On the evening of March 21, 2021, Avery Wilcox Jr., a 27-year-old Black/African American man, sat in his vehicle in a parking lot on the East Hill of Kent, Washington. A well-known and beloved barber in his Tukwila community, he was a graduate of Foster High School where he had played football. On this particular night, however, he was not with clients or friends, but with his family, waiting for a Kent Police officer to provide a civil standby.
The police presence was a precaution, requested to ensure a peaceful retrieval of his belongings from a nearby apartment he had shared with his ex-girlfriend following their recent breakup.
The sense of anticipation for a calm resolution was shattered in an instant. A vehicle pulled up alongside Wilcox's, and multiple gunshots rang out in the parking lot. The sudden violence left Wilcox with a fatal gunshot wound to the head. His family, parked nearby, witnessed the horrific event. One of the bullets passed through Wilcox’s vehicle and struck his mother's car, which was parked parallel to his. In the chaotic moments that followed, Wilcox's stepfather, who was in the car with his mother, returned fire at the fleeing vehicle. First responders arrived to a scene of panic and grief. They pulled Wilcox from his vehicle and attempted to render aid before he was rushed to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where he was pronounced dead.
The investigation into the shooting quickly revealed that it was not a random act of violence. The suspect was known to Avery Wilcox Jr. For several years, there had been animosity between Wilcox and Anthony Dexter Ford, the cousin of his ex-girlfriend. Eyewitness accounts and police investigation pointed to Ford as the gunman. For a month, Ford remained at large, during which time he altered and disposed of the vehicle used in the shooting.
In June 2021, Anthony Dexter Ford was arrested and charged with the murder of Avery Wilcox Jr. He eventually accepted a plea agreement, pleading guilty to first-degree murder, unlawful possession of a firearm, and assault. In his guilty plea, Ford admitted to shooting Wilcox with premeditated intent. He was sentenced to 30 years and four months in prison for his role in the tragic death of Avery Wilcox Jr. The families of both Wilcox and Ford were present at the sentencing, a somber end to a story that began with a domestic dispute and ended in a devastating loss.
