Man sentenced to three life terms plus 83 years for Fort Bragg murders featured in 'The Fort Bragg Cartel'

The deaths of a Delta Force soldier and an Army veteran, whose bodies were found shot in the woods of a North Carolina military base, have long fueled speculation — culminating in a bestselling book about drugs, violence, and the culture of U.S. special forces troops at Fort Bragg.

Nearly six years later, a man has been sentenced to three life terms plus 83 years in federal prison after a jury convicted him of their murders.

Kenneth Maurice Quick Jr., 26, was convicted in May of eight federal charges stemming from the December 2020 killings of Master Sgt. William “Billy” Lavigne, 37, and former soldier Timothy Dumas, 44.

Details of the Crime

According to the Justice Department:

• Quick shot Lavigne five times in the back during a cocaine deal that turned violent.
• He then forced Dumas to drive to a remote area on Fort Bragg to dump Lavigne’s bullet-riddled body.
• When Dumas’ truck got stuck in the sand, Quick fired his gun at the back of the veteran’s head, killing him.
• The following day, Quick returned, recovered the truck, drove it to another road, and set it on fire.

The department referred to the victims only as “WL” and “TD” when announcing Quick’s sentence, but Lavigne and Dumas have long been publicly identified.

The Fort Bragg Cartel

Their deaths feature prominently in Seth Harp’s The Fort Bragg Cartel, published in August 2025. The book investigates a series of deaths, allegations of drug trafficking, and criminal impunity surrounding the Army post and its elite special operations community.

In the book, Harp detailed suspicions among those close to Lavigne and Dumas that Quick — described as a low-level drug dealer — was solely responsible for the killings, given Lavigne’s extensive training.

Background on the Victims

Master Sgt. William “Billy” Lavigne

• Served in the Army for 19 years.
• Assigned to the U.S. Special Operations Command at the time of his death.
• Graduated from the Special Forces Qualification Course in 2007.
• Deployed multiple times to Iraq and Afghanistan.
• In 2018, shot and killed Sgt. 1st Class Mark Leshikar, 33, a Green Beret described as a friend. The shooting was ruled a justifiable homicide.
• Later in 2018, faced felony charges of harboring an escapee and maintaining a vehicle or dwelling to manufacture a controlled substance. Those charges were later dropped.
• At the time of his death, Lavigne was set to appear in Cumberland County District Court for a hit-and-run charge.

Timothy Dumas

• Served as a property accounting technician in the Army from 1996 to 2016.
• Deployed to Afghanistan multiple times.
• At the time of his death, Dumas was set to appear in Forsyth County District Court, charged with breaking and entering, communicating threats, and impersonating a law enforcement officer.

About the Author

Eve Sampson is a reporter and former Army officer. She has covered conflict across the world, writing for The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Associated Press.