NEW YORK – A mother and son face murder charges and more after shooting an unarmed man at point-blank range in a car in Queens, according to prosecutors.
Avita Campbell and her son Raymond Jackson were charged Friday in the shooting death of a man in Far Rockaway on Sept. 23, according to Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz.
“It is difficult to imagine a mother teaming up with her son to commit murder, but that is what happened here, sadly. The defendants in this case searched for the victim with the intent to harm him,” Katz said. “This was cruel and senseless revenge for a petty dispute.”
According to the charges, the mother and son were seen on surveillance video stopping their white BMW on Beach 31st Street just before 6 p.m. They got out of the car, Campbell armed with what appeared to be a metal pipe and Jackson with a pistol, and They approached a man in a double-parked car. Jackson then fired more than a dozen times in the direction of the victim, Lasaaun Lawrence, 27, according to court documents.
Lawrence was shot multiple times, the district attorney said, and after his son stopped shooting, Campbell struck the windshield of the victim’s car. Then both the mother and son returned to their car and drove off, court documents said.
Lawrence, who lived in the neighborhood, died as a result of multiple gunshot wounds. Ten days after the shooting, Campbell was pulled over for a traffic stop. Officers who executed a search warrant searched the vehicle, the same white BMW, and allegedly found a silver and black firearm loaded with two magazines inside a backpack. Police arrested Campbell on weapons charges.
The handgun found inside the car was tested and ballistics showed it matched the handgun used to kill Lawrence, according to the indictment. In addition to the gun, agents found nearly $ 10,000 in cash, credit cards in other people’s names, and a detailed ledger containing the names and personal information of more than 700 people.
Campbell, who lives in Valley Stream on Long Island, was arraigned Friday morning. In addition to second-degree murder, the 38-year-old faces charges that include possession of weapons, criminal misdeeds, illegal possession of personal identification and more.
It was not immediately clear if Campbell had hired an attorney. He was ordered held without bail and is scheduled to appear in court again in January.
Meanwhile, Jackson has yet to be caught, despite being charged. When the 22-year-old is arrested, he will face similar charges of murder and weapons.
If convicted, both Campbell and Jackson could face life in prison.
– .
