RESERVE, La. — One of the suspects in a double murder in St. John the Baptist Parish was arrested Thursday as the other remains on the run, the parish's Sheriff said.
Investigators used physical evidence and security camera footage to tie 25-year-old Theron Williams, of New Orleans, to the drive-by shooting that killed Kyron Perrilloux, 20, and Kerell Tyrez Sanders, 18, on July 30.
According to Sheriff Mike Tregre, Williams and his suspected accomplice, 31-year-old Kelvin Taylor, pulled up behind the two cousins while they were driving near West Airline Highway and East 22nd Street.
"We don't believe they even saw it coming," Tregre said, adding that in security camera footage, "you can clearly see the pickup truck follow the car of the two victims, pull up next to the two victims and gunfire erupted."
Both victims were shot multiple times. By the time sheriff's deputies arrived, both were dead in the car, which had careened off the road into a ditch.
Williams was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, and a warrant is out for Taylor's arrest on the same charges.
"This was not a random act," Tregre said the day of the shooting. "These two guys were specifically targeted."
But at the Friday morning press conference announcing Williams' arrest, the sheriff did not elaborate on the motive.
"There's no motive that has been positively identified at this point," he said. "The victims and one of the suspects have a relation of some sort."
Investigators believe the pickup truck the pair used in the shooting was damaged by the bullets the suspects fired into the victim's car, shooting through their own door.
After receiving tips from the public about a pickup truck that did not have a door, investigators tied the vehicle to the shooting by license plate and bullet casings found near the truck.
They later found the car door, which had been removed, and discovered bullet holes that appeared to originate from inside the cab of the truck.
Williams is being held on a $500,000 bond at the St. John the Baptist Parish jail.
Both suspects have long histories with law enforcement, Tregre said.
Williams has been arrested a dozen times throughout Louisiana. His latest arrest was in 2018 for illegal possession of a firearm. Taylor has been arrested seven times in the state, including once for another drive-by shooting.
Tregre said he believed Taylor was still in St. John Parish, and urged the fugitive to turn himself in.
"We know who you are," Tregre said. "It's only a matter of time.