JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The man accused in the murder trial of 13-year-old Prince Holland spoke to the media on Thursday after a jury found him not guilty on all five counts.
Investigators said Kentrevious Garard, 27, was the man who fired the shots during a drive-by that killed Holland.
Garard was smiling with his legal team as he walked out of the courtroom to be reunited with his family after the verdict was declared.
He said he didn’t know how to feel after sitting through the trial that lasted just over a week, but he was happy to be a free man.
“Lovely, I can’t even imagine the words right now,” Garard said.
In a rare move for a murder trial defendant, Garard opted to take the stand in his own defense on Tuesday.
He admitted to being friends with Marcel Johnson, his co-defendant and accused driver in the shooting, since 2019, but testified that the relationship had grown distant by late 2021 because Johnson was selling drugs and he didn’t do anything to acknowledge his birthday.
Although he admitted to lying to police when they began investigating him and Johnson in connection with the deadly shooting, Garard maintained during cross-examination that his testimony on the stand was true. He said he lied earlier to protect himself and because he was under pressure.
The trial also included emotional moments like the testimony from the coach who was driving the car and saw the bullet hit Holland, his mother who was in tears as the evidence was presented to the juries, forcing her to relive that night.
Garard had a message for everyone involved in the trial.
“My heart goes out to everybody who was involved,” Garard said. “The deceased, ones that are still here, but I had nothing to do with it.”
He also described his relationship with Johnson.
“I just made a bad choice in [choosing] friends,” Garard said.
He also said that he is leaving Jacksonville.
The jury for Johnson, which was separate from the jury for Garard, was unable to come to a unanimous decision after deliberating for over 10 hours. Johnson will return to court on Oct. 21.