A trip to Louisiana to celebrate a birthday turned into a tragedy for Paul Holt, a 62-year-old man from Arkansas. On the morning of Saturday, May 6, 2023, the day before he would have turned 63, Holt and his wife were getting into their SUV outside a Red Roof Plus hotel in Hammond. It was then that an armed and masked individual approached them.
The assailant, later identified as 18-year-old Ladarrius Evans of Hammond, entered the couple's vehicle and attempted to drive away with Holt's
wife still in the passenger seat. Holt intervened, trying to stop the carjacking and help his wife escape. He was successful in getting his wife out of the SUV, but in the process, Evans shot him in the chest. Holt was unarmed. After the shooting, Evans fled the scene in the stolen vehicle. Emergency services were called to the scene just before 8 a.m., and Holt was transported to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.
Later that day, investigators located the stolen SUV, which led them to identify Evans as the suspect. When they found Evans, he was in possession of weapons and some of the victims' belongings. Authorities reported that Evans confessed to the crime. He was arrested and booked into the Tangipahoa Parish Jail on multiple charges, including first-degree murder, carjacking, possession of an unidentifiable firearm, armed robbery with a firearm, and possession of a machine gun.
