Alex Devote’ Saunders, 32, a Black/African American man, was shot on the afternoon of May 24, 2025, in the 2700 block of Piedmont Circle in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Officers responded around 1:30 p.m. and found him suffering from gunshot wounds; he was pronounced dead at the scene. Initial reports described the shooting as an isolated incident as detectives began a homicide investigation, and early coverage identified him as Alex Devonte Saunders before family funeral materials
confirmed his name as Alex Devote’ Saunders.
Loved ones remembered Saunders as a devoted partner and father with a playful spirit. His longtime girlfriend, Charlotte James, said they had known each other since middle school and built a family together, describing him as loyal and always working to support those he loved. In the days following the shooting, relatives and friends gathered and called for justice while sharing photos and memories, underscoring how abruptly the violence had torn into an ordinary Saturday outside their home on Piedmont Circle.
On June 12, 2025, police tracked a suspect to a home on East 23rd Street. After an hours-long standoff involving the Winston-Salem Police Department’s SWAT team, officers arrested 28-year-old D’Angelo Scales. He was charged with felony murder in Saunders’ death and felony possession of a firearm by a felon; authorities said he was held without bond on the murder charge, with a $15,000 secured bond on the firearm charge. Court records indicated an initial appearance the following day.
Investigators asked anyone with information to come forward as they continued to piece together what led to the gunfire on Piedmont Circle. Community posts and memorial pages later documented Saunders’s death among the city’s 2025 gun homicides, while his funeral program fixed the details his family wanted the world to remember: his full name, his birth date, and the day their lives changed.
