On January 3, 2022, 28-year-old Donnell Smith Jr., a Jones, Oklahoma resident and father of two daughters, was fatally shot in the parking lot of a Dollar General on Spencer-Jones Road in Oklahoma City. The encounter began as an argument between one of Smith’s companions and two juveniles; Smith stepped in to try to de-escalate. A juvenile reportedly spotted a concealed pistol on Smith’s waistband. Kody Melendrez, the father of one of the juveniles and occupant of a nearby Ford F-150, opened fire, discharging his weapon 13 times and striking Smith about nine times. Smith was taken to a Midwest City hospital and pronounced dead.

Investigators identified Melendrez as the primary suspect after the truck was found registered to him, a witness picked him out of a police lineup, and phone data placed him at the scene. Melendrez was arrested February 3, 2022, released 28 days later without charges at that time, and later arrested again on March 7, 2023, on a first-degree murder charge; court filings say he admitted the shooting in a phone call from the detention center and he is being held on a $10 million bond. Does anyone have information about the confrontation that led to this shooting or about the people who were with Donnell that day?