In the early evening of December 7, 2019, in South Boston, Virginia, a dispute that began inside a vape shop tragically escalated, ending the lives of two brothers. Tevin Powell, a 17-year-old male, and his 20-year-old brother, Davonte Powell, were shot on a sidewalk on Old Halifax Road. The altercation, reportedly intended to be a fistfight, turned deadly when a firearm was introduced.
Davonte was pronounced dead at the scene from a gunshot wound to the head.
Tevin, having been shot in the neck, was airlifted to Duke University Hospital but succumbed to his injuries later that night. Family members described the brothers as good individuals who found themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. In the days following the shooting, family and friends gathered for a candlelight vigil to mourn their loss.
The investigation, aided by witness statements and surveillance footage, quickly led to the identification of a suspect. Amir Spencer, a teenager from Halifax County, turned himself in to the South Boston Police Department. He was subsequently charged with two counts of second-degree murder and one count of using a firearm in the commission of a felony. Another individual, 18-year-old Andrew James Harlow, was also arrested and charged with two counts of being an accessory to the murders.
In court, Amir Spencer pleaded guilty to two counts of voluntary manslaughter. The charges were reportedly reduced from second-degree murder due to the potential for a self-defense claim to influence a trial's outcome. Spencer was sentenced to 20 years in prison, with 12 years suspended.
