In the summer of 2019, the life of 17-year-old Raekwon Peterson was tragically cut short in a senseless act of violence. The young man, who had just celebrated his graduation from Hampton High School, was shot and killed on the evening of July 12. He was a male. The incident that claimed his life unfolded in the parking lot of a 7-Eleven on Kecoughtan Road in Hampton, Virginia, a place that would become the final scene of his young life.
Raekwon was a hardworking individual, holding down two jobs to build his future, a future that was stolen from him in a matter of moments.
The initial hours and days following the shooting were filled with grief and a desperate search for answers. Raekwon's family and friends mourned the loss of a beloved son, brother, and friend, while the Hampton Police Division launched an intensive investigation to bring the person responsible to justice. The community was shaken by the violent death of a teenager with a promising life ahead of him. The search for the perpetrator was a priority for law enforcement, who pieced together evidence and witness accounts to identify a suspect.
The investigation led to the arrest of Jeremiah T. Collier, who was 18 years old at the time. He was taken into custody in Newport News by the Hampton Police Division, in conjunction with the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force. Collier was charged with one count of murder, one count of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and one count of discharging a firearm in a public place. In February 2020, a jury found Jeremiah T. Collier guilty of first-degree murder and the associated firearm charges. The swift conclusion to the legal proceedings brought a measure of closure to Raekwon's grieving family, though the pain of their loss remains. Collier was subsequently sentenced for his role in the untimely death of Raekwon Peterson.
