On the night of March 2, 2023, Devonte’ Leshore Jacocks Sr., a 26-year-old Black man from Mansfield, Ohio, was fatally shot inside the M&S Drive-Thru at 753 Springmill Street. What began as an ordinary Thursday evening at the neighborhood business turned into a deadly shooting that left Jacocks dead and two other people wounded. The violence occurred shortly after 11 p.m., when a masked gunman dressed in black entered the establishment and opened fire.
The shooting initially left investigators searching for an unidentified killer, but federal allegations made public in October 2026 would eventually connect the death to an alleged murder-for-hire conspiracy stemming from an earlier confrontation.
The M&S Drive-Thru operated as a convenience store and carryout establishment with a small bar where customers could gather. Several people were inside when the gunman entered. According to the business owner, Fares Fares, the evening had been peaceful until the shooter suddenly appeared and targeted Jacocks. The suspect, who appeared to walk with a limp, wore dark clothing and a mask that concealed his identity. Jacocks suffered gunshot wounds to his head, chest and right thigh. A second victim was wounded in the calf, while a woman was struck in the foot. The woman managed to leave the business before officers arrived and subsequently sought treatment at the hospital.
A frantic emergency call was placed to Mansfield dispatchers shortly after the shooting. The caller reported that someone had entered the business and shot a customer. When the dispatcher asked about the victim's condition, the caller initially indicated that Jacocks appeared to be dead before reporting that he still had a pulse. Mansfield police officers and emergency personnel responded to the scene, where they discovered Jacocks critically wounded. He was transported to OhioHealth Mansfield Hospital, but his injuries proved fatal, and he was pronounced dead. The Richland County Coroner's Office subsequently confirmed his identity and arranged for an autopsy through the Montgomery County Medical Examiner's Office.
The killing deeply affected those who knew Jacocks, including the owner of the business where he had previously worked. Fares remembered him as someone who frequently smiled and cared deeply about his children. Just one day before the shooting, Jacocks had visited the establishment with his children, making the sudden violence particularly devastating for those who had seen him enjoying time with his family. Fares publicly appealed for justice and released surveillance footage in hopes that someone would recognize the gunman. Investigators examined the recordings, interviewed witnesses and asked residents to provide information about the masked individual.
For more than three years, the circumstances surrounding the killing remained largely unresolved publicly. However, federal court allegations reported on October 22, 2026, revealed that investigators had developed a theory involving an alleged contract killing. According to an FBI investigation, the events leading to Jacocks' death began on December 30, 2022, when Cy Michael Ison was involved in a confrontation outside the Bucket Bar on Lexington Street in Mansfield. Federal investigators alleged that Ison was beaten by a group of six individuals that included Jacocks. The confrontation reportedly left Ison seeking retaliation against those he believed were responsible.
Investigators alleged that beginning around New Year's Day 2023, Ison communicated with associates about arranging the killings of individuals involved in the altercation. Court filings described conversations in which he allegedly offered substantial sums of money to have people killed. According to the FBI, Ison eventually focused on Jacocks and offered $10,000 for his murder. Investigators alleged that he used electronic communications, including a FaceTime conversation in which he displayed a photograph of Jacocks, while attempting to recruit someone to carry out the killing. The reported negotiations included an offer of $5,000 for shooting the intended victim in the body and $10,000 for a fatal shot to the head. These details became central to the federal murder-for-hire allegations.
The investigation subsequently identified Nakeial Carter and Jamir Tayshun Hess as individuals allegedly connected to the shooting. According to statements described in federal court filings, Carter reportedly told fellow inmates that he received money from Ison and arranged for Hess to carry out the killing, keeping much of the payment for himself. Investigators alleged that Hess was the masked gunman who entered the M&S Drive-Thru and shot Jacocks. The allegations described a calculated act of retaliation rather than a spontaneous confrontation inside the business. The roles attributed to Carter and Hess were based on investigative findings and witness statements and should not be confused with convictions for Jacocks' murder.
Federal investigators also developed allegations about what happened immediately after the shooting. According to court records, Hess allegedly went to Carter's residence following the attack. Carter reportedly assisted in concealing evidence, including placing clothing associated with the shooting in a neighboring trash container and burying the firearm believed to have been used in the killing. Investigators also obtained information about communications allegedly involving Ison after Jacocks' death. Court filings described messages in which Ison reportedly acknowledged that Jacocks had been killed and referred to placing a $10,000 bounty on his life. These communications became part of the evidence federal authorities relied upon in developing their case.
