Marijuana sale in West Palm alley became a robbery, then a fatal shooting, police say
WEST PALM BEACH — As Darquize McKinon observed two men searching for a place to buy marijuana this month, he offered to drive them to a location to purchase the drug, West Palm Beach police said.
But the gesture was actually a ruse, with McKinon later pulling a gun on one of the passengers and fatally shooting him after attempting to rob him, according to a police report detailing his arrest.
Officers took McKinon into custody on Tuesday, June 18, at his home near Riviera Beach in the June 15 shooting death of 46-year-old Jeffrey Robert Lowder in an alleyway near 18th Street and Beautiful Avenue.
McKinon faces one count each of first-degree murder and armed robbery. During a hearing at the Palm Beach County Jail on Wednesday, June 19, Circuit Judge Sara Willis assigned McKinon a public defender and ordered that he be held without bail. As a policy, the county Public Defender's Office does not comment on open cases.
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According to a police arrest report, the situation unfolded at about 10:15 a.m. June 15 as Lowder, McKinon and another man arrived on the 500 block of 18th Street in a rented Nissan Altima. The three men exited the vehicle and walked to an alleyway between 17th and 18th streets, about half a mile northwest of Good Samaritan Medical Center. Witnesses reported shots being fired moments later.
One man told investigators he and Lowder were in the area of Fifth Street and Rosemary Avenue in West Palm Beach looking to purchase marijuana when McKinon pulled up in the Nissan and offered to take them to a place to purchase the drug. The man said they were walking to the back alleyway between 17th and 18th Streets when another man suddenly appeared out of a tent.
McKinon then pulled a gun and pointed it while demanding that Lowder empty his pockets, the witness told investigators. The witness, who police did not identify in the report, said he attempted to signal for Lowder to run, but McKinon fired his gun before Lowder could do so. The witness said he then punched McKinon in the face, causing McKinon to fall. The witness then ran from the scene.
One person nearby described seeing McKinon run back to the vehicle after the shooting and drive away. The witness provided investigators with the vehicle's license-plate number.
The vehicle's renter told investigators he loaned the vehicle to a female relative and her boyfriend, who was later identified as McKinon.
Julius Whigham II is a criminal justice and public safety reporter for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jwhigham@pbpost.com and follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @JuliusWhigham. Help support our work: Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Fatal shooting in West Palm alley leads to arrest on murder charge
