Calvin Demond Tate was a 41-year-old Black man who was a husband, father, and son. According to his family, he is survived by his loving wife, Alisha Tate, his parents, three sisters, and his children, Majystee Tate, Calvin Tate Jr., and Ariana McZee, as well as four stepchildren. His life was cut short in a violent encounter just after his community of Starkville, Mississippi, had rung in the new year.
The year 2024 was less than three hours old when the Oktibbeha County Sheriff’s Office received a call from a residence on Artesia Road. Deputies arrived at Calvin Tate’s home at approximately 2:30 a.m. on January 1 to find him suffering from a single gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators arrested a suspect, 28-year-old Langston Jacques Spencer of Starkville, at the home.
Authorities confirmed that Spencer and Tate knew one another but did not release further details about the circumstances that led to the shooting. Spencer was taken to the Oktibbeha County Jail.
Langston Spencer was charged with manslaughter, and his bond was set at $50,000. The case later went before an Oktibbeha County Grand Jury, which returned an indictment against Spencer on the manslaughter charge. As of January 2025, a trial date had not yet been set.
