‘Kill a white guy’: Police reveal possible motive of two black suspects in murder of white man in New Orleans area

According to law enforcement, one of the two suspects who allegedly killed Herr while he was outside a house while repairing a mailbox, has confessed to his part in the crime, adding that the two black men 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 killing of the 66-year-old handyman who was shot on April 10.

Kenner Police Chief Keith Conley said Tuesday, “We have not found any relation between the victim and the suspects. In fact, the victim’s back was to the suspects when the shots were fired.”

According to local outlet FOX 8, during a preliminary hearing in Jefferson Parish’s magistrate court on Tuesday, detective Nicolas Engler testified that Matthews and Holmes were captured on surveillance video taken at an apartment complex two hours before the killing.

The Kenner officer testified that in the video Holmes can be seen passing a weapon to Matthews and that a box of 9mm ammunition was found on the floor of the car used in the drive-by shooting.

Matthews also confessed to hiding a 9mm pistol in his attic, according to the officer’s testimony.

Holmes continues to deny any wrongdoing. He previously served six years in a Texas prison for domestic violence.

The pair worked at a nearby IHOP and Engler testified that Matthews went to work that morning and presented a doctor’s note claiming he was sick and was allowed to leave two hours before Herr was killed.

Both suspects were denied bond by Magistrate Commissioner Paul Schneider and remain in custody in the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center.