Damont Lewis Adams, 21, was fatally shot in the head on March 13, 2021, in Duquesne, Pennsylvania, in the 500 block of Ferndale Avenue. The shooting occurred during what investigators describe as a planned robbery: two 14-year-old boys allegedly arranged to meet Adams to buy marijuana, then tricked him and one of them opened fire. Adams worked at a local Family Dollar and was remembered for his happy demeanor and devotion to his family.

Authorities say Tyion Simmons-McClain, Adams’s cousin, used his Facebook account so Carlo Owens could pose as a buyer. During the meeting Simmons-McClain purportedly handed Adams a piece of paper instead of money; when Adams realized the deception and reacted, Owens emerged from hiding and shot him. Investigators later recovered a discarded red shirt whose DNA matched Owens.

Simmons-McClain was arrested June 10, 2021; Owens turned himself in July 24, 2021, and both were charged with homicide, robbery, and conspiracy. A judge later granted a request to move Owens’s case to juvenile court, a decision that upset the family. Did anyone in Duquesne know Adams’s routine or see anything on Ferndale Avenue that night?