On the evening of January 16, 2020, a tragic event unfolded in a quiet residence on Sandpiper Drive in Henrico, Virginia, forever altering the lives of those involved. Inside the home he shared with his mother, 40-year-old Phillip Duron Adkins, a male, was shot and killed. The Henrico County Police responded to a 9:41 p.m. call and discovered Adkins suffering from gunshot wounds.
Despite the immediate medical attention provided at the scene, he succumbed to his injuries.
The investigation into Adkins's death moved swiftly. Within two days, on January 18, 2020, authorities had a suspect in custody: 23-year-old Deion Lincoln Smallwood of Richmond. Smallwood was initially charged with murder in connection with the fatal shooting. As the legal process began, a narrative of the events leading to Adkins's death started to emerge. Smallwood claimed that he had acted in self-defense, alleging that Adkins had come at him with a knife.
However, the case proceeded to trial, where a jury was tasked with weighing the evidence presented. After deliberation, the jury rejected Smallwood's claim of self-defense. They found him guilty of the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter, as well as unlawfully shooting within an occupied dwelling. This conviction brought a measure of resolution to the untimely death of Phillip Duron Adkins, a man remembered by friends and family.
