On a summer evening in Norfolk, Virginia, the lives of two brothers were tragically cut short. On July 25, 2019, 29-year-old Markee Lavell Turner, a male with a passion for music, was shot and killed while sitting in a parked car on North Military Highway. Alongside him, his 23-year-old brother, Tamian Davis, was also fatally wounded in the attack. The violent encounter left both men with gunshot wounds, and while Davis was rushed to a local hospital, he ultimately succumbed to his injuries.
Turner was pronounced dead at the scene.
The investigation into the double homicide led Norfolk police to two suspects. Approximately two months after the shooting, on September 26, 2019, authorities announced the arrests of 34-year-old Alphonzo L. Smith and 23-year-old Laquann C. Pooler. Smith faced serious charges, including two counts of second-degree murder, robbery, and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. Pooler was charged with being an accessory after the fact, suggesting he assisted Smith after the murders had been committed. Both men were taken into custody and held in the Norfolk City Jail without bond.
The legal process that followed brought some measure of resolution to the case. Alphonzo Lamont Smith was tried before a jury and convicted on upgraded charges of two counts of first-degree murder, in addition to the firearm and robbery charges. Following his conviction, Smith pursued an appeal to challenge the court's decision. The Court of Appeals of Virginia reviewed his case, and a memorandum opinion on the matter was filed on October 24, 2023. The details of Laquann C. Pooler's case and its ultimate disposition are less publicly documented, but the conviction of the primary perpetrator marked a significant development in the quest for justice for Markee Lavell Turner and Tamian Davis.
