Lavelle R Felton (October 5, 1979 – August 13, 2009) was an American professional basketball player playing in the European professional basketball leagues.
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Personal information | |
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Born | (1979-10-05)October 5, 1979 Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
Died | August 13, 2009(2009-08-13) (aged 29) Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
Listed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
Career information | |
High school | Madison (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) |
College |
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NBA draft | 2003 / Undrafted |
Playing career | 2003–2009 |
Position | Guard |
Career history | |
2003–2005 | Büyük Kolej |
2005–2006 | Iraklis Thessaloniki |
2006 | ASVEL Villeurbanne |
2006–2007 | AEK Athens |
2007–2008 | Science City Jena |
2008–2009 | Paderborn Baskets |
Nicknamed "Velle" or "Romie", he had played in Madison High School in Milwaukee and then played college basketball with the Louisiana Tech University's Bulldogs where he averaged 13.7 points and 5.1 rebounds a game in 2002–03.
He started his professional basketball career in the Turkish Basketball League's Büyük Kolej for two years, before moving on to Greece and France and finally landing in Germany playing for Paderborn Baskets club in the German Basketball Bundesliga. Averaging 10.5 points and 3.1 rebounds per game in the 2008-09 season, Felton helped the club successfully reach the playoffs.
Felton was out with friends at a nightclub on the morning of August 12, 2009. They were celebrating his recent success, as he was about to sign a new contract with Germany. Lavelle was fatally shot and seriously wounded by an unknown gunmen while in his driver's seat, about to depart from a Milwaukee gas station around 2 am local time, dying of his wounds just one day later.[1] He left a five-year-old stepson, a four-year-old son, and a two-year-old daughter with his girlfriend.[2]
Evidence was found in the gas station parking lot, as well as in the adjacent yard, which showed the gunmen had fired south in the yard to the north towards the gas station in close range, which further validated this was a deliberate act against Felton. For several years, detectives with the Milwaukee Police Department have gleaned information in the case, but there have been no charges. In July 2019, the firearm that was used to kill Felton was located while a separate investigation was in progress, which brought detectives to the North Side of Milwaukee near the location of the gas station.