Valley Stream mom, son plead guilty to Queens murder over money owed

A Valley Stream mother and son pleaded guilty Tuesday to murdering a Far Rockaway man who was seeking to recoup money he believed the suspects owed him for a car repair, according to the Queens district attorney's office.

Avita Campbell, 40, and her son, Raymond Jackson, 24, both of Hook Creek Boulevard, each pleaded guilty in Queens County Court to first-degree manslaughter and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. Campbell also pleaded guilty to second-degree unlawful possession of personal identification.

“This diabolical mother and son duo teamed up to execute a man in a dispute over a relatively small sum of money,” said Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz. “They are going to prison for a long time for a killing that was as senseless as it was brutal.”

Queens Supreme Court Justice Ushir Pandit-Durant is expected to sentence Jackson and Campbell to 24 and 22 years in prison, respectively, on June 5, according to prosecutors. They are also expected to be sentenced to five years of post-release supervision.

Attorneys for Campbell and Jackson did not respond to requests for comment.

On Sept. 23, 2020, Lasaaun Lawrence, 27, went to the defendant’s Valley Stream home seeking money that he believed Jackson owed him for a car repair, prosecutors said. Jackson and the victim then had a physical altercation, authorities said.

Later that day, Campbell and Jackson confronted the victim on Beach 31st Street in Far Rockaway, prosecutors said. Campbell was armed with a metal pipe and Jackson with a handgun, officials said.

Investigators said Jackson fired a dozen shots at Lawrence, striking him with several bullets. Campbell then smashed the windshield of Jackson’s car with the pipe, authorities said.

Mother and son then fled in a white BMW while Lawrence, who lived in the area, died of his gunshot wounds.

More than a week later, Campbell was driving the same BMW when she was pulled over by police for a traffic stop and officers discovered a loaded silver and black handgun and two magazines inside a bookbag. The gun was a match for Lawrence’s murder, tests showed

Campbell had a notebook and spreadsheet with hundreds of names, addresses and Social Security numbers that she intended to use for fraudulent purposes, prosecutors said.

Jackson was apprehended in Florida in December of 2020 and extradited back to New York.

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.