In the late hours of a summer night in Washington, Georgia, a series of volatile relationships and simmering resentments culminated in the death of 44-year-old Frederick Deon Cade. On August 14, 2017, at approximately 1:38 a.m., the Wilkes County Sheriff's Office received a 911 call reporting a deceased male on Peachtree Street. The man was soon identified as Cade, and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation was called in to assist with what was quickly determined to be a homicide.
The investigation uncovered a tangled web of personal conflicts. Cade was married to Shakevia Graves, but their marriage was described as volatile, with frequent arguments that sometimes turned physical. Shakevia had an eight-year-old son with another man, Richard Stroud, Jr. There was significant animosity, or 'bad blood,' between Cade and Stroud. This tension stemmed from Cade's jealousy over the time Shakevia spent with Stroud and disagreements over Stroud's financial support for his son, for whom Cade often cared. Adding another layer to the complicated dynamics, Jarvis Lamont Milton, a co-indictee in the murder, had been in a long-term relationship with Shakevia's twin sister, Shanevia 'NeNe' Graves.
On the night of the murder, the conflict escalated. Cade and his wife had been arguing, and she was staying at her grandparents' house where her sister also lived. While Shakevia and her sister were out, they spotted Cade's truck and a tense car chase ensued, ending back at the grandparents' residence. After Cade left, 'NeNe' Graves called her boyfriend, Jarvis Milton, to come over. Richard Stroud, Jr. drove Milton to the house. An argument broke out between Cade, Stroud, and Milton. Following a physical altercation, Cade was shot. An autopsy later revealed that a single bullet entered and exited his right arm before re-entering his torso and striking his lung and heart, causing massive hemorrhaging and death.
The investigation moved swiftly, and on the same day that Cade's body was found, arrest warrants were issued for Jarvis Lamont Milton. He was apprehended that afternoon on Sharon Road in Washington, Georgia, and taken to the Wilkes County Jail. Subsequently, both Milton and Richard Stroud, Jr. were indicted on multiple charges, including malice murder, felony murder, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
The two men were tried separately. In May 2019, a jury found Jarvis Lamont Milton guilty on all counts, including malice murder. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. In his trial, evidence was presented that included testimony from Shakevia and Shanevia Graves, though Shanevia's testimony at trial reportedly differed from her initial statements to police. In November 2019, Richard Stroud, Jr. faced his own trial. He was acquitted of malice murder but found guilty of felony murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. He was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole. Evidence presented in his case included the discovery of Cade's blood in the front of his car.
Both Milton and Stroud appealed their convictions, arguing that the evidence presented at their respective trials was not sufficient to prove their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. However, in April 2024, the Supreme Court of Georgia upheld the convictions for both men, concluding that the evidence was sufficient for the juries to have found them guilty. The court noted that even if one man was the shooter, the evidence supported the conclusion that the other was a party to the crime.
