Kevin Turner Jr. was 21 when he was shot dead on the porch of a house near 19th and Niagara streets in Niagara Falls, New York, on the late afternoon of January 21, 2018. Officers responding to reports of gunshots around 4:30 p.m. found Turner with multiple gunshot wounds; emergency personnel pronounced him dead at the scene.

Investigators tied the killing to local drug conflicts. Turner had recently moved from Buffalo and was selling crack cocaine; he went to the Niagara Street residence that day to conduct a drug deal and was shot shortly after leaving. Authorities say he was perceived as a threat to a local drug enterprise. Evidence at trial showed a father and son, Lavon Dutch Parks and James C. Parks, were in the area before the shooting, video placed a truck linked to the family nearby, and ballistics connected a firearm recovered about two weeks later to shell casings from the scene. Testimony described illegal trafficking of firearms tied to the men.

A federal jury in Buffalo convicted Lavon Parks, 32, and James C. Parks, 58, on charges including narcotics conspiracy and discharge of a firearm causing death; Lavon Parks faced additional convictions for attempting to traffic drugs and weapons. Both were scheduled for sentencing in June 2024. If anyone knew Kevin, his movements in Niagara Falls, or has information about the drug activity around 19th and Niagara streets, please share what is known.