Jury reaches verdict in murder trial involving wild shootout at Fresno motorcycle club
Antoine Caradine, who was involved in a wild shootout that killed 31-year-old Darnell Johnson at a motorcycle club party last fall, was found guilty of second-degree murder by a Fresno County jury Wednesday.
The 33-year-old Caradine appeared stunned when the jury verdict was read. His girlfriend put her head down and began crying loudly as Judge Kimberly Gaab urged calm in her courtroom.
Caradine and his defense attorney Linden Lindahl argued he did not intend to kill Johnson on Oct. 1, 2022, the night of an event at the Soul Brothers Motorcycle Club at McKinley Avenue near Hughes Avenue and Highway 99.
About 200 people attended the party that ended quickly after gunfire erupted at about 2:45 a.m.
Lindahl said during his closing arguments that Caradine acted in self-defense when he saw a friend caught up in a tussle that broke out among the partygoers. The attorney compared the scene to the shootout at O.K. Corral.
“I am very disappointed and thought the evidence was compelling enough to support self-defense of another,” Lindahl said.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Liz Owen said she was pleased with the jury verdict and happy that justice was served.
The jury began deliberating Tuesday afternoon and delivered its verdict within six hours.
During the trial, witnesses and police testified that after a fight broke out, shots were fired by at least four people. Johnson was struck between five and six times and Caradine fired four times at Johnson.
Even after Johnson was struck and fell to the ground, he managed to squeeze off several rounds.
Two others were also injured in the shootout and were treated at Community Regional Medical Center.
Caradine faces up to 40 years to life in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 1 in Department 54 at 8:30 a.m.
