In the late hours of a Tuesday night in the Sharkey community near Charleston, Mississippi, the life of 49-year-old Charles Westbrooks was tragically cut short. On May 14, 2024, shots rang out in the parking lot of Westbrooks Grocery on west Sharkey Road, leaving Westbrooks with multiple gunshot wounds. He succumbed to his injuries at the scene. The male victim, a resident of Swan Lake Road, was pronounced dead in a place bearing his own last name, though any relationship to the owners of the
closed grocery store remains uncertain.
Responding to a 911 call made at 11:34 p.m., units from the Tallahatchie County Sheriff's Office arrived to a grim scene. They discovered Westbrooks' body and another man, 36-year-old Melvin Lee, also a resident of the Sharkey community. Lee was taken into custody for questioning and by the following afternoon, he was formally charged with first-degree murder in connection with Westbrooks' death. His bond was set at $500,000.
Investigators at the scene recovered a. 300 blackout firearm, believed to be the weapon used in the shooting. They also collected 13 empty shell casings of the same caliber and one live round that had been ejected onto the ground. While authorities have spoken with potential witnesses, a motive for the shooting has not yet been determined as the investigation is still in its early stages. The body of Charles Westbrooks was sent for an autopsy to formally determine the cause of death.
