UPDATE 3/11/2026: 

New Kensington, PA – Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole W. Ziccarelli announces criminal homicide charges have been filed against Raijon Wilson, of New Kensington, in connection to the 2023 shooting death of Troy Vickers, Jr.

Wilson is facing charges of criminal homicide, murder of the first degree, possession of a firearm prohibited, and terroristic threats.

Wilson is currently incarcerated at the Westmoreland County Prison on unrelated charges.

On October 19, 2023, New Kensington Police responded to Kenneth Avenue for an unresponsive male found on the front porch of the residence.

The male, identified as Troy Vickers, Jr., was being treated by medical personnel and transported to a Pittsburgh-area hospital and placed on life support.

Vickers was pronounced deceased on October 21, 2023. His death was ruled a homicide due to complications from a gunshot wound to the head.

Investigators learned that Vickers and Wilson engaged in an argument at a local bar several months prior to the incident.

Witnesses told detectives there was animosity between Vickers and Wilson and the two had several altercations in the months leading up to Vickers’s death.

Investigators obtained several videos of Wilson driving his vehicle through the streets of New Kensington leading up to Kenneth Avenue and its intersecting streets.

Wilson was then observed walking toward the 1000 block of Kenneth Avenue in the approximate time frame Vickers was believed to have been shot.

Within three minutes of parking and walking toward Kenneth Avenue, Wilson was then seen pulling away in his vehicle.

Additionally, investigators obtained motion-activated surveillance video that contained audio from a nearby intersection, approximately 300 yards from Vickers’s residence on Kenneth Avenue.

Detectives reviewed the video from approximately 10:49 a.m. on October 19, 2023, and heard two gunshots.

Wilson has a previous felony conviction and is prohibited from possessing a firearm.

Disclaimer: To the extent that pending criminal matters are discussed, all such charges are merely accusations and all defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

New Kensington, PA – The Office of Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole W. Ziccarelli and the New Kensington Police Department are releasing the following update to a shooting that occurred on Thursday, October 19, 2023.

At approximately 3:20 p.m. on Thursday, October 19, 2023, New Kensington Police were dispatched to the report of a victim with a gunshot wound in the 1000 block of Kenneth Avenue.

The victim, Troy Vickers Jr., 31, was transported to a Pittsburgh-area hospital where he was pronounced deceased on Saturday, October 21, 2023.

At this time, no arrests have been made. New Kensington Police and Westmoreland County Detectives are continuing to investigate.

Detectives are hoping to identify and speak to the person who was observed riding a bicycle in the 1000 block of Kenneth Avenue during the afternoon hours on October 19, 2023. Anyone who can identify this person is asked to contact New Kensington Police at 724-339-7533 or the Westmoreland County Detective Bureau at 724-830-3949.

Investigators are being assisted by the Westmoreland County Coroner’s Office and an autopsy was performed on Wednesday, October 25, 2023. If anyone has any further information regarding this homicide investigation, you are asked to contact New Kensington Police at 724-339-7534.