On the evening of May 17, 2022, a tragic series of events unfolded in Parkersburg, West Virginia, leading to the death of 26-year-old Terrence "TJ" Edwin Mills. A male resident of Parkersburg, Mills was lured to the 1400 block of Covert Street under the pretense of a drug transaction that was, in reality, a setup for a robbery. The plan was orchestrated by three individuals who conspired to rob him.
Responding to reports of gunshots at approximately 9:35 p.m., Parkersburg Police officers
discovered Mills bleeding in the area. He had sustained a single gunshot wound to the chest. Emergency services transported him to WVU Medicine Camden Clark, but he succumbed to his injuries shortly before midnight. The investigation that followed painted a grim picture of betrayal and violence.
Within days, the investigation led to the arrest of a Vienna woman, Dezaray Lynn Roberts, then 22. After being questioned by police, Roberts admitted her role in the plot. She confessed to arranging the meeting with Mills, with the intention that her two male accomplices would rob him. Roberts stated that she remained in her vehicle, a 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee, while the two men confronted Mills. She reported hearing shouting followed by gunshots before the men got back into her vehicle and they fled the scene.
Further investigation led to the identification and eventual arrest of the two male suspects, George Justin Smith, 21, also known as Justin Keel, of Columbus, and Donovan Tyler McCune, 23, of Parkersburg. Both were indicted by a Wood County Grand Jury on multiple charges, including murder and first-degree robbery. The indictments were initially sealed as neither suspect was in custody at the time. McCune was served with his indictment at the Wood County Magistrate Court on an unrelated matter, and detectives located and arrested Smith without incident.
In February 2024, Justin Keel was found guilty of felony murder, first-degree robbery, presentation of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and conspiracy to commit a felony. Testimony during his trial revealed that the plan was to rob Mills of marijuana. During the confrontation in an alleyway near Covert Street, Keel fired a gun, striking Mills. Despite being wounded, Mills managed to flee but collapsed in a flowerbed of a nearby home. In April 2024, Keel was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 15 years, as the jury had recommended mercy.
