Charles Mitchell, a Black man from Memphis remembered by friends as “cool, loving, and funny,” attended Fairly High School and was known to some by the nickname “Buckethead.” One friend fondly recalled how Mitchell used to call him “busta,” writing, “Still don’t seem real.” His life was cut short in the summer of 2023.
Just after midnight on July 31, 2023, an argument broke out between Mitchell and another man, Nakial Betts, at a home on Manson Road in the Westwood
neighborhood of Memphis. According to a woman who was at the scene, the dispute escalated dramatically when Betts shot Mitchell. The witness told police she then saw Betts load Mitchell’s body into a truck and speed away from the residence.
The Memphis Police Department began an investigation. About five hours after the shooting, officers responded to a "man down" call and discovered Charles Mitchell’s body on the side of the road at 4393 Melwood Road. He had died from a gunshot wound. The witness who saw the shooting later identified the suspect from a police photo lineup.
Investigators located their suspect, 48-year-old Nakial Betts, at a motel on Airways Boulevard. Following his arrest, Betts was taken in for questioning, where police said he confessed to shooting Mitchell. Betts was subsequently charged with second-degree murder. As of August 2023, the case against him was proceeding through the court system.
