Kelvin Harris Jr.

In the early morning hours of July 14, 2021, Kelvin Harris Jr., a 34-year-old Black man, was shot and killed at his home on Karnes Street in Rochester, New York. Police officers responded to a call around 12:45 a.m. and found Mr. Harris with at least one gunshot wound to his upper body. He was pronounced dead at the scene while his family members gathered nearby, waiting for answers through the morning.

The Rochester Police Department immediately launched a homicide investigation. For nearly a year, detectives worked the case to find the person responsible for Mr. Harris's death. The investigation led to a breakthrough in June 2022, when a Monroe County grand jury returned a sealed indictment. Based on the indictment, police arrested 19-year-old Darrell Wilson Jr. on June 9, 2022.

Wilson was charged with second-degree murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. At the time of the arrest, investigators revealed a possible motive, stating that Mr. Harris had been in a relationship with Wilson's mother and that this relationship was a "factor" behind the slaying. Wilson pleaded not guilty to the charges and was held in the Monroe County Jail while he awaited legal proceedings.

The case went to trial, and in April 2023, a Monroe County jury heard the evidence against Darrell Wilson Jr. On April 12, 2023, the jury returned its verdict, finding Wilson not guilty of both the murder and the weapons possession charges. He was acquitted of all charges.

Following the acquittal, the homicide of Kelvin Harris Jr. remains unsolved as of April 2023.