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Homicide victim Trevahn Kent had grasped the concept of what it takes to be a man, according to his father.
"You've got to work to support your family, and you've got to stay dedicated," Elgin Kent said. "It made me really proud that he understood it takes hard work to make it."
Trevahn Kent, 21, had dedicated himself to raising his young son and was working hard to provide for the boy, according to his grieving father.
"He was evolving. He was on his way to coming into his own," said Elgin Kent, who's been a barber in downtown York for about 15 years.
Gunned down: Trevahn Kent, of Vander Avenue, was fatally shot about 2:30 a.m. Sunday outside Temptations, a strip club at 617 E. Market St.
When he and a friend walked out of the club, someone in a group of people fired at them, according to Lt. Tim Utley, who supervises York City's detective bureau. Both men ran, but Trevahn Kent collapsed half a block later and was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
He died of a gunshot wound that went through his arm and into chest, according to the county coroner's office.
Utley said detectives are looking into the possibility that Kent's homicide might be related to a previous attack.
On Jan. 13, he was treated at York Hospital after being struck on the head with a bottle and stabbed in the side with a chunk of glass, police said.
Police were investigating inconsistencies in the victim's story at the time he made the report, according to Utley, and no arrests were made.
Baby on the way: Trevahn Kent doted on his toddler, Jazaii, and was expecting a second child this spring, according to his father.
Born and raised in High Point, N.C., Trevahn Kent moved to York City as a teenager and spent his last two years in school at William Penn Senior High School, graduating in 2010.
He got into some trouble after graduation. Elgin Kent said like many young people, he saw a glamorous life of fast cash and nice cars, and thought he could be part of that.
Wakeup call: Instead, he did a short stint in York County Prison after pleading guilty in June 2011 to dealing drugs. Being locked up was a wakeup call to Trevahn Kent, who realized the drug world was the wrong path, according to his father.
"It took him jail (time) to see that wasn't the way," Elgin Kent said. "He knew he had to take care of his son."
At the time of his death, Trevahn Kent held a steady job at Texas Roadhouse in Springettsbury Township, and was even taking on extra shifts there to make more money, his dad said.
Tom Burkhart, managing partner at Texas Roadhouse, said Trevahn started about two months ago as a dishwasher.
Training for promotion: "He was a good guy ... always pleasant," and a hard worker, Burkhart said. "He'd done so well at washing dishes that we started to train him as a cook, which we wouldn't have done if he wasn't showing promise and a good attitude."
Trevahn Kent was no longer romantically involved with Jazaii's mother, but the two of them worked together amicably to raise the boy, Elgin Kent said.
"They were always together," he said of his son and grandson.
Lit up a room: Often called "Trey" or "Luck," Trevahn Kent was an outgoing man.
"He lit up a room with his personality," Elgin Kent said. "He was a loving, kind person. He had friends on all sides of town."
Elgin Kent said he and Trevahn's mother, Lori Johnsson, are coping the best they can, as are Trevahn's five siblings.
"We're just taking it one day at a time," he said. "I've got to be strong for the rest of the family, but I'm grieving too."
'Out of my hands': As for his son's killer or killers, Elgin Kent said he has nothing to say to them.
"They'll have their day," he predicted. "They're going to have to answer to a higher power. It's out of my hands."
City Detective First Class Jeff Spence said the investigation into the homicide continues.
"We've been interviewing witnesses for the last two days, trying to fit the pieces of the puzzle together," he said. "We have a lot more people to talk to."
Anyone with information about Kent's homicide or stabbing is asked to call city detectives at 849-2219, or the city's anonymous crime tip line, 849-2204. Or text a tip to YORKTIPS at 847411.
-- Staff writer Liz Evans Scolforo can also be reached at levans@yorkdispatch.com.
