In the late afternoon of February 26, 2019, the bustling atmosphere of the Happy Shopper convenience store on East Washington Street in Suffolk, Virginia, was shattered by the sound of rapid gunfire. When the chaos subsided, 25-year-old Leondrae Shaqil Johnson, a Black male, lay dead at the scene, the victim of a fatal shooting. Another man, 23-year-old Antonio Lamon Jefferson Jr., was also struck by bullets but survived his injuries and was hospitalized.
The owner of the Happy Shopper
described the terrifying moments, stating the gunshots sounded 'like machine guns' and that they seemed to come from multiple directions. Surveillance footage from the store and nearby businesses captured the incident and was turned over to the Suffolk Police Department to aid in their investigation.
The investigation moved swiftly, and on March 1, 2019, authorities arrested 24-year-old Marquay Antonio White of Suffolk. He was initially charged with second-degree murder in connection with Johnson's death. White was held without bond at the Western Tidewater Regional Jail. As the investigation continued, further charges against White were anticipated.
By May of that same year, the case saw further developments. Marquay Antonio White faced additional charges following a direct indictment. In a related turn of events, the second victim of the shooting, Antonio Lamon Jefferson, then 24, was also arrested on May 3, 2019. His charges included discharging a firearm at an occupied building and destruction of property, connected to a vehicle damaged by gunfire during the incident. The investigation into the violent encounter that claimed a young man's life and injured another remained ongoing.
