On a Monday afternoon in Las Vegas, a barbecue among acquaintances took a tragic and fatal turn. The date was January 17, 2022, and 28-year-old Da'Morian LaDell Turner, a Black/African American male, was attending a gathering in front of a residence at 915 Morgan Avenue, near downtown. The festive atmosphere soured when an altercation broke out.
The dispute reportedly began when another man at the party, 29-year-old Lamont Butler, allegedly touched a woman, prompting Da'Morian Turner to
intervene. Witnesses reported that after the initial confrontation, Butler left the barbecue. He returned a short time later, but this time he was armed with a firearm. Butler is then accused of shooting Turner before fleeing the scene. Police were called to the residence at approximately 1:50 p.m. where they found Turner suffering from gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The Clark County Coroner's Office later confirmed that Turner's death was a homicide caused by gunshot wounds to the head.
The investigation into the shooting quickly pointed to Lamont Butler as the suspect. Three days after the incident, on January 20, 2022, officers with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department located and arrested Butler. He was taken into custody and booked into the Clark County Detention Center on a charge of open murder. The events surrounding Turner's death may have had lingering consequences, as police investigated a separate shooting in May 2024, where 32 rounds were fired at a Las Vegas home, which was described as a possible "retaliation" for the 2022 homicide.
