Mackenzie McCord Strickland, 27, was shot and killed outside a home on Southern Street in Asheville on the night of January 18, 2023. Police were called for reports of gunfire about 11:36 p.m.; emergency personnel pronounced him dead at the scene. The shooting was Asheville’s first homicide of the year.

Investigators quickly focused on an acquaintance from prison. Mackenzie’s girlfriend said a dispute began over a $100 payment for a tattoo that had not been completed. Witnesses say Mackenzie stepped outside to take a call from that acquaintance and seconds later gunshots were heard. Police arrested 30-year-old Cody Lee Guyton less than 24 hours later and charged him with first-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a felon. A second man, 26-year-old Jamel Marquis Fisher, was arrested on May 1, 2023, and charged with felony accessory after the fact; officers also found a 9 mm Walther CCP during that arrest and charged him with carrying a concealed gun.

If anyone knew Mackenzie, his movements that night, or has information about the dispute over the tattoo, please come forward.