A Dallas jury has found 25-year-old Antwan Franklin guilty of Capital Murder for orchestrating the May 5, 2022, killing of Du’Vonta Lampkin, a former NFL (Tennessee Titans) and University of Oklahoma defensive tackle. Franklin was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Lampkin, 25, was ambushed and killed in his apartment on the fifth floor of the Butler Brothers Building in Downtown Dallas. Evidence presented at trial revealed that Franklin, who had been partying with Lampkin earlier that evening, fed him multiple substances that left him drifting in and out of consciousness.
Prosecutors Jacob Zachariah and Katherine Mitchell, along with DA Investigator Michael Csaszar and Paralegal Carmen Oliva, laid out the details of Franklin's plan. The Dallas Police Department's investigation revealed that Franklin contacted two associates, Erick Garcia and John Williams, instructing them to rob Lampkin, who was believed to have $20,000 in a distinctive backpack.
Garcia and Williams went to Lampkin's apartment, where a struggle ensued. Lampkin fought back, but Williams fatally shot him in the chest, causing a wound that perforated his aorta. Lampkin’s body was not discovered until 20 hours later when a friend came to check on him.
During the trial, Franklin claimed he was coerced by Garcia into planning the robbery, denying full responsibility for the crime. The jury rejected his defense, convicting him as the mastermind behind the deadly scheme.
The verdict comes after John Williams, the alleged shooter, was acquitted of all charges in October, a decision that left the Lampkin family devastated. With Franklin’s conviction, the family expressed a sense of justice for their son after 952 days of grief.
