In the late hours of a winter evening in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, the life of 20-year-old Xedric 'C.J.' McNeil was tragically cut short. On Sunday, February 4, 2018, police responded to reports of multiple gunshots in the 300 block of Diecks Drive. Arriving at the scene shortly after 11:00 p.m., officers discovered McNeil lying on the ground in a parking lot, having sustained apparent gunshot wounds.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
McNeil, who was born on April 28, 1997, had spent most of his life in Elizabethtown. He was a 2015 graduate of Elizabethtown High School, where he had been a member of the football and basketball teams. Remembered for his warm heart and ability to brighten anyone's day, his death sent ripples of shock and grief through the close-knit community. Friends and family recalled him as the last person who would deserve such a fate and lamented the loss of a young man with so much potential.
In the wake of the shooting, the Elizabethtown Police Department quickly identified a suspect. A warrant was issued for the arrest of 29-year-old Charles Roberson Jr., also of Elizabethtown, on charges of murder and wanton endangerment. Law enforcement considered Roberson to be armed and extremely dangerous and sought the public's assistance in locating him. The search for Roberson was brief, as he was taken into custody on February 7, 2018, just three days after the fatal shooting that ended a young life.
