In Atmore, Alabama, a simple act of intervention turned fatal for 39-year-old Okeema McCants on a Saturday morning. On January 13, 2024, McCants was driving along Martin Luther King Avenue when he noticed a physical altercation unfolding in the street between a group of men near the intersection with Bragg Street. He stopped his vehicle to intervene and de-escalate the situation. Shortly after he stepped in, multiple gunshots were fired.
Police responded to reports of gunfire just before 11 a.m. and found McCants suffering from several gunshot wounds. He was transported by ambulance to Atmore Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Investigators at the scene recovered shell casings from two different caliber firearms, indicating that more than one weapon was used in the fatal shooting. Witnesses provided descriptions of those involved, which quickly led to a breakthrough in the case.
Within about two hours of the shooting, police arrested 25-year-old Charles Dewayne Walker of Atmore. At the time of his arrest, Walker was in possession of a handgun that had been reported stolen from Jefferson County, Alabama, and also had an outstanding warrant for theft of property. He was subsequently charged with murder and booked into the Escambia County Detention Center without bond.
Further investigation identified a second shooter. On February 15, 2024, with the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Service, authorities located and arrested 30-year-old Cleo Frye III, also of Atmore. Frye was taken into custody without incident after being spotted in a car on Alabama 21. Like Walker, he was charged with murder and held in the Escambia County Detention Center. The investigation remains ongoing as police work to identify others who were involved in the initial physical altercation that McCants tried to stop.
