In the late hours of a Friday night in Davenport, Iowa, a chain of events tragically culminated in the death of 33-year-old Lasabian Walker, a Black / African American male from Rock Island, Illinois. On February 17, 2017, what began as a gathering of acquaintances would end in gunfire, leaving Walker with multiple gunshot wounds from which he would not recover.
Walker was with his fiancée, Cassila Battie, and a close friend, Shallum Davenport, when they met up with Battie's first cousin, David Levy. The group ended up at the home of Levy's mother, Gloria. An argument erupted between Levy and Battie in the yard. Initially, Walker had remained in the van, but he was retrieved by Davenport and joined the escalating confrontation.
The verbal dispute quickly turned deadly. According to testimony from Davenport, Levy pulled out a gun during the argument. Walker then attempted to disarm him but was unsuccessful. As Walker stumbled backward, Levy allegedly shot him five times. Neighbors in the vicinity reported hearing approximately four gunshots and seeing a car speed away from the scene. When police officers arrived around 9:50 p.m. in response to a 911 call about shots being fired, they found Walker on the ground with no pulse and not breathing. Near him was his fiancée, who was repeatedly screaming, "David did it." Walker was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
In the immediate aftermath, police began their investigation. A revolver was discovered a few houses down from the scene, concealed under a pile of leaves. Ballistic testing later confirmed that at least three of the four bullets removed from Walker's body were fired from that weapon, with the results for the other two being inconclusive due to damage. The day after the shooting, Davenport police arrested 27-year-old David Levy. He was subsequently charged with first-degree murder. During the investigation and subsequent trial, conflicting accounts emerged. Levy initially denied knowing Walker or anything about the shooting. However, he later claimed that he was attacked by Walker and Davenport and acted in self-defense. Despite the differing testimonies, David Levy was ultimately convicted of the lesser charge of second-degree murder and felon in possession of a firearm.
