In the early morning hours of April 29, 2023, Clayborne Kent Jr., 37, was shot near 54 West Church Street in Martinsville, Virginia. Officers arriving just after midnight found Kent with a gunshot wound; he was transported to SOVAH Health Martinsville but died while en route to the hospital. Police immediately opened a homicide investigation and began processing the scene and interviewing witnesses to reconstruct what happened.

Later that same day authorities identified and arrested 23-year-old Trequon Antonio Davis at his Beaver Street residence. The arrest was made without incident and Davis was charged with manslaughter, reckless handling of a firearm, and discharging a firearm in a public place resulting in injury; he was held at the Martinsville City Jail without bail. Anyone who saw the disturbance or has other information about the shooting is asked to come forward.