In the summer of 2016, a late-night argument shattered the quiet of a New Orleans neighborhood, leaving two brothers dead and a family grappling with a devastating loss. Joshua Johnson, a 31-year-old male, and his younger brother, Ryan 'Rudy' Johnson, 24, were discovered inside a black SUV at the intersection of Pauger and North Miro streets in the 7th Ward shortly after midnight on July 31, 2016. Both men had sustained multiple gunshot wounds and were pronounced dead at the scene.
The engine of their vehicle was still running when police arrived.
The brothers were publicly identified by their sister, reality television star and author Antonia 'Toya' Johnson, the ex-wife of rapper Lil Wayne. The high-profile nature of the family brought immediate attention to the case. A neighbor reported hearing a loud commotion and yelling directed at the occupants of the SUV just moments before the fatal shots were fired, after which the crowd dispersed. While police did not immediately release a motive, some neighbors suspected a connection to drug activity in the area. An autopsy later confirmed that Joshua Johnson's death was a homicide caused by multiple gunshot wounds.
The investigation into the double homicide led to the arrest of Antoine Edwards. In September 2019, after about two hours of deliberation, a jury found the 34-year-old Edwards guilty on two counts of second-degree murder for the deaths of Joshua and Ryan Johnson. He was subsequently sentenced to a mandatory life sentence for each count, to be served concurrently, without the possibility of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence.
Edwards later appealed his conviction, but in a decision dated February 16, 2022, the Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit, affirmed the trial court's judgment, upholding his conviction for the murders of the Johnson brothers. The case remains a somber reminder of the gun violence that has affected numerous families in the city. Joshua Johnson was a father, and he and his brother were mourned by a large extended family.
