TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — Allen Langford believes the person responsible for his son, Quinton’s death will one day slip up and get caught by authorities and when that day comes, he hopes he’s alive to see the day.
For more than four years, he’s waited for a lead in the case. The shooting shook Florida A&M’s community when the 20-year-old and his roommate were both shot while they were walking to a homecoming party off-campus. His roommate was injured, Quinton died that night in October of 2016.
Quinton would have turned 25 on February 19 this year and it’s a painful reminder of the absence of new leads in the case for both his dad and investigators. Each day he hopes to get a call that police have made an arrest in the case.
Langford said, “I just wish someone would say something.”
He recalled the night a Victim’s Laison Advocate arrived at his home in Plant City and told him he needed to call the Tallahassee Police Department.
Tallahassee Police Investigator Jerry Megna tells ABC 27 that both Quinton and his roommate were innocent victims.
“There was an argument that occurred between two different groups of individuals in the crowd. One of the groups shouted that they were from DuVal county, and shots rang out. Mr. Langford was struck by a stray bullet. He had no involvement whatsoever in the argument itself.”
Surveillance video released from that night shows what happened before and after the shooting. It also shows three cars that are connected to the case leaving the parking garage not far from the crime scene.
Megna says the videos lead to major breaks in the case early on. “We were able to associate certain people to those vehicles and monitor from when they got there to when they left and essentially identify owners to those vehicles as well as establish the identity of the group,” he said.
Megna says he has worked on Quinton’s case for years and while there were hundreds of people attending the party – at the time many witnesses were reluctant to talk, and the case went cold until 2020.
The department got new information that involved technical and lab analysis that hasn’t come to fruition yet. For now, the investigator declined to give any other details but did say when it comes to the development of witnesses and tips which lead to an arrest in a cold case – it's not a matter of if the information will come, it’s a matter of when.
For Quinton's dad, all the surveillance video they have is more than enough for investigators to have some solid leads. He’s grown frustrated, saying he hasn’t heard any updates from police in years.
Langford said, “I guess stuff not having a fast enough gives me a bad taste in my mouth. I wanted this done like four years ago."
Megna says he understands Lanford’s frustration, but the department walks a very thin line when it comes to providing false hope to families.
“When it comes to actionable leads, that's what we communicate,” he said.
Quinton’s mother died when he was only 16 years old. Investigator Megna says that updates in the case have always been given to her sister, Quinton’s aunt. They last spoke with her a few weeks ago and believed she passed along updates to other family members.
Langford says he will forever hold on to the memories he has of his son and will give up hope that an arrest and conviction is made in this case and for Quinton and his friend. He hopes and prays that justice is served.
“You just can't give up," said Langford, "you can't let them die.”
Investigator Megna said it’s time for witnesses to come forward and do the right thing and give the Langford family some peace of mind.
The TPD investigator in charge of the case is asking anyone who was at the scene but did not speak with police officers to call 850-891-4200.
Investigators say they hope a witness will come forward with information that may lead to the arrest of the person or persons responsible for the shooting.
Anyone who would prefer to remain anonymous should call Crime Stoppers at 850-574-TIPS.
If your tip leads to an arrest in this case, the reward is now up to $10,000.
