In the quiet community of Buena Vista, Tennessee, the life of 19-year-old James Dale Kelly was tragically cut short on the evening of Friday, March 29, 2019. Responding to a 911 call that came in at 5:59 p.m., officers from the Carroll County Sheriff's Department and first responders arrived at a residence at 7065 Buena Vista Road to a grim scene. They discovered James Dale Kelly lying on the lawn beside the driveway, the victim of a single gunshot wound.
The investigation that followed,
a joint effort between the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Carroll County Sheriff's Office, soon uncovered that the shooting had occurred in the driveway of the home during an illegal drug transaction that took place inside a parked car. Authorities quickly sought the public's help, releasing a surveillance image of a silver vehicle seen near the scene of the crime. This appeal to the community, combined with dedicated investigative work, proved fruitful.
Tips from the public led investigators to identify Corey Leavitt, Jr., a 20-year-old from Huntingdon, as the person responsible for Kelly's death. Leavitt was arrested and subsequently charged with one count of Reckless Homicide. Later, in a Carroll County courtroom, Corey Leavitt, Jr. pled guilty to the charges of reckless homicide and tampering with evidence in connection with the shooting of James Dale Kelly.
