Prosecutors said the pair followed Jont’e Davis along his delivery route for about 90 minutes before the fatal March 2024 shooting.
CLEVELAND, Ohio — A federal jury has convicted an Ohio father and son of murdering a U.S. Postal Service letter carrier after prosecutors presented surveillance footage, cellphone evidence and witness testimony linking them to a pickup truck that followed the victim before the fatal shooting.
Kaprise Sledge of Warren and his father, Thomas Sledge of Youngstown, were found guilty Sept. 3 of murder of an officer and employee of the United States and using, carrying and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. The verdict followed a nearly two-week trial before U.S. District Judge Donald C. Nugent. Their sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 10, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio.
The case stems from the March 2, 2024, killing of Jont’e Davis, 33, as he worked his postal route in Warren. Federal prosecutors said Davis was performing his official duties when a gray Dodge Ram drove beside his parked mail vehicle and gunfire struck him. A witness called 911 and provided authorities with information about the pickup involved in the attack.
Investigators later determined that the Dodge Ram was registered to Kaprise Sledge. Prosecutors told jurors that surveillance footage from homes and businesses, along with telephone records, showed the Sledges following Davis along his delivery route for about an hour and a half before the shooting. The government argued that the evidence established the killing was premeditated and that the two defendants aided and abetted each other.
Postal Inspector Joshua Gardner testified about cellphone evidence investigators used during the case. According to courtroom reporting by WKBN, investigators obtained information from major wireless carriers to identify devices in the area of the shooting and another location connected to the pickup. Gardner also described a location-analysis method that prosecutors said helped place both defendants near the crime scene. Defense attorneys challenged the reliability of that evidence during the trial.
Another postal inspector testified that investigators reconstructed Davis’ movements through data generated by the handheld device he used to scan mail during his route. Prosecutors said the records showed Davis had delivered a roughly 15-pound package the day before his death to a Warren property associated with Kaprise Sledge. The package was not addressed to Sledge, and the inspector acknowledged under cross-examination that investigators did not know what it contained.
Prosecutors presented evidence that the package originated from a Northern California address investigators associated with mail-order marijuana shipments. However, the contents of the specific package delivered by Davis were not established at trial, according to courtroom reporting. Authorities have not publicly identified a definitive motive for Davis’ killing, and the federal announcement of the convictions did not state that the package caused or prompted the attack.
The government also presented evidence concerning the gray Dodge Ram. Investigators said the vehicle was captured by surveillance cameras before and after Davis was shot. It was later located behind a home on Maryland Avenue NE, about a mile from the shooting area. Jurors were shown drone imagery of the truck parked behind the residence. Prosecutors also said one surveillance image showed Kaprise Sledge in the vehicle before the killing.
Defense attorneys disputed the government’s interpretation of the electronic and vehicle evidence. They questioned the cellphone-location analysis and argued that another similar pickup could have been involved in the shooting. Courtroom reporting said neither defendant testified or presented a defense case after prosecutors rested. Nugent denied defense motions seeking dismissal of the charges, and the case then went to the jury.
Davis was a Warren-area letter carrier and a father. An obituary published after his death said he worked for the U.S. Postal Service and was a member of Community Church of God in Christ. His killing led to an investigation involving the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Warren Police Department, with assistance from the FBI Violent Crimes Task Force, the Trumbull County Action Group Drug Task Force and Trumbull County Emergency Management.
The Sledges were indicted in federal court in October 2024. At that stage, prosecutors charged each man with murder of a federal employee and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. They pleaded not guilty and remained in federal custody while the case moved toward trial. Federal prosecutors later decided not to seek the death penalty.
Following their convictions, both men face up to life imprisonment on the murder count. The firearm conviction carries a mandatory minimum prison term of 10 years and can also carry a sentence of up to life, according to the Justice Department. Nugent will determine the sentences after considering federal sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors at the Dec. 10 sentencing hearing.
Author note: Last updated September 9, 2026.