Monday, March 16, 2026

Man guilty of murder over $3 drug debt

HAMPTON — Prosecutors here say a man lost his life over a $3 drug debt.

The argument was made during the trial of 21-year-old J’Quan Malik Vinston, who was found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of 32-year-old Joshua David Williams on Friday.

Prosecutor Christopher Young said Vinston and 18-year-old Isaiah L. Smith refused to give Williams more time to come up with the $3 he owed on a $20 rock of crack cocaine.

Williams was found shot in the back of the neck in January 2018.

Police didn’t establish who pulled the trigger. Vinston’s lawyer laid the blame on Smith, and said his client was remorseful.

Smith will go on trial in April. Vinston’s sentencing date hasn’t been set.

John Mangalonzo
John Mangalonzohttps://wydaily.com
John Mangalonzo (john@localdailymedia.com) is the managing editor of Local Voice Media’s Virginia papers – WYDaily (Williamsburg), Southside Daily (Virginia Beach) and HNNDaily (Hampton-Newport News). Before coming to Local Voice, John was the senior content editor of The Bellingham Herald, a McClatchy newspaper in Washington state. Previously, he served as city editor/content strategist for USA Today Network newsrooms in St. George and Cedar City, Utah. John started his professional journalism career shortly after graduating from Lyceum of The Philippines University in 1990. As a rookie reporter for a national newspaper in Manila that year, John was assigned to cover four of the most dangerous cities in Metro Manila. Later that year, John was transferred to cover the Philippine National Police and Armed Forces of the Philippines. He spent the latter part of 1990 to early 1992 embedded with troopers in the southern Philippines as they fought with communist rebels and Muslim extremists. His U.S. journalism career includes reporting and editing stints for newspapers and other media outlets in New York City, California, Texas, Iowa, Utah, Colorado and Washington state.

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