In the late afternoon of January 21, 2018, the life of 21-year-old Kevin Turner Jr. was cut short by gunfire in Niagara Falls, New York. Responding to reports of gunshots around 4:30 p.m. near the intersection of 19th and Niagara streets, police officers discovered Turner on the porch of a house with multiple gunshot wounds. Despite the efforts of emergency medical personnel who arrived at the scene, the young man was pronounced dead.
The investigation into Turner's death uncovered a
world of drug-related rivalries. Turner, who had recently moved to Niagara Falls from Buffalo, was involved in selling crack cocaine. On the day of the shooting, he had gone to the Niagara Street residence to conduct a drug deal. Shortly after leaving the house, he was fatally shot. Investigators determined that Turner was perceived as a threat to a local drug enterprise.
The subsequent investigation led authorities to a father and son duo, Lavon 'Dutch' Parks and James C. Parks. Evidence presented during their trial showed that the two were driving in the vicinity of the shooting just before it occurred, seemingly searching for someone. Video footage placed a truck registered to Lavon Parks' then-girlfriend in the immediate area both before and after the murder. Ballistics testing connected a firearm recovered about two weeks after the shooting to the shell casings found at the scene. While the gun was found in the possession of another individual, it was revealed to be one of several firearms illegally trafficked from Pittsburgh. The trafficker testified to selling that type of firearm to Lavon Parks in exchange for drugs.
In a federal court in Buffalo, a jury convicted Lavon Parks, 32, and his father, James C. Parks, 58, on charges of narcotics conspiracy and discharge of a firearm causing death. The prosecution successfully argued that they had orchestrated the shooting because they believed Turner was encroaching on their drug business. Lavon Parks was also found guilty on separate charges related to attempting to traffic drugs and weapons. Both men faced the possibility of life in prison and were scheduled for sentencing in June 2024.
