On the evening of September 29, 2023, a verbal dispute on the 100 block of Boyce Avenue in Utica, New York, escalated into a fatal encounter. Curtis Henry, a 44-year-old Black / African American male from Verona, New York, became embroiled in an argument with another individual. The disagreement turned violent when the other man, identified as 47-year-old James Beard of Utica, produced a firearm.
Beard shot Henry at least once before fleeing the scene.
Emergency services were called, and shortly before 8 p.m., Henry was transported to St. Elizabeth's Hospital. Despite the efforts of medical staff, he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead.
Following the shooting, the Utica Police Department, with assistance from the METRO SWAT team, which included members of the Oneida County Sheriff's Office and the New Hartford Police Department, launched a manhunt for Beard. He was apprehended without incident. Beard was subsequently charged with second-degree murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. The investigation into the circumstances that led to the deadly confrontation remained ongoing.
