Tavon Dionte Clark, a 29-year-old African American male, was tragically killed on October 20, 2015, in Princeville, North Carolina. The Edgecombe County Sheriff's Office responded to a report of shots fired and found Clark with a gunshot wound behind the Neville Street Apartments near Tarboro. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Clark was a resident of Rocky Mount, North Carolina, and his death left a significant impact on his family and community.
Following the incident, the Edgecombe
County Sheriff's Office launched an investigation into Clark's death. On October 23, 2015, J'Von Charmorris Coley, a 20-year-old male, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and conducting a pattern of gang activity. Coley was taken into custody by the Rocky Mount Police Department and held at the Edgecombe County Detention Center without bond. The investigation revealed that several people from the neighborhood were present at the time of the shooting, but none reported seeing or hearing anything related to the incident.
In addition to Coley, another individual, Te'von Lamont Mabry, an 18-year-old male, was also charged in connection with Clark's murder. Mabry was already in jail without bond for a separate homicide that occurred two weeks prior. He was charged with first-degree murder and two counts of attempted first-degree murder in the shooting death of 15-year-old Lavontae Brown, a high school freshman. The charges against Mabry and Coley highlighted the ongoing issue of gang-related violence in the area.
The legal proceedings for Clark's murder case involved multiple arrests and charges. Both Coley and Mabry faced serious legal consequences for their involvement in the crime. The community of Princeville and Rocky Mount continued to grapple with the impact of Clark's death and the broader issue of gang violence. The investigation into Clark's murder remained ongoing, with authorities urging anyone with information to come forward and assist in bringing justice to the victim and his family.
