NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. — A father and son duo made a drug setup to capture and kill a man in Buffalo.
U.S. Attorney's Office announced on Tuesday, January 2 that a federal jury has convicted father and son James C. Parks, 58, and his son Lavon Parks, 32 from Niagara Falls, New York of narcotics conspiracy, discharge of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and discharge of a firearm causing death.
The two men were also both convicted of attempt to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. The charges will carry a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison or a maximum of life in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The Parks men planned a shooting in 2018 on January 21 in Niagara Falls that killed Kevin Turner of Buffalo, originally from Niagara Falls.
According to a release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, the father and son were seen before the shooting, driving around looking for someone.
Lavon and James were supposedly drug rivals with Turner and planned the shooting because they thought their drug business was being threatened. The two defendants sold cocaine in the Niagara Falls and Buffalo area, as stated by Assistant U.S. Attorneys P. Richard Antoine, Caitlin M. Higgins, and Joel L. Violanti.
Turner was an alleged dealer of crack cocaine who sold it on the day of the shooting. The setup that took Turner's life was based on a drug deal to lure him to where Lavon and James could find him.
A firearm was found at the scene of the shooting which led to the findings of numerous other weapons that were trafficked from Pittsburgh, PA in exchange for drugs by a man who testified to selling at least seven weapons to the defendants.
Through this investigation, it was found that 8.5 kilograms of cocaine and $52,000 in U.S. currency from postal parcels shipped from Puerto Rico to various locations in the Western District of New York, Florida, Alaska, Georgia, and Pennsylvania using the United States Postal Service were seized.
Lavon Parks is scheduled to be sentenced on June 26, 2024, and James Parks will be sentenced on June 27, 2024.