In the early hours of June 16, 2020, a gathering in Battle Creek, Michigan, intended to celebrate a life lost, became the scene of further tragedy. Leon Jackson, a 30-year-old Black/African American male, was among a crowd of 200 to 300 people at an outdoor party on West Rittenhouse Avenue. The event was a memorial for Elijah Williams, who would have been celebrating his 24th birthday had his own life not been cut short by violence the previous year.
Just after 12:30 a.m., the commemorative atmosphere was shattered by the sound of gunfire.
An unknown individual opened fire into the large crowd, striking both Leon Jackson and 23-year-old Diamond King. Both victims suffered gunshot wounds to the head and were rushed to a local hospital, but their injuries proved fatal. The sudden violence left the community shaken and searching for answers. Investigators believed that Jackson may have been the intended target of the shooting, while King was likely an innocent bystander caught in the deadly crossfire.
The investigation into the double homicide spanned over a year and a half, but persistence from the Battle Creek Police Department eventually led to a breakthrough. Through a series of interviews, detectives were able to identify three suspects in connection with the fatal shooting. Chad Jones, 27, Tahar Boyd, 34, and Dominique Clark, 32, were subsequently arrested. Boyd was apprehended during a routine courthouse visit, while Jones was taken into custody during a traffic stop where a handgun was discovered in his vehicle.
Following their arrests, Chad Jones and Tahar Boyd were arraigned on serious charges, including two counts of open murder and various weapons violations, setting them on a path toward significant legal consequences. In May 2024, Chad Jones was sentenced for his role in the killings. He received a prison sentence of 50 to 80 years for the murder of Leon Jackson. The legal proceedings for the other suspects are ongoing as the community continues to seek full justice for the lives lost on that tragic night.
