An Augusta man has been sentenced to life in prison plus 75 years for killing his new girlfriend last year and leaving her body in their home with her young daughters.
Davante Parks, 27, was convicted Thursday in the fatal shooting 27-year-old Laquana Lang at her home on 515 Hines Street. The Augusta District Attorney’s Office secured the victory after a jury returned a verdict of guilty on all counts after less than an hour of deliberation. Senior Superior Court Judge Daniel Craig handed down the sentence.
The parolee killed the victim last September while her daughters, ages 5 and 2, were upstairs. The residence is located within the Allen Homes subdivision. The children were reportedly left alone with their mother’s body for at least four hours and had to walk through her blood and crawl over her body to get help from a neighbor.
When officers arrived, they found a gruesome scene, including child-sized footprints in the blood. Parks had been dropped off at the house around 3:30 a.m. that Saturday, and the 5-year-old daughter told officers she heard her “stepdad” arguing with her mom. Authorities were notified hours later.
Parks was wanted and surrendered the next day. He was indicted for malice murder, felony murder, two counts of cruelty to children and multiple weapons possession.
Parks and Lang had started their relationship last summer, just days after Parks was paroled following an eight-year sentence for a previous shooting.
His parole conditions required him to live with his mother, find employment, avoid street gangs, pay $30 a month to a victim’s compensation fund and stay away from his previous shooting victim.
Parks was 18 years old in 2016 when he shot a woman repeatedly in Richmond County. The incident began when Parks’ friend, Marion Terry, sought revenge on Brittanie McKie, whom he suspected of setting him up after a robbery, according to previous reporting. Terry and Parks shot McKie, who survived despite being hit five times. A subsequent confrontation with Bilal Givens and another suspect led to more gunfire, resulting in Terry’s death.
Parks pleaded guilty before Superior Court Judge Sheryl B. Jolly. She sentenced him to 12 years of confinement and 13 years of probation, but he only served eight in prison before being paroled on July 16, 2024, according to court records.
Making matters worse, McKie told WRDW-TV that she was not notified about the release of the man who tried to kill her. She said nobody contacted her.
