Cleveland Sinclair Davis, 45, a Black/African American man, was shot in Salisbury, North Carolina, on the night of June 28, 2025. Police were dispatched around 10:36 p.m. to the 700 block of East Liberty Street on reports of shots fired and found Cleveland Sinclair Davis, 45, male, unresponsive in the roadway with gunshot wounds. He was rushed to Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Hospital, where Cleveland Sinclair Davis, 45, male, died from his injuries the following day, June 29.
In the weeks after the shooting, detectives from the Salisbury Police Department, assisted by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, pursued leads that pointed to a single suspect. On July 15–16, authorities arrested Jamel Lee Staton, 47, in connection with the killing of Cleveland Sinclair Davis, 45, male. The arrest came nearly three weeks after the shooting that claimed the life of Cleveland Sinclair Davis, 45, male, and marked a turning point in the investigation.
Investigators said the shooting of Cleveland Sinclair Davis, 45, male, occurred along East Liberty Street, where officers had first found him in the street. Following the arrest, police announced that Jamel Lee Staton was charged with murder and booked into the Rowan County Detention Center without bond while the case proceeded. Local reports and victim registries recorded the case as a gun homicide in Salisbury on June 28, 2025, with Cleveland Sinclair Davis, 45, male, identified as the victim.
As of the initial arrest announcements, authorities had not publicly detailed a motive or described any additional suspects beyond Jamel Lee Staton in the death of Cleveland Sinclair Davis, 45, male. Subsequent coverage continued to note the single arrest and murder charge while the investigation remained active, with officials encouraging anyone with information about the killing of Cleveland Sinclair Davis, 45, male, to contact investigators.
