AMY SZPARA

EDGARD – An Edgard man is behind bars charged with second-degree murder after allegedly shooting his cousin in the neck with a shotgun and killing him, the drastic end to a reported on-going feud between the two that turned deadly Tuesday night. Leonard Johnson, 44, 218 E. Sixth St., was arrested shortly after the incident, which marks the second homicide in St. John the Baptist Parish this year. Kim Edwards, 39, 226 E. Sixth St., was found dead just inside the entrance of his home when police responded to a 911 call reporting the shooting. According to Capt. Mike Tregre of the St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s Office, at 8:10 Tuesday night, police received a phone call that a man had been shot. Deputies were dispatched at 8:12 p.m., arrived four minutes later along with Acadian Ambulance personnel, and found Edwards lying on the floor in his home. Edwards had no pulse when police arrived. Johnson was taken into custody on the spot, added Tregre. “He said, Here I am’ and placed his hands on the trunk of a vehicle. We found the victim just inside his home,” said Tregre. Tregre said that according to witnesses, the two had an on-going contention, though witnesses are still be questioned to determine what started the family feud. Just houses apart, the relatives were also fighting neighbors. No previous reports filed by either Johnson or Edwards against the other were on record, though Tregre said that only means the cousins had never reported any incidents. “It doesn’t mean there weren’t any,” he said. “Johnson just turned himself in. There doesn’t seem to have been any alcohol involved, just a possible verbal altercation that went bad,” said Tregre. Johnson is being held at the Sherman R. Walker Correctional Center in LaPlace with no bond, determined by Judge Mary Hotard Becnel of the 40th Judicial District Court. Both homicides this year have been domestic related. The first occurred in January and was also a shooting, involving a boyfriend who allegedly shot his girlfriend. The suspect in that killing, also charged with second-degree murder, is in custody at this time. If Johnson is convicted of second-degree murder, he could face life in prison without the benefit of parole.