In the summer of 2018, the life of 20-year-old Gavonte Lampkin was violently cut short in New Orleans, Louisiana. On July 29th, a grim discovery was made in a wooded area of the Algiers neighborhood where the bodies of Lampkin and 18-year-old Shantrell Parker were found shot and burned.
The investigation into the brutal slayings led New Orleans police to two suspects, Michael Tyron Robinson, then 24, and Kirk Powell, then 23.
Both men were subsequently arrested and charged with second-degree murder in connection with the deaths of Lampkin and Parker. A witness claimed that Powell and Robinson killed the pair at a residence on Tullis Drive in Algiers before moving their bodies to the location where they were later found.
The motive behind Lampkin's murder appeared to be linked to his role as a witness in a separate criminal case. Prior to his death, Lampkin had been the target of two shootings and was scheduled to testify against Christopher Butler, the man accused in those incidents. Prosecutors believed that the second attempt on Lampkin's life was intended to prevent him from testifying.
In May 2022, the Orleans Parish District Attorney's Office secured a conviction against Michael Robinson for the second-degree murders of Gavonte Lampkin and Shantrell Parker, as well as the murder of another individual, Leroy Benn, Jr. Robinson was also found guilty of aggravated battery, conspiracy to commit second-degree murder, and obstruction of justice. Kirk Powell was convicted of conspiracy to commit second-degree murder and multiple counts of obstruction of justice. Another man, Denzel West, was convicted on several counts of obstruction of justice related to the case. The trial was presided over by Judge Rhonda Goode-Douglas, and sentencing was scheduled for June 16, 2022.
