Antoine Clinton Holley, a 32-year-old aspiring musician and devoted father known to loved ones as “Bing the King,” was a man with a passion for life. Born in Detroit on February 28, 1981, he was a twin and one of six children. Antoine was educated in the Detroit Public Schools, graduating from Northwestern High School in 1999 before earning a certificate in carpentry from Wayne County Community College. A "jack of all trades," he also worked in construction and as a traveling salesman, but his true passion was music. As a child, he performed with the group Kris Kross and later started his own record label, Project Profit Entertainment, Inc. He composed many songs, including a piece dedicated to his son titled "Happy Birthday Belated." He was the proud father of two sons, Antoine Jr. and Shavontaz'. His family remembers him as a man who loved cooking, traveling, shopping, and spending time with his children and family.
The summer of 2013 brought instability and violence to Antoine’s home on Archdale Street in Detroit. In July, a woman named Candy Simpson, who worked for Antoine as a prostitute, moved into the residence he shared with his girlfriend, Latasha Bargaineer, their young son, Antoine Jr., and his father, Terrell Johnson. The living situation was volatile, and on Saturday, August 10, 2013, Antoine physically assaulted Candy and forced her to leave the house. The next day, a group including Candy's half-sisters, Miah Stroud and Joezetta Harper, and a man named Tamarris Aldridge, came to the house demanding to know where Candy was and expressing anger that she had been "jumped on."
The conflict reached its fatal conclusion late on the night of August 12, 2013. Just before midnight, Terrell Johnson heard a knock and saw Miah Stroud at the door, seemingly alone. When Antoine opened the door to let her in, several men, including Tamarris Aldridge, rushed into the house. Aldridge was armed with a rifle, and another man carried a handgun. Stroud and Aldridge went upstairs to confront Antoine's girlfriend, Latasha, before forcing her downstairs at gunpoint. In the living room, Antoine and his father were being held on the floor. One of the intruders began stomping on Antoine before the other armed man shot him once in the head. The group then fled, leaving Antoine to die in front of his father, his girlfriend, and his young son.
The Detroit Police Department investigation led to the arrests of Miah Stroud and Tamarris Aldridge. They were tried jointly before a single jury and charged under an aiding and abetting theory. The jury convicted both of second-degree murder and three counts of felonious assault for their roles in the home invasion and killing of Antoine Holley. Aldridge was also convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm and felony-firearm, third offense.
In court, Miah Stroud was sentenced to a prison term of 25 to 40 years for the murder conviction, with concurrent sentences of two to four years for each assault charge. Tamarris Aldridge, sentenced as a fourth habitual offender, received a much longer sentence of 60 to 90 years for second-degree murder. This was in addition to concurrent sentences of 15 to 25 years for the felon-in-possession charge and 10 to 15 years for each assault conviction, all to be served after a consecutive 10-year term for the felony-firearm conviction.
Both Stroud and Aldridge appealed their convictions, but the Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed the jury's verdict in a March 2016 decision. The court found that a jury could infer Stroud facilitated the men's entry into the house, knowing they were armed and angry, and actively participated in the crime. As of May 2022, Miah Stroud has been pursuing a commutation of her sentence, maintaining her innocence and arguing she was wrongfully convicted based on police misconduct and fabricated testimony. The case is considered legally closed, with those responsible for Antoine Holley's death held accountable for their actions.
