NEW ORLEANS — Hollis Carter and his mother were on their way to court Wednesday morning for a court hearing on Carter's double murder charge when a black truck pulled beside them on Chef Menteur Highway and opened fire, killing the 21-year and seriously wounding his mom.
In an exclusive WWL-TV interview, Carter's family says they have not only been robbed of their loved one, but of the opportunity to clear his name.
“My nephew didn't have a chance to have his day in court for his attorney to prove his innocence,” said a family member who asked for her identity to remain hidden.
Less than 48 hours after the ambush shooting, police arrested Bokio Johnson, 46, father of 21-year-old Caleb Johnson, one of two victims Carter was accused of killing. The shooting in Algiers one year ago also took the life of 25-year-old Breyiana Brown.
The double shooting took place in March 2021 in Algiers. Police say evidence pointed to two men being involved, but only Carter was arrested. Detectives said it happened during the sale of a gun that went bad.
Carter’s family admitted he was there, and later confessed to that fact, but said the other man actually did the shooting.
Shortly after Carter’s mother arrived in the hospital trying to survive her own wounds, the family had to break the tragic news about her son.
“My sister is fighting for her life. My sister has been shot six times in her back and one of the bullets exploded,” the family member said. “My sister kept asking everybody, 'Why do you all keep coming by me? Go see about my son. Go see about my baby. I asked God to give me the strength to tell her about her child.”
At the time of the Wednesday’s shooting the family said Carter was free after posting a $375,000 bail in September. When he wasn’t at work at one of his two jobs, his family said he was inside with his mother on home incarceration.
Carter's family said they saw Bokio Johnson at the criminal courthouse for nearly all of Carter’s court appearances. Now Johnson will be fighting his own murder charge in the same courthouse.
Before Johnson was even arrested, Carter’s family watched saw surveillance video police released of that familiar black truck they say they saw many times before at court hearings. They told detectives about the truck, according to a preliminary police report filed in Bokio Johnson’s arrest.
“I knew then who it was,” the family member said. “Because that's the truck that was at every court appearance.”
In the police report, the detectives wrote, “Family members knew the father possessed this vehicle because of previous occasions when the father would sit outside the courthouse on court appearance dates and follow them inside the dark-colored pickup truck.”
The police report states that detectives were able to match Johnson’s license plate to the plate seen on the truck in the video of the shooting. When the detectives went to Johnson’s house, they found the truck parked outside, the report states.
“A search of Johnson’s home was conducted, at which time a rifle magazine and an empty rifle firearm box was located inside his residence,” the detectives wrote.
“I really didn't think he would just take the law into his own hands,” the relative said.
Johnson's attorney, Michael Kennedy, wrote in a statement that his client is innocent. Johnson remains in custody on a $1-million bail.