Three teenagers have been arrested for the Louisiana killing of a pregnant woman who was set to give birth within days, in a killing that was reportedly a case of mistaken identity.
The young men, all 19 years old, face charges of second-degree murder and first-degree feticide after the killing of Ketisha Johnson, 36, who was found dead in her car in Baton Rouge.
The teenagers, Marques Porch, Gregory Parker, and Derrick Curry, were arrested after Ms Johnson was found dead in her car in the early hours of 16 April.
At about 12.30am, Ms Johnson was set to pick up attendees from an Easter party in North Carrollton when she was shot several times. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Affidavits for the detained young men state that in surveillance footage from just before the shooting, a dark Honda was spotted parked across the street from where the party was taking place, The Advocate reported.
A group of people stand outside the car talking to each other when Ms Johnson arrives in her white sedan, prompting the people near the Honda to crouch down. They can then be seen pulling out guns and firing them at the white sedan.
While Ms Johnson tried to get away, she was hit by the gunfire and killed, including her unborn child. The suspects can then be seen on the video fleeing the area in the Honda.
The men were identified by witnesses present at the scene. The suspects all told police that they thought Ms Johnson’s car was one that had passed by earlier that same evening. An occupant of that separate vehicle had fired several rounds of gunfire into the air while driving past.
Mr Porch was also wounded in the incident. He told police he owned the Honda and that he had supplied the firearms to the other teenagers, the affidavits state. He admitted that he arranged for someone to pick up the guns before the three men were arrested.
When he was detained, Mr Porch was a corrections officer working part-time for the West Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office.
The office’s public affairs officer, Corporal Landon Groger, said on Monday that the teenager had been fired after he was arrested.
Mr Porch was a full-time corrections officer between June and November 2022 and then part-time from February of this year until his Sunday firing.
Police Sgt L’Jean McKneely told WAFB, “Through the course of [the] investigation, we believe that the person who was shooting at her thought that she was the person who had just fired the multiple shots”.
A childhood friend of Ms Johnson, Deanna Williams, told WBRZ that “it was just senseless” and that Ms Johnson “was an innocent person”.
Jail records state that the three suspects were booked into East Baton Rouge Parish Prison. When they appeared before a judge on Monday, they were ordered to remain in pretrial detention without bond, according to Law & Crime.
