In the early evening of May 1, 2022, a violent encounter in the parking lot of a Pilot Travel Center in Chesterfield County, Virginia, tragically ended the life of 35-year-old Keon A. Clanton. Emergency services received multiple calls about a shooting at the Ruffin Mill Road truck stop at approximately 6:05 p.m. Upon their arrival, police officers discovered Clanton suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.
He was quickly transported to a nearby hospital, but his injuries proved to be fatal, and he was pronounced dead.
The investigation into the shooting swiftly identified a suspect vehicle fleeing the scene. A short time after the incident, police responded to a motor vehicle crash near the intersection of West Hundred Road and Route 1, which involved the vehicle seen leaving the Pilot Travel Center. At the crash site, one of the suspects, identified as 32-year-old Darnell S. White, was taken into custody by law enforcement. A second suspect, however, managed to flee the scene of the crash on foot.
Following his apprehension, Darnell S. White was arrested and faced multiple charges in connection with the death of Keon Clanton. The charges brought against him included second-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. He was subsequently held without bond at the Chesterfield County Jail. Authorities described the second, at-large suspect as a Black male, approximately 6 feet 3 inches tall, who was last seen wearing a white T-shirt and red gym shorts. Police utilized surveillance footage from a mobile home community near the crash site in their ongoing efforts to identify and locate this second individual.
