard’s attorney filed a motion last November, seeking to have her client tried separately from Johnson. She argued that while Garard is accused of being the shooter, there is little evidence against him compared to the overwhelming evidence against Johnson.
Last June, the State Attorney’s Office released evidence, including footage and phone calls related to the investigation. A nearly four-hour-long interrogation of Marcel Johnson was also made public.
MORE | New evidence images, 911 calls released nearly a year after murder of 13-year-old Prince Holland
During this interrogation, Johnson reportedly told detectives about the tension between him and Garard as they followed the red SUV carrying Prince Holland from football tryouts. According to Johnson, when they reached an intersection, Garard allegedly instructed him to “let the shots off.”
The police reported that more than 20 bullets were fired during the incident. Johnson has claimed that Garard threatened him to ensure his silence about the events that transpired.
MORE | Driver accused in Prince Holland’s death says he was told ‘if you tell anything, you die’
In a 2023 news conference, Sheriff T.K. Waters said that the shooting was linked to “two rival street groups.”
Garard’s attorney, S. Nicole Jamieson sent News4JAX’s Briana Brownlee a statement regarding the motion.
“We are hoping the court severs the two trials so that a jury can clearly evaluate the lack of evidence against Mr. Garard independent of his co-defendant’s case.”
S. Nicole Jamieson, Kentrevious Garard's attorney
Holland’s mom, Chantel Brown, is frustrated about Jamieson pushing to have a separate trial from Johnson.
“I feel like she don’t care about nobody else,” Brown said. “She don’t care about the kids involved, let alone the family or me or the victim that was murdered so why would you want to put us through that more than once.”
Brown also said she’s open to having one trial with two separate juries.
“Yeah I don’t feel like it’s going to make a difference, guilty is guilty,” Brown said.
