Markee Avery, a 36-year-old Black male from Pine Bluff, was shot on the afternoon of Friday, July 18, 2025, outside a residence at 1212 South Spruce Street. Officers responded around 3:21 p.m. and found him lying in the yard with an apparent gunshot wound; he was pronounced dead at the scene by Jefferson County Coroner Chad Kelley. Initial police updates identified the location as the 1200 block of South Spruce and described an active homicide investigation into the fatal shooting.
Within days, detectives named 37-year-old Michael King Jr. as the primary suspect and sought him on a capital murder charge in connection with Avery's killing. King turned himself in on July 22, 2025, and was booked into the W.C. “Dub” Brassell Adult Detention Center. Police statements and local coverage noted that Avery had been found outside his home and that King was considered armed and dangerous before surrendering.
Investigators then identified a second suspect, 39-year-old Lamarcus Benton—King's brother—on July 23, 2025. Benton surrendered the next day, July 24, and, like King, was held on a capital murder charge as detectives continued to examine the circumstances surrounding the shooting. Local reporting also summarized the sequence of arrests and reiterated that both men were developed as suspects after Avery was discovered with gunshot wounds outside the South Spruce Street address.
Public databases and memorial listings recorded Avery's death by gun violence in Pine Bluff on July 18, 2025, aligning with the police timeline; early local summaries also mentioned that another person was injured during the same weekend of violence. Funeral notices and obituary postings subsequently reflected arrangements in Pine Bluff under his full name, Markee Sharod Avery Sr.
