In the early hours of July 2, 2020, Paul Arthur Laney, a 42-year-old Black male from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, was shot and killed in what has been described as an ambush-style killing in Carlisle. The incident occurred around 12:10 a.m. in the area of West Penn and North West Streets. Laney was driving his vehicle when he sustained multiple gunshot wounds, causing him to crash into a telephone pole. A passenger in the vehicle was also shot and seriously injured but fled the scene before authorities arrived and was taken to a hospital by friends.
For a time, the case remained the only unsolved homicide out of eight in Cumberland County that year, leaving Laney's family and friends to gather annually, calling for justice and answers. The investigation by the Carlisle Police Department continued, and it was revealed that the shooting was the culmination of long-standing disputes. Hours before his death, Laney had reportedly gone on Facebook Live to discuss a feud.
In a significant development in late 2025, two individuals were arrested and charged in connection with Laney's murder. Warren Bennett II and Rochita Mobley were charged with first and third-degree murder, with Mobley being charged as an accomplice. A grand jury found that on the night of the shooting, Mobley had been in a verbal altercation with Laney at an American Legion post regarding Laney's alleged mockery of a previous murder victim. It was determined that Mobley was in communication with Bennett via text messages and phone calls leading up to the shooting. The grand jury concluded that Mobley was aware of Bennett's intent to harm Laney and that her actions assisted in the commission of the homicide.
