Victim in August 2020 slaying left ‘just in case’ note
Suspect in gun deal killing arrested after 2 years of police work
Upper Darby police have arrested a Philadelphia man in an August 2020 murder during a gun deal robbery.
Police arrested Rafeeq Carter, 20, earlier this month on charges of homicide, murder in the first degree, robbery, carrying a firearm without a license and related offenses.
It was shortly before 10 p.m. on Wednesday Aug. 2, 2020, when Upper Darby received a call for the report of shots fired near the 6500 block of North Church Lane in the area of Marshall Road and the woods along Cobbs Creek.
Police arrived quickly to find a Black male lying motionless with multiple gunshots to his torso.
Police began CPR but it was determined by medical teams the man was deceased.
The victim, Amir Liverpool
Parks, 22 was originally from Philadelphia. According to the Philadelphia Obituary Project, he moved to Norristown to be with his child’s mother, and had recently started working at a new job.
Police gave this account: Lying near Parks’ body, officers recovered a 9 mm casing, three .22-caliber casings, a 9 mm handgun and his iPhone.
As detectives began their investigation, they recovered video surveillance showing a light colored four-door car with tinted windows, a sunroof and a shark fin antenna drive toward the shooting scene. Minutes later, the same vehicle was observed driving away from the scene with its headlights off.
Police were able to obtain video surveillance near the victim’s home in Norristown that showed a similar vehicle and the investigation also revealed Parks took with him a long gun that evening.
Investigators were able to access the iPhone found at the scene, which contained the victim’s Instagram account, @mirgy_brickz7, as well as a screenshot of an Instagram account of @lilfeeq_ and the note, “just in case something happens this is the person in the car.”
The two carried on a conversation between 7 and 8:57 that night discussing a firearms deal.
This is part of the conversation:
@lilfeeq: “How much u want for the AR”
@mirgy_brickz7: “It’s a 22 but the lowest I’m goin’ is 1200”
They agreed to meet and find a place to test fire the weapons with the last post from @lilfeeq_ at 8:57 p.m.
Police determined the victim had purchased two guns in July 2020 at a shop in Norristown: a 9 mm handgun whose serial number matched the firearm found with Parks the night of the shooting, as well as a
Smith and Wesson .22 AR style long rifle, which has not been recovered.
In September of 2020, police served a search warrant for the Instagram account @lilfeeq_ that linked to an email account carterrafeeq@yahoo.com as well as a phone number.
Investigators also determined the @lilfeeq_ account was deactivated the day following the murder.
Police then used phone records to put Carter at the scene of the murder. Using those records, they were also able to trace his path from the victim’s home in Norristown to Upper Darby and then back to his home in Philadelphia.
They also were able to link the profile photo for @ lilfeeq_ to the Pennsylvania driver’s license for Rafeeq Carter.
Police determined Carter did not have a license to carry a concealed weapon.
According to the affidavit, in October 2022 Carter was transported from the
Philadelphia prison system to Upper Darby Police Department.
At that time police collected basic information from Carter including his birthdate, Social Security number and phone number. That phone number matched the Instagram account for @lilfeeq_ and the phone location technology that put him at the scene of the murder.
‘A great job’
Upper Darby Police Superintendent Timothy Bernhardt
said dealing with large technology companies such as Instagram and Facebook can take time.
“They always want more information. It’s frustrating,” he said and credited the work of Detective Matthew C. Rowles.
“It took a long time and old school detective work, video surveillance, witness interviews, forensic evidence, social media cellphone records and working with the district attorney’s office, Deputy DA Stephanie Wills, they were finally able to put enough together to get this guy charged,” he said. “It’s a great job.”
Asked what brought the victim and shooter to Upper Darby, Bernhardt said that section of the township near Marshall road is often confused as being in Philadelphia and was known by the defendant. The victim was lured to the woods there to test fire the weapon, then robbed and murdered, he said.
Carter was committed to the George W. Hill Correctional Facility in Concord on the charges.