Police identify USPS mail carrier killed as 33-year-old Jonte Davis
A quarter-million dollar reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest of the person responsible for shooting and killing a U.S. Postal Service carrier.
Police in Warren, Ohio, say they responded to a call Saturday around 1:44 p.m. in reference to shots being fired. When they arrived, 33-year-old USPS employee Jonte Davis, who was on the job at the time, was found suffering from a gunshot wound.
Investigators believe Davis was shot while inside his work van by a suspect in another vehicle.
Officers and emergency medical technicians tried to save him on scene, but he was taken to a hospital where he later died.
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USPS delivery van is seen in Chicago on Oct. 14, 2022. (Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
A suspect's vehicle was located on a home's driveway within a few hours, Warren Police Department said in a Facebook statement. A search warrant for the home and vehicle were obtained and executed.
"Evidence, including the suspect vehicle, was recovered and several individuals were transported to the Warren Police Department to be interviewed," the police statement said.
No one is in custody at this time for what police call a "targeted attack." It is believed the suspect and victim knew each other.
The U.S. Postal Service and Federal Bureau of Investigation are assisting with the ongoing investigation.
U.S. Postal Service vehicle in downtown Chicago on Oct. 19, 2022. (Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service announced the $250,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspect or suspects involved in the homicide, according to a press release obtained by WJW-TV.
"He was kind and happy a family man," Davis family friend Tracay Kindler told WKYC-TV. "He wasn't on the streets doing anything illegal, he was trying to provide for his family."
The FBI seal is displayed on a podium before a news conference at the agency's headquarters in Washington. The agency is assisting in the investigation of the mail carrier homicide. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
A witness told the media outlet he heard six shots before he and his wife ran up to the van, finding Davis injured but still alive.
"The postal truck was still running, and I was worried someone was going to get hurt, so I took the key out," the man said. "I just kind of held his hand and I said, 'It's all right, buddy, the ambulance is on its way. It's going to be OK, but if it's your time, it's your time.'"
