On the afternoon of March 14, 2023, 24-year-old Javon Stapleton of Stonecrest, Georgia, was found in a ditch along Kitchings Road near Old Barnwell Road in Williston, South Carolina, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was taken to Aiken Regional Medical Centers and later transferred to Augusta University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at approximately 4:29 p.m. that same day.

The Aiken County Sheriff’s Office and the Aiken County Coroner’s Office opened an investigation into the violent death. Investigators identified 37-year-old Barry Junior Bellinger, also known as Alameen Mumin, of Lithonia, Georgia, as a suspect. Authorities said both Stapleton and Bellinger had ties to the Atlanta area; the nature of their relationship and a motive have not been disclosed.

On April 28, 2023, Bellinger was arrested at an apartment complex in Lithonia by the DeKalb County Police Department and the U.S. Marshals Service. He was booked on unrelated charges and faces extradition to South Carolina on counts that include murder, possession of a weapon during a violent crime, kidnapping, and carjacking. Anyone with information about Javon Stapleton or the events leading to his death is asked to come forward.