On the late morning of February 17, 2022, the life of Decarlos Perkins, a 20-year-old Black man, was cut short in his Clarksville, Tennessee, community. Just before noon, police received a call about a person who had been shot and was lying on the ground near the intersection of Manning Drive and Wynwood Drive. Officers arrived to find Perkins suffering from gunshot wounds outside his residence. He was rushed to a local hospital but did not survive his injuries.
Detectives with the Clarksville Police Department's Special Operations Homicide Unit immediately began an investigation into the killing. Their work over the following months led them to identify potential suspects believed to be involved in the fatal shooting. The investigation first resulted in an arrest on May 19, 2022, when police took 18-year-old Darius Archibald into custody and charged him with criminal homicide.
Investigators believed that others were involved and continued to pursue leads in the case.
On July 1, 2022, authorities made a second arrest, taking 18-year-old Zsayonna Price into custody. She was also charged with criminal homicide in connection with the death of Decarlos Perkins. Both Archibald and Price were booked into the Montgomery County Jail as the legal process began.
The case concluded with guilty pleas from both defendants. In August 2025, Zsayonna Price pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of second-degree murder and was sentenced to 30 years with the Tennessee Department of Corrections. Several months later, in March 2026, Darius Archibald pleaded guilty to attempted aggravated robbery. As part of the settlement, his murder charge was dismissed, and he was sentenced to serve eight years in prison.