The violence surrounding the alleged conspiracy did not end with Jacocks' death. On March 5, 2023, just three days after the murder, Ison was shot in the leg along Lexington Springmill Road. A witness later reportedly told investigators that the attack was retaliation for Jacocks' killing and that Ison had been responsible for arranging the hit. Detectives continued examining the suspected connections between the individuals involved. On March 16, 2023, investigators searched Carter's residence while pursuing another shooting investigation. Meanwhile, the man later identified in federal allegations as the suspected gunman would never stand trial for Jacocks' death. On March 29, 2023, Hess was found dead from a gunshot wound at his home on Emerald Avenue. His death was determined to be a suicide by the Richland County Coroner's Office.
Carter subsequently faced criminal proceedings involving other violent incidents and evidence-related allegations. He pleaded guilty to numerous charges arising from a December 2022 shooting outside King's Mini Mart on Lexington Avenue, including attempted murder, felonious assault, carrying a concealed weapon and multiple counts involving discharging a firearm near prohibited premises. He was sentenced to prison for that incident, and subsequent reporting also described a guilty plea involving tampering with evidence. These proceedings were separate from any determination of criminal responsibility for Jacocks' homicide. His imprisonment did not itself establish that he had been convicted of arranging Jacocks' murder.
The investigation into Ison continued over the following years. Federal authorities examined electronic communications, witness accounts, financial activity and suspected drug-trafficking operations. In 2024, federal drug agents reportedly intercepted Ison and another individual at John Glenn Columbus International Airport and seized more than $20,000 in suspected drug proceeds. Investigators later considered the money relevant to their assessment of his alleged ability to finance a contract killing. In September 2026, authorities searched a residence associated with Ison and recovered firearms and more than $84,000 in cash as part of a separate drug investigation.
A significant development emerged in October 2026 when federal prosecutors charged Cy Michael Ison with using a facility of interstate commerce in the commission of murder-for-hire in connection with Jacocks' killing. The charge represented a major change in a case that had initially been characterized by an unidentified masked shooter and the absence of publicly announced arrests. Ison was also being held in the Richland County Jail on a $1 million bond in connection with separate drug-trafficking proceedings. Those allegations included an investigation into a suspected fentanyl distribution operation involving multiple defendants. The federal murder-for-hire charge was distinct from those drug-related allegations. As of October 22, 2026, an initial federal court date had not been publicly established, and no conviction had been reported against Ison in connection with Jacocks' death. He remains presumed innocent of the charge unless proven guilty in court.
Beyond the criminal investigation, Jacocks' death devastated a family that had already experienced a remarkably similar tragedy. His grandfather, Clarence Jacocks Jr., was shot and killed on March 12, 1999, while working at Papa Johnny's Drive-Thru in Mansfield. That earlier killing occurred during a robbery and was eventually solved, with three individuals receiving lengthy prison sentences. The resemblance between the two incidents, separated by nearly 24 years, was a painful reminder of the violence the family had endured across generations.
Born on February 5, 1997, in Mansfield, Devonte was a 2015 graduate of Mansfield Senior High School. His family remembered him as hardworking, loyal, generous and devoted to his loved ones. He enjoyed spending time with his children, helping others, playing games and making people laugh. At the time of his death, he was raising a daughter and son, with another son expected to be born. His funeral took place on March 10, 2023, at Oasis of Love Church in Mansfield, followed by burial at Mansfield Cemetery. Family members and friends gathered to honor a life that had ended suddenly and violently.
The October 2026 federal charges brought renewed attention to the murder and provided a possible explanation for why Jacocks was targeted inside a business where he was well known. What initially appeared to witnesses as a shocking, unexplained shooting is now the subject of allegations describing a planned killing motivated by revenge. Although investigators have identified individuals they believe participated in the conspiracy, the allegations against Ison remain subject to the judicial process, and no murder conviction in Jacocks' case has been established in the available reporting. For his family, the proceedings represent the possibility of accountability after years of uncertainty, while his children and loved ones continue living with the consequences of a life taken on March 2, 2023.
