On July 19, 2019, Kendal Marcus Gardin, a 30-year-old man from Gastonia, NC, was fatally shot while walking home on Terra Drive. He had been sleeping at his grandmother's house on Saluda Drive that night. EMS found him lying in a front yard and pronounced him dead at the scene.
The investigation led to the arrest of Tobika Nachel Osborne, a 28-year-old woman from Saluda Drive. She was charged with first-degree murder in Gardin's death.
Osborne claimed she was a victim of a home invasion and that Gardin attempted to assault her and take her money. She admitted to shooting him once, and he ran out of her home before being found dead nearby.
Osborne was arrested on August 30, 2019, and has been in jail without bond since then. During her court appearance, she faced the possibility of the death penalty. Gardin's mother expressed her grief and frustration, believing that other people present at the house that night should also be charged.
The case remains under investigation, with Osborne's trial pending further details. Gardin is survived by an 8-year-old son.
