On May 10, 2025, Chaze Richardson, age 39, a male from Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, was found shot in the 100 block of Monroe Street. Officers were called around 5:30 p.m., and multiple people were seen fleeing on foot after the gunfire. The immediate scene suggested a targeted confrontation rather than a random encounter, and the area was quickly cordoned off as detectives began canvassing for security video and witnesses.
In the days that followed, tributes and memorial notices confirmed that Chaze Richardson, age 39, male, died on May 10, 2025, and friends and family prepared services in his honor. Obituary records listed his full name as Chaze Lamar Richardson with a birth date of April 24, 1986, underscoring the loss felt by those who knew him beyond the headlines of a street corner crime scene. Community memorial pages likewise marked his life and the date and city of his death.
By early June, investigators announced significant progress: two 17-year-olds—identified by police as Sanjay Woolfolk and Ja'quezz Drew—were arrested and charged with felony murder in the death of Chaze Richardson, age 39, male. Authorities said both suspects would be tried as adults. After their arrests and service of murder warrants, they were held at the Dillon Regional Juvenile Detention Center in Butner while the case proceeded through the courts.
The early police briefings had already pointed to more than one person being involved, a detail that aligned with witness accounts of multiple individuals running from Monroe Street just after shots were fired. With arrests in hand, detectives continued building the case around the timeline of May 10, statements from nearby residents, and any forensic evidence secured from the scene where Chaze Richardson, age 39, male, was killed.
