JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — An arrest and booking report from the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office has revealed news details in the murder of 13-year-old Prince Holland. Marcel Johnson was arrested in connection to the December shooting, however, Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters does not believe he acted alone.
The teen was killed in a drive-by shooting in the Moncrief area on Dec. 3, 2022. Prince was on his way home from football tryouts at the Legends Center and Gymnasium when someone opened fire into the car, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. Prince was killed and the driver of the car, a coach, was badly injured.
Investigators believe that the car Prince was riding in had been chased, immediately before the shooting. When they approached the intersection, the suspect's car was positioned next to the victim's car on the drivers side, according to the JSO report. Once the car's were next to each other, an occupant of the suspect's car "indiscriminately" began shooting at the car Prince was inside. The car, later identified as a blue 2020 Kia Rio, reportedly took off after the shooting. Detectives were able to match a blue Rio to a family member of Johnson. She then confirmed to detectives that he was using her car at the time of the murder.
Investigators identified Johnson as a suspect after searching social media. On Dec. 5, Johnson went live on his Instagram page in which he could be seen holding a semiautomatic hand gun, according to the report. During the live, Johnson was reportedly speaking about a man who was "fighting for his life" in the hospital at UF Health Jacksonville. While streaming, Johnson was speaking with one of the viewers in the comments of the live. During the exchange, the commenter said "innocents get no points". Officials believe this was a reference to Prince's murder, as written in the report.
Detectives were able to find Johnson's phone number and provider, leading to a granted search warrant for his call records and geolocation. His cellular location confirmed he was in the area of the shooting before and after the incident. However, there was no cellular activity during the time frame of the murder, according to investigators.
When speaking with officials, Johnson initially denied any involvement in Prince's murder. He told police that others were involved and had stolen his grandmother's car from him. The rest of the conversation is redacted in the arrest report but it is clear there was more to the interview.
Johnson is facing charges for second-degree murder, several counts of attempted second-degree murder and shooting or throwing deadly missiles.
The sheriff said this is "the first domino to fall" in what will be a continued takedown of street gangs.
Waters said the drive-by was targeted and pre-planned. He blamed conflict between two gangs and said the gangs are called "3" and "320." Typically, police do not release the names of gangs or refer to them with those names, but he wants the community to know who they are, he said.
Waters does not believe Johnson committed the crimes alone and there is an ongoing investigation.
"We're coming for you," he said. "We will not rest, we will tire, and you will be held accountable."
