Ju’Qwon Lamar Calvin, a 15-year-old Black male, was a freshman at Ottawa Hills High School in Grand Rapids, Michigan, known for his love of sports, especially basketball. His life was cut short on May 29, 2021. On that day, near the intersection of Prince Street and Alto Avenue SE, an altercation led to his fatal shooting.
The investigation into the shooting led Grand Rapids police to identify Khavaree Nash, then 18 years old, as the suspect.
Evidence, including witness statements and GPS tether data from Nash who was out on bond for a separate incident, placed him at the scene. According to court documents, Nash and several others had met at a park before heading to Prince Street. An interaction with individuals in a stolen Audi escalated, leading to Ju'Qwon Calvin firing a warning shot into the air in an attempt to disperse the crowd. As people fled the scene, Nash drew his own handgun and, while running away, fired multiple shots in the other direction. It was during this indiscriminate firing that a bullet struck and killed Ju'Qwon.
Khavaree Nash was arrested nearly eight months later and charged with murder and several weapons-related offenses. The weapon used in the homicide, a Glock model 19 pistol, was later recovered in a separate and unusual incident involving two other men pointing a laser-sighted pistol at a skunk. Though these men were charged with weapons offenses, police determined they were not involved in Ju'Qwon's death.
In March 2023, a jury found Khavaree Nash guilty of second-degree murder. The following month, on April 19, 2023, he was sentenced to serve 25 to 40 years in prison for the murder, with an additional mandatory two-year sentence for a felony firearm conviction. During the sentencing, Ju'Qwon's family remembered him as a talented and beloved young man whose life was senselessly taken.
