In the spring of 2017, the life of 19-year-old MarQuise Deshun Evans was tragically cut short in Lancaster, South Carolina. On the evening of April 11th, police responded to reports of a shooting at the Caroline Court Apartments. There, they discovered a black SUV riddled with bullet holes. As they began their investigation, Evans emerged from behind one of the apartment buildings and collapsed, having been shot multiple times. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Evans, a young father to a one-year-old son, was remembered by friends and family.
The investigation into the shooting led by the Lancaster Police Department, with assistance from the Lancaster County Sheriff's Office and the State Law Enforcement Division, soon focused on a group of local teenagers. The community, already shaken by a recent string of violence, was urged to come forward with any information that could help bring those responsible to justice. The case was described by investigators as being linked to another fatal shooting of a teenager in the area, raising concerns about escalating youth and gang violence.
Within a month of Evans's death, four teenagers were taken into custody. Leon Caskey Jr., 19, and Keshawn Cunningham, 17, were both charged with murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime. Additionally, Cunningham faced a charge of possession of a firearm by a person under the age of 18. Two other teens, 17-year-old La'Jameion Hood and an unnamed 15-year-old, were charged with accessory before the fact of murder. While a motive was determined by police, it was not publicly released. The arrests brought a sense of progress to a community grappling with the violent loss of two of its young members in such a short period.
