This past weekend in Louisiana, three 19-year-old males were apprehended and accused of committing second-degree murder and first-degree feticide. It is alleged that they fired shots at Kerisha Johnson, a 36-year-old woman, as she was driving her car down North Carrollton Avenue. Johnson was nearing the end of her pregnancy term and was expected to deliver her baby within days of the tragic event.
Around 12:30 a.m. on April 16, Johnson was inside her car, on her way to fetch several people from a party in the North Carrollton area, when she was fired upon. Footage showed a vehicle parked across the street from the party with several people outside conversing; it was then that Johnson’s car was seen coming down the road, and the people crouched before they lifted handguns and started shooting at her. The alleged shooters then entered their car and fled the scene.
Marques Porch, Gregory Parker, and Derrick Curry have been identified as suspects in the shooting incident. The trio reportedly informed detectives that they thought Johnson’s car was the same one that had driven by the gathering earlier in the evening and shot off a couple of rounds.
Porch, an officer at the West Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office, confessed to the authorities that he was the one who provided the weapons. As a result, he was immediately dismissed from his post with the Sheriff’s Office after his detainment. Moreover, Porch also owned the car that was used to help the suspects make their escape.
Johnson’s family and friends are in shock and disbelief over the unexpected death of Johnson and her unborn child. Deanna Williams, a childhood friend of Johnson, stated, “It was just senseless,” adding, “She was an innocent person.” Porch, Parker, and Curry were all booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison and brought before a judge on Monday who ordered them to remain in pretrial detention without bond.
The community is heartbroken and infuriated as Johnson’s life was taken due to a misidentified vehicle. Johnson was a victim of a senseless act of violence, and her family and friends will never be able to forget the tragedy that was so unfortunately caused. Now, the three suspects must face the repercussions of their actions, and justice will be served.