Jackie Sebastian Harper, a 33-year-old man from South Charleston, was fatally shot on July 7, 2026, inside a residence in the 2400 block of Ninth Avenue in Huntington, West Virginia. The shooting was reported shortly after 1 p.m., near Ninth Avenue and 24th Street. Huntington police officers responding to the scene found Harper suffering from the shooting, and he was pronounced dead there.
Early reports offered few details about what had led to the gunfire, and investigators initially announced that no suspect was in custody. Harper’s obituary later identified him as Jackie Sebastian Harper, born May 1, 1993, in Kanawha County, and described a large surviving family that included his parents, siblings, grandparents, extended relatives and girlfriend.
The investigation moved quickly in the days after the killing. By July 10, Huntington police had obtained a criminal complaint accusing Kendall Deion Crutcher of involvement in Harper’s death. Authorities believed Crutcher had returned to the Detroit area, prompting Huntington investigators to work with the U.S. Marshals Service. U.S. Marshals located and arrested Crutcher in Eastpointe, Michigan, on a first-degree murder warrant. He was initially held in a Michigan correctional facility as a fugitive from justice while arrangements were made to return him to West Virginia. The investigation involved cooperation among Huntington police, the U.S. Marshals Service in both Michigan and West Virginia, and the Cabell County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
A second arrest followed the next day. Huntington police obtained a warrant charging Javon Carpenter with conspiracy to commit murder in connection with Harper’s killing. Carpenter, a Detroit native who police said had lived in the Huntington area for about a decade, was located at his Cabell County residence by sheriff’s deputies and taken into custody without incident. He was held at the Western Regional Jail pending court proceedings. Police continued to describe the homicide investigation as active after Carpenter’s arrest and indicated that additional arrests or charges remained possible as detectives worked to establish the full circumstances surrounding the shooting.
Crutcher was subsequently extradited from Michigan and returned to Cabell County in late July. Reporting based on the criminal complaint said the shooting occurred inside the victim’s home on Ninth Avenue. After his return, Crutcher was arraigned in connection with the homicide and remained jailed without eligibility for bond. Although early police announcements identified the principal accusation as first-degree murder, subsequent reporting following his extradition said court records reflected murder charges connected with Harper’s death. Carpenter continued to face the separate allegation that he conspired in the killing. Neither man had been convicted, and the charges remained accusations to be resolved through the court system.
The case advanced further on August 14, when Crutcher appeared for a preliminary hearing in Cabell County Magistrate Court. Huntington police detectives testified that surveillance evidence helped connect him to the scene. Investigators said Ring cameras in the neighborhood, together with information involving a Ford Bronco that Crutcher was driving, were used to place or associate him with the area of the homicide. After hearing the evidence presented at the preliminary stage, the magistrate found probable cause and ordered the case bound over for consideration by a grand jury. Carpenter remained charged with conspiracy to commit murder in the same investigation. As of that hearing, no trial or conviction had been reported, and the prosecution against Crutcher was proceeding toward the grand-jury stage.
