Man gets 40 years in slaying of Papa John’s delivery driver who tried to help co-worker

Man gets 40 years in slaying of Papa John’s delivery driver who tried to help co-worker

A man who shot a pizza delivery driver to death outside a Hampton Papa John’s more than three years ago was sentenced Monday to 40 years in prison. Jaylin D. Avery, 26, of Portsmouth, pleaded guilty three months ago to second-degree murder and other charges in the 2021 slaying of DeShawn Marcel Powell, 20, who tried to intervene as Avery was assaulting one of Powell’s co-workers. Avery entered the guilty pleas soon after the jury trial began in…

On the evening of Friday, December 27, there was a knock on the door. The man outside held a finger up in front of his mouth. As if to say "hush."