A man accused in 2020 Fort Liberty murders has asked for more time before trial. Here's why.
The federal trial of a man accused in the December 2020 slayings of a Special Forces soldier and a veteran whose bodies were found at Fort Liberty likely won’t be until well into next year, according to court records.
In a Nov. 20 order, United States District Judge Louise Flanagan agreed to give Kenneth Maurice Quick Jr., 23, of Laurinburg, until Aug. 2, 2024, to file a response to the charges against him.
Quick was indicted Aug. 1 on charges including murder, conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute cocaine, firearm and obstruction charges and two counts of the use of a firearm causing death.
The charges are related to the slayings of Master Sgt. William LaVigne II, 37, and Army veteran Timothy Dumas Sr., 44. The men are identified in the federal indictment by their initials.
2020 deaths
In August, U.S. Attorney Michael Easley announced Quick's arrest, alleging Quick committed first-degree murder by shooting and killing one person on then-Fort Bragg property, on Dec. 1, 2020.
Quick's indictment identifies Dumas, by his initials T.J.D. Sr., as the first victim.
“In addition, it is alleged Quick used a firearm to murder a second victim that same day,” the news release stated. “The murder of the second victim was in relation to a separate charge for conspiracy to distribute cocaine.”
The bodies of LaVigne and Dumas were found Dec. 2, 2020, in woods accessible to the public near a training area along Manchester Road.
Request for more time in case
In a Nov. 17 motion, Quick requested the deadline for pretrial motions in his case be extended to May 20.
The motion states that more time is needed to review witness statements and any other evidence in Quick’s case including the review of more than 68,000 records along with a terabyte of electronic data.
"Given the severity of the charges, the volume of discovery, and the need for defense counsel to have time to investigate the case, the ends of justice served by continuing the arraignment and extending the pretrial deadlinesoutweigh the interest of the public and Mr. Quick in a speedy trial
The accusations
Quick's indictment alleges that he conspired “with other persons, known and unknown to the Grand Jury” to distribute cocaine between Nov. 25, 2020, and Dec. 1, 2020.
The record further alleges that Quick shot and killed Dumas, identified as “T.D. Sr.,” on Dec. 1, 2020.
The indictment alleges that during the trafficking of cocaine, Quick caused the death of Lavigne, identified s “W.J.L. II,” by using a firearm and that Quick attempted to dispose and conceal the bodies.
LaVigne's death certificate lists his cause of death as multiple gunshot wounds. Dumas’ cause of death is listed as gunshot wounds to the chest and head.
The U.S. Attorney’s news release,Quick was a felon at the time of the deaths and allegedly possessed ammunition, while also obstructing justice, by attempting to dispose of the body of one of the victims.
Court records allege that on either Dec. 2 or Dec. 3, 2020, Quick obstructed justice by attempting to move and burn a truck belonging to Dumas.
According to an FBI poster seeking information in the slayings, LaVigne’s gray 2015 Chevrolet Colorado truck was found at the crime scene. Dumas’ 2014 Dodge Ram truck was found abandoned, and burned, at an undisclosed location.
The case was investigated by the FBI and Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division.
Based on the latest motion requesting an extension, Quick asked that federal prosecutors file any pretrial motions by July 19 and he be given until Aug. 2, to provide a response to the government’s charges.
Attorneys had originally filed an Oct. 19 motion asking for a Nov. 27 deadline for pretial motions.
Quick is currently serving nearly five years in federal prison for possessing a firearm as a felon in Scotland County in May 2022, federal court records show. Charges of cocaine trafficking were dismissed in that case.
Arrest made in 2020 slayings of Special Forces soldier, veteran found dead on Fort Liberty
Former charges against LaVigne and Dumas
It is not clear how LaVigne, Dumas or Quick allegedly knew each other.
At the time of his death, LaVigne was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, U.S. Army Special Operations Command and had been in the Army for 19 years. His death certificate states his last home address was in Hope Mills.
“Billy opened his heart and home to all who knew him,” his obituary states. “He made every minute count, living life to the fullest and never feared the mountains in the distance.”
Dumas, a resident of Pinehurst, joined the Army in 1996 and served for 20 years as a property accounting technician, according to records. He retired from the Army in March 2016 as a chief warrant officer 3.
In an April 2021 interview with Rolling Stone, LaVigne’s father, Billy LaVigne Sr. said that despite meeting most of his son’s friends and associates, “There was never no mention of this Dumas.”
LaVigne and Dumas were each scheduled to appear in court on unrelated cases in the months after their deaths according to court records.
LaVigne was supposed to be in Cumberland County District Court on Jan. 15 for a Feb. 17, 2020, hit-and-run charge, court documents state.
Death of Special Forces soldier found on Fort Bragg ruled as homicide
Dumas was scheduled to appear in Forsyth County District Court on Dec. 17 on charges of breaking and entering, communicating threats and impersonating a law enforcement officer for allegedly breaking into an apartment in Walkertown in Forsyth County “with the intent to terrorize and injure an occupant of the building,” on April 11, 2020.
LaVigne also was involved in other Cumberland County cases that never resulted in charges.
On March 21, 2018, at his Anhinga Drive home, LaVigne shot and killed his friend, Army Sgt. 1st Class Mark Leshikar. The LaVigne and Leshikar families had just returned from a trip to Disneyland. The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office investigated and declared the death “justifiable homicide.
Six months later, LaVigne was indicted Sept. 1, 2018, on felony charges of harboring an escapee and maintaining a vehicle or dwelling place to manufacture a controlled substance.
The charges were dismissed when two others at his home took responsibility for the drugs and were prosecuted.
LaVigne was expected to serve another two months in the Army before retirement.
“He was planning on coming home and building a log cabin on our property,” his father said. “It’s the last thing we spoke about.”
Staff writer Rachael Riley can be reached at rriley@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3528.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: What evidence is needed to review in case of 2020 Bragg murders
