In the fading light of a March afternoon in Prichard, Alabama, a dispute that began over a drug debt escalated, leaving LaQuan J Packer, a 33-year-old male, fatally wounded. On March 22, 2019, Packer was shot multiple times in the New Bessemer area, his life ending on Doris Faye Williams Street. Neighbors, startled by the sound of gunfire and a woman's desperate cries for help, discovered Packer lying on the ground.
The initial investigation by the Prichard Police Department quickly identified a person of interest.
The man sought in connection with the killing was Mikel Pettway. The deadly encounter reportedly took place inside a vehicle where a drug transaction was supposed to occur. Packer already owed Pettway money from a prior drug deal, and an argument erupted between the two. The verbal confrontation turned violent when Pettway produced a pistol and shot Packer in the back.
In the wake of the shooting, Mikel Pettway was arrested and subsequently charged. In February 2022, a Mobile County Circuit Court jury convicted Pettway, then 24, of manslaughter for the killing of LaQuan Packer. He was sentenced to serve 20 years in prison for his crime. Pettway later sought to have his conviction overturned on appeal. However, in February 2023, the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals upheld the manslaughter conviction, ensuring that Pettway would continue to serve his sentence.
