Dezmon Hamilton, a concerned father, was killed by Nicholas McQuirter, a friend of his daughter, after he caught the teen trying to sneak through a second-story window, reported WRBZ.
The shooting took place around 8 a.m. on Sunday at Hamilton’s Zachary, Louisiana home. Police initially described the incident as a break-in but realized by Monday that the teen, Nicholas McQuirter, was at the home attempting to see the 14-year-old daughter.
McQuirter, 17, is believed to have used a ladder to crawl through a window on the home’s top floor when Hamilton confronted him. The Advocate reported that the protective father initially tried to speak with the teen while other family members, including the daughter’s mother, came to the house.
According to police, both suspect and victim exchanged gunfire at some point, as they were both armed. Hamilton was shot to death. McQuirter was also injured and taken to an area hospital.
In the state of Louisiana, the age of consent is 17. According to the law, “felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile” is when someone 17 or older engages in sexual intercourse with an individual between the ages of 13 and 16 when the age difference is four or more years. Therefore, whatever relationship McQuriter had with Hamilton’s daughter could have been illegal.
Dezmon Hamilton, 34, was a businessman with several local businesses. Officials still have not discovered how the conversation turned into a fatal argument.
This homicide makes three so far this year in Zachary, which is already equal to the total homicides in the town for the entirety of 2020. In 2018 and 2019, there were zero murders.
Police will take McQuirter into custody as soon as he is released from the hospital. He will then be taken into custody on charges of second-degree murder, illegal use of a weapon, and illegal possession of a stolen firearm.
Funeral services for the devoted father are this weekend.
