In April of 2021, on a street in Bogalusa, Louisiana, a young man named Montrell Quinn, aged 24, lost his life. The male victim was in the parking lot of a convenience store locally known as the 'green store' on Sabine Street when the fatal encounter unfolded. Emergency services responded to multiple 9-1-1 calls reporting a shooting and discovered Quinn with several gunshot wounds. He was quickly transported to Our Lady of the Angels Hospital, but a gunshot wound to his chest proved fatal.
Investigators at the scene found a gun in Quinn's back pocket.
Witnesses provided a description of the shooter's vehicle, initiating a search by the Bogalusa Police Department. However, the search was short-lived as the suspect, Kelton L. Johnson, Jr., then 23 years old, called the police department himself. He identified himself as the shooter and arranged to meet with officers. In his statement to the police, Johnson claimed that Quinn had flagged him down and challenged him to a fight. Johnson alleged that Quinn then retrieved a gun from his own vehicle and approached the passenger side of Johnson's car, opening the door. It was at this point, Johnson admitted, that he shot Quinn, asserting that he acted in self-defense. At the time of the incident, Johnson had an adult passenger, as well as an infant and a toddler in his vehicle.
Following an investigation into the shooting that took place on April 3, 2021, detectives with the Bogalusa Police Department arrested Kelton Lamonte Johnson Jr.. He was subsequently charged with second-degree murder and illegal use of dangerous weapons. The case proceeded to trial, and in September 2023, a Washington Parish jury unanimously found Johnson guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter. The following month, a district judge sentenced Kelton L. Johnson, Jr. to 30 years in prison for the death of Montrell Quinn. An appeal of the conviction was later denied.
