Parise Larry Jr is a teen killer from Wisconsin who was convicted of the murder of Tatyanna Zech
According to court documents Parise Larry Jr and Antonio Johnson would get into a gunfight which would end with three people shot and Tatyanna Zech dying from her injuries. Parise Larry Jr was fourteen years old and Antonio Johnson was seventeen years old at the time of the shooting
Both Parise Larry Jr and Antonio Johnson would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to life in prison
At the sentencing hearing there would be a major skirmish between Parise Larry Jr family and that of Tatyanna Zech family
Parise Larry Jr Case
Two people were arrested as a result of several courthouse altercations that occurred during a teenager’s murder sentencing Friday.
Parise Larry will spend the rest of his life in prison with no chance of parole for his role in the deadly shooting of Tatyanna Zech in Fond du Lac.
The other suspect, Antonio Johnston, was also sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of release.
Larry, now 16 years old, was 14 at the time of the May 7, 2023, shooting at the Maplewood Commons apartment complex. He was convicted of eight counts, including being party to first-degree intentional homicide.
Johnston, now 19 but 17 years old at the time of the shooting, pleaded guilty to eight counts, including first-degree intentional homicide
There were other prison sentences issued for other counts that Larry and Johnston faced, but Judge Laura Lavey decided those will run concurrent to the life sentences.
Before his sentence was issued, Larry apologized for his actions.
“I’m going to take responsibility for everything that’s in this case. And I just want to say ‘sorry’ to my family and their family. Hope everybody can forgive me for my actions,” Larry said.
Johnston issued an emotional plea for the judge’s mercy.
“I’m not here in front you with a piece of paper that everything could be fabricated about. I am speaking genuinely from the heart, and I understand that you have a job to do today. I just hope that you could be lenient enough and allow me to be released at or after the 20 year mark. I know you have no obligation to do so,” he said.
I beg you, please just give me another chance to show that I am worth it, and that I am not a disgrace to society and I am not a menace to society.
Giving my deepest condolences to the entire Zech family, everybody else who has been affected… I am so very sorry.
Zech’s mother, Nichole Zech, also spoke before the sentence was issued.
“Tatyanna was a bright light in this world. She was a talented hair stylist. She truly had one of the biggest hearts and would help anyone. She was more than just my daughter. She was a vibrant, loving soul with so many dreams for the future,” she said. “I ask that when you consider the sentencing for these young men, you truly consider the magnitude of the life that was taken, and the vast dark void that was left behind.”
Shortly before 10:30 a.m., while Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney was addressing the court, family and friends of both Larry and Zech who were present in the public gallery of the courtroom engaged in a verbal dispute. Within seconds, the confrontation became physical and involved numerous individuals.
Lavey immediately adjourned the hearing and exited the courtroom. Larry, attorneys and court staff were moved to a safe location while law enforcement worked to regain control of the crowd.
The group dispersed into the public hallways of the courthouse, and due to the nature of the altercation and dispersal through the building of those involved, in conjunction with a larger crowd still remaining in the courtroom, additional deputies and officers were requested to respond to the courthouse.
A few minutes after situation was stabilized and individuals involved in the first fight were separated and escorted out, a second physical confrontation ensued among individuals still in the courtroom.
An adult female was arrested for disorderly conduct and booked into jail. Additional individuals were escorted from the building.
The fights also wreaked havoc on other hearings happening in nearby courtrooms.
As the initial disturbance spilled into the public hallways outside the courtroom, yelling and other noise directly affected other court proceedings that were occurring in three other courtrooms. One of those hearings was just concluding and the judge adjourned and left the bench, a second judge was forced to pause their hearing until the situation was stabilized, and a third hearing was suspended and that courtroom locked down to keep everyone safe inside.
Some individuals who had left or been escorted from the courthouse lingered in the parking lot “and occasionally engaged in verbal confrontation.”
That’s where an adult male, who was identified as an instigator in the initial altercation, was arrested for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest in the parking lot, “as he refused to follow commands of police officers and struggled with them during the arrest.” He was also booked into jail.
The criminal complaint says Larry and Johnston had been involved in a dispute with an 18-year-old man at the Fond du Lac apartment complex. That man, who was shot in the upper body and hospitalized, told investigators he believed he was the target.
The complaint says the conflict started when Johnston exchanged words with the man on the complex grounds. Following that exchange, the complaint says the man began walking toward Johnston. That’s when Johnston is seen on security camera footage pulling out a pistol and firing multiple rounds toward the man.
Police say Larry also fired shots at the man. During his trial, Larry claimed he acted in self-defense.
Security cameras captured 20-year-old Zech falling to the ground as the shots rang out and everyone else running away. Zech was an innocent bystander simply taking out the garbage, and was not involved in the dispute.
The complaint goes on to say the supposed target was running away when he turned and fired at least one shot back towards Johnston. At some point, he was shot and injured.
A retaliatory shooting occurred two weeks after the initial murder. Two men have since been convicted and sentenced in that case.
Teens get life sentences in Fond du Lac murder case as courtroom chaos leads to 2 arrests
