JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A defense attorney not connected to the Prince Holland murder case talked about what led to the different outcomes of the two accused men.
RELATED: Accused shooter in murder of 13-year-old Prince Holland found not guilty on all counts
Investigators said Kentrevious Garard, 27, was the man who fired the shots during a drive-by that killed Holland, 13, in 2022, but a jury found him not guilty on all five counts.
The jury for Marcel Johnson, which was separate from the jury for Garard, was unable to come to a unanimous decision after deliberating for over 10 hours.
In a rare move, Garard’s attorneys put him on the stand. It’s something Gene Nichols of Nichols & Pina Partners said may have made the difference.
“They did a wonderful job of expressing to the jury that their client had nothing to do with this,” Nichols said. “They put their client on the stand, which is sometimes a dangerous thing to do in criminal cases.”
Johnson’s defense convinced his jury that his confession may have been coerced by JSO detectives.
“Mr. Johnson’s lawyer did an excellent job of conveying to the jury that his client’s confession may have been coerced, and because of that, he was able to get a jury, at least somebody on that jury, whether one or 11, to say ‘I think it was coerced,’” Nichols said.
He said seeing an outcome like this, especially in a high-profile murder case is rare. He said he doesn’t think the State Attorney’s Office missed anything when presenting its case.
“What happened in this case, more than anything else, was that Johnson gave an alleged confession...Johnson implicated Garard in his confession. Garard’s jury never heard that confession. The ruling to keep it out of Garard’s trial was completely correct by the judge. Nobody made a mistake,” Nichols said.
He said Garard’s defense couldn’t challenge Johnson’s confession because Johnson was also being tried.
“The Garard case was a lot more difficult to prove,” Nichols said. “Gerard didn’t confess. He didn’t admit to anything. Johnson, whether coerced or not, which is a big deal, how a juror would decide that confession the Garard jury never got to hear, not a fault of the State Attorney’s Office. It was just the evidence.”
The SAO is now deciding whether to retry Johnson. It released the following statement.
Prince Holland’s murder was a tragic loss for his family and our community. While we are disappointed in today’s verdict, our office remains committed to pursuing justice for victims and holding violent offenders accountable.
Thank you to our law enforcement partners, prosecutors, and victim advocates who continue to seek justice for Prince as we prosecute the State of Florida v. Marcel Johnson.
State Attorney's Office
After the rulings on Thursday, Holland’s mom said she was hurt by the verdict, but will fight to keep her son’s name alive.