On the morning of December 19, 2006, 25-year-old Laton Spurgeon was killed outside his brother’s home on Fernside Place in the Wavecrest neighborhood of Queens. At about 10:15 a.m., he was struck by a vehicle and, while wounded on the ground, was reportedly shot multiple times; he suffered gunshot wounds to his back and legs and was pronounced dead at a local hospital. At the time he was living in Arverne with his girlfriend and their newborn son.

Investigators quickly tied the slaying to a retaliatory feud between rival Rockaway-area groups, linking Spurgeon’s death to the December 15 shooting that killed Cedric Smalls; police had considered Spurgeon a person of interest in Smalls’ killing. In late January 2007 several men were arrested and indicted in connection with Spurgeon’s murder. The indictment named Andrew Smalls, Justice Favor, Supreme Favor, and Basil Davis, accusing them of murder and of spraying the neighborhood with bullets and endangering others. Justice Favor faced a 14-count indictment including second-degree murder, attempted murder, and weapons charges; prosecutors described the assault as showing a wolf pack mentality.

Did anyone in Wavecrest or Arverne see activity around Fernside Place that morning or have information about the feud between the groups involved?