GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Investigators believe they have recovered a gun that was used in the 2021 murder of a Grand Rapids teenager, after a detective witnessed a man pointing a laser sight at a skunk.
Ju'qwon Lamar Calvin was killed in a shooting on Prince Street SE back on May 29, 2021. For months the case sat unsolved.
A makeshift memorial for the teenager has been sitting outside a family friend's home near the site of the shooting since it happened, a testament to the loss his family suffered.
The scales of justice would seemingly shift when an undercover police detective with the Grand Rapids police was making the rounds near Francis Avenue and Dickinson Street SE on Sept. 3.
The detective wrote in a search warrant obtained by FOX 17 that he and another officer noticed a skunk that was "being illuminated with a red laser light."
The two officers also noticed two men in or around a black Nissan vehicle backed into a driveway. They realized that the skunk was being lit up by a laser sight attached to a black pistol that one of the men was holding.
They couldn't see which man was apparently holding the gun, as their bodies were obscured by a large tree.
The black Nissan eventually left the area, eventually pulling into the parking lot at Fishladder Park in the downtown area.
The search warrant explains that additional officers were being called to the scene to approach the men, when their vehicle took off. A pursuit with police ensued.
After driving over spike strips the officers had thrown onto the roadway, one of the men got out of the car and was taken into custody near 3130 Alpine Ave NW. That man was identified as Robert Cooper.
The other man, later identified as Jamal Honorable, drove off in the Nissan, but was arrested shortly after.
Two firearms were allegedly recovered inside the vehicle: a Taurus PT 92 AF, which had been reported stolen out of Lake County, and a Glock model 19 pistol.
Both guns were apparently sent to the Michigan State Police crime lab to be analyzed.
Whatever they did with the firearms, investigators say they were able to forensically link the guns to at least seven different unsolved crimes.
The Glock was found to be a match for the May 29, 2021 murder of Ju'qwon Calvin. It was also apparently linked to an October 2020 aggravated assault.
The Taurus was linked to a February 2021 aggravated assault and two separate reports of assault with intent to murder.
The thing is, the two men arrested after the skunk incident are not believed to be involved whatsoever in Calvin's murder, according to Kent County Proescutor Chris Becker.
In fact, 18-year-old Khavaree Nash is now facing charges for killing the teen.
READ MORE: Suspect charged in May 2021 deadly shooting
FOX 17 asked Prosecutor Becker if he could elaborate on how investigators linked the Glock to Nash, after it was recovered on someone else.
"Science", was all Becker could really say at this time. Beyond that, he said, an explanation would begin to reveal case facts. Some of this information likely won't be made public until Nash goes to trial.
Nash is facing three felony charges and a misdemeanor related to the May 29 shooting: open murder, carrying a concealed weapon, a felony firearms offense and careless discharge causing injury or death.
It is perhaps worth noting that neither Cooper nor Honorable appear on the list of witnesses in the charging documents for Nash. Both men are facing charges of carrying a concealed weapon, stemming from the night of the skunk encounter.
Khavaree Nash is expected back in court on his charges on Feb. 8.
