Jason Deangelo Williams, a 26-year-old African American male, was tragically killed on June 30, 2019, in Burlington, North Carolina. Williams was one of three victims in a triple homicide that took place at an apartment complex located at 15 Perry Circle. The other victims were Kaseem Devon Zinebalist Peterson, 27, and Tyrone Brandon Nelson Jr., 18, both African American males from Burlington.
The incident occurred around 8:07 p.m. when officers responded to reports of a shooting.
Upon arrival, they found the three men dead from gunshot wounds. It was later revealed that the shooter, Hyquan Johan Parker, a 26-year-old African American male from Durham, North Carolina, knew at least one of the victims and had been in the apartment earlier that day.
Parker was apprehended later that night while hiding in a carport at 1530 Morgantown Road. The Norinco SKS semiautomatic rifle used in the shooting was recovered from a nearby wooded area along Sharpe Road. Parker was charged with three counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
The trial for Parker began in October 2024, marking the first capital murder case to be tried in Alamance County in a decade. During the trial, it was revealed that Parker had a lengthy criminal record, including a previous conviction for second-degree murder in 2009. He was released on parole in January 2016 but violated the terms of his release less than six months later.
Parker's defense attorneys argued that he suffered from a neurodevelopmental disorder and had grown up in a dysfunctional, single-parent home in east Durham, where he was exposed to gang violence from an early age. Despite these mitigating factors, the jury unanimously convicted Parker of three counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
In November 2024, Parker was sentenced to three terms of life in prison without the possibility of parole. The nearly all-white jury, which included one African American female, recommended life in prison rather than the death penalty after several days of deliberations.
The tragic deaths of Jason Deangelo Williams, Kaseem Devon Zinebalist Peterson, and Tyrone Brandon Nelson Jr. have left a lasting impact on the Burlington community. The case highlights the ongoing issues of gang violence and the challenges faced by individuals growing up in environments where violence is a constant threat.
