In the winter of 2012, a house party on Highland Avenue in Portsmouth, Virginia, turned tragic, ending the life of 23-year-old Marquis S. Terry. On the night of December 2nd, an argument erupted over a dice game, escalating quickly into violence. Marquis, a Black male, was shot five times during the altercation. He was rushed to a nearby hospital but succumbed to his injuries the following day, December 3, 2012.
The investigation into the shooting led police to identify 21-year-old
Calvin Alexander-Lamont Kitt as the primary suspect. According to reports, Kitt and his friends were escorted out of the party after the initial dispute turned physical. However, Kitt later returned to the residence and opened fire, striking Marquis and another individual, Darrius Cuffee, who was treated for his injuries and released.
Following an investigation, Calvin Alexander-Lamont Kitt was arrested and charged with the murder of Marquis Terry. In the subsequent court proceedings, a jury found Kitt guilty of first-degree murder and other related charges. In January 2013, the court handed down a 48-year prison sentence for his role in the fatal shooting.
The death of Marquis was a devastating blow to his family, a pain that was tragically compounded in the years that followed. His brother, Emmanuel Terry, was shot and killed in a separate incident in 2014. In 2017, the family suffered another loss when his brother, Cori Terry, also became a victim of gun violence. The Terry family has spoken publicly about the immense grief and the lasting impact of losing three sons to violence.
