Lavon Parks, also known as Dutch, and his father James C. Parks, both from Niagara Falls, New York, have been sentenced to 30 years and 20 years in prison respectively after being convicted by a jury of narcotics conspiracy and crimes related to the use of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking. The sentencing was handed down by U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney P. Richard Antoine, who prosecuted the case, the two men were involved in a conspiracy to distribute cocaine in Niagara Falls and Buffalo between May 2017 and March 2019. On January 21, 2018, Kevin Turner was shot and killed outside a residence on Niagara Street in Niagara Falls. Turner had recently moved from Buffalo and was reportedly selling crack cocaine at the time of his death.
Evidence presented during the trial showed that Lavon Parks and James Parks were seen driving around the area before the shooting took place. Video footage captured a truck registered to Lavon Parks’ then-girlfriend near the scene before and after the incident. Ballistics analysis linked evidence from the scene to a firearm later recovered from another individual not present at Turner’s death; this weapon was traced back to illegal gun trafficking involving Lavon Parks.
Investigators conducted controlled purchases involving Lavon Parks and seized about 8.5 kilograms of cocaine along with $52,000 in cash from postal parcels sent from Puerto Rico to several states including New York, Florida, Alaska, Georgia, and Pennsylvania using the United States Postal Service. The investigation also uncovered that $55,700 had been shipped back to Puerto Rico as payment for cocaine supplies.
The case was investigated by multiple agencies: Niagara Falls Police Department under Superintendent Nicholas Ligammari; Drug Enforcement Administration led by Special Agent-in-Charge Farhana Islam; Federal Bureau of Investigation under Special Agent-in-Charge Philip Tejera; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives led by Special Agent-in-Charge Bryan DiGirolamo; and U.S. Postal Inspection Service under Acting Inspector-in-Charge Nicholas J. Bucciarelli.
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