Louisiana – Kenner police this week revealed a racial motive in the killing of a 66-year-old handyman.
Two black male suspects, Tahj Matthews, 23 and Maurice Holmes, 25, admitted to their role in killing Lawrence Herr while he was repairing a mailbox last month.
One of the suspects told police he “just wanted to kill a white guy.”
Matthews and Holmes were both charged with first-degree murder in connection with the fatal drive-by shooting on April 10.
According to reports, the suspects gunned down Lawrence Herr while he was repairing a mailbox on Kenner’s Georgetown Place.
Both suspects are being held in the Jefferson Parish Correction Center, according to WVUE.
Police are weighing possible hate crime charges.
WVUE reported:
Police said one of the two suspects has admitted to his role in the crime, explaining they just wanted to go out and “kill a white guy.”
Tahj Matthews, 23, and Maurice Holmes, 25, have been booked with first-degree murder in connection with the slaying of Herr. The 66-year-old handyman also known as “Peanut” was gunned down April 10, seemingly without warning, while repairing a mailbox on Kenner’s Georgetown Place.
“We have not found any relation between the victim and the suspects,” Kenner Police Chief Keith Conley said Tuesday (May 9). “In fact, the victim’s back was to the suspects when the shots were fired.”
At a preliminary hearing Tuesday in Jefferson Parish’s magistrate court, Kenner Police detective Nicolas Engler testified that Matthews and Holmes were captured on surveillance video taken at a Clemson Drive apartment complex just two hours before the killing.
More on this story from WVUE FOX 8 New Orleans:
Authorities investigating a New Orleans-area murder of a 66-year-old white man by two black suspects now believe there was a racial component. Police in Kenner, La. say one of the suspects admitted to just wanting to “kill a white guy.”
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) May 12, 2023