On the evening of July 15, 2016, 23-year-old Jovante Passard was fatally shot on the front lawn of a residence at 852 Trade Wind Road in Macon, Georgia. He suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was taken to Navicent Health Hospital, where he died.

Investigators focused on Passard’s childhood friend, 20-year-old Hymetheus Malik Johnson. According to witness accounts, the men and two other friends had been at a barbershop earlier and later went to Johnson’s mother’s home on Trade Wind Road. Johnson, described as enraged after a recent breakup and having sent threatening texts to his ex-girlfriend, argued with his mother. Passard reportedly intervened; the confrontation escalated and Johnson shot Passard twice. Johnson fled in a 1999 green Honda Accord belonging to two other friends and was later arrested in Lithonia, Georgia, on August 12, 2016.

The case led to a trial where a jury returned guilty verdicts and Johnson received a life sentence for Passard’s killing. Does anyone have information about Passard’s life in Macon or knew him personally that could add context to what happened that night?