Back when Vernon Mayes was living in Atlanta, he and his girlfriend started doing tattoos together. She always knew how to draw, and he had a knack for pulling off the designs.
She bought him tattoo equipment, and a hobby was born.
Things were good. He was working a full-time job in dispatch, and the two went traveling. Vito, as Lauren called him, was always a giving person, even at the expense of his own well being.
“I was doing hair. Whatever my craft was, he would challenge me,” said Lauren, who was with him for 10 years. “He would neglect himself in order to get me to achieve my goals.”
But with four kids, they struggled to do it all alone in Atlanta. Born in North Philly but raised in West, Vito decided they should move back to Philly to be near family.
That’s when things really went south.
Lauren said he was usually the one who made the right decisions, normally a very structured person. But they both got addicted to heroin and things weren’t going well. Thankfully, Lauren got clean, and she wanted the same for him.
“I tried to stay by his side to show you don’t have to live that life anymore,” she said. “He was a great father. It’s just unfortunate that he didn’t get a chance.”
He was killed on March 3, 2020 on Custer Street near Clearfield in Kensington.
Lauren said the day he died, he was trying to take one of their sons to get some sneakers. “He didn’t neglect his responsibilities, but he had to let go so his kids could get that love,” she said. “After a while you realize you are more of a harm than help.”
Before he passed he pointed out that he always noticed the time 4:44. Later, Lauren would keep catching it too, believing it’s an angel number, god sending a message.
“It started scaring me. It would be on addresses, phone numbers, I felt like god was trying to tell me not to move back to Philly.”
Even though it didn’t end well for him, Lauren wants people to know that he was a good person, a strong minded, people person, and everyone loved him, she said.
“People who have big hearts like that are always the ones that care too much,” she said. “The stress they take on, they wear it on their sleeve.”
“I don’t mind telling my story. If my story or his story can help.”
He was killed on March 3, 2020 on Custer Street near Clearfield in Kensington.
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