Union Parish football star and LSU running back Trey Holly will not face an attempted murder charge, his lawyer said Friday.
Attorney Michael Small said a Union Parish grand jury indicted the LSU student athlete for illegal use of a weapon but declined to indict him for the original attempted second degree murder charge.
Holly was originally arrested for attempted second degree murder, illegal use of a weapon, and aggravated criminal damage to property in connection with a Feb. 9 shooting in Farmerville that left a man and a woman wounded.
The grand jury opted to indict him only for the illegal use charge for allegedly firing a gun during the incident, according to Small.
The district attorney’s office previously recused itself from the case and could not verify the grand jury’s action this weekend. The prosecution is being led by the office of the state attorney general. No one in that office could be reached over the weekend to confirm the grand jury’s decision.
An indictment is a formal written accusation stating a grand jury found probable cause to proceed with a criminal charge.
Numerous social media conversations this weekend assumed the charges against Holly had been dismissed, but that is not the case. Small said Holly will plead not guilty to the charge.
Illegal use of a weapon is a felony with a potential punishment of up to a $1,000 fine or up to two years imprisonment or both.
“We look forward to trial before a fair and impartial jury in Union Parish after which I am confident that a verdict of not guilty will be returned,” Small said in a press release.
After his arrest, Holly posted a message on social media stating the charges were the result of his misidentification as a suspect.
The 19-year-old Holly wrote, “As you guys know I was recently arrested on 3 felony charges. I have been falsely identified, accused, and arrested. I am 100% innocent and the people that know me know this is not my character at all. I was not involved in the incident at all. I was at home which is where the incident took place. I turned myself in because I was notified of an arrest warrant and I wanted to fully cooperate. Due to this being an ongoing investigation I cannot give many details. To my fans I’m sorry for the confusion but you guys know this is not me at all. I will come back better than ever and I look forward to proving my innocence. To the REAL ONES thank you guys for standing beside me through this tough time, I got this and my story will be told one day and it will be LEGENDARY.”
Holly has been suspended indefinitely from the LSU football team but is still enrolled as an online student, according to head football coach Brian Kelly.
Kelly said in an interview Friday that remaining in school maintains Holly’s potential eligibility to return to the team. Kelly sounded optimistic that Holly could be reinstated once the case against him is fully resolved.
Holly remains on the team’s online roster.
Two other suspects, Jordan R. Jones, 18, of Marion and a 16-year-old juvenile were booked for attempted second degree murder in the case. Whether the grand jury has considered indictments against them could not be ascertained.
