WARREN, Ohio — A federal jury convicted a father and son for their roles in the premeditated murder of an on-duty U.S. Postal Service letter carrier in Warren, Ohio.
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Kaprise Sledge and Thomas Sledge were found guilty following a nearly two-week trial in front of U.S. District Judge Donald C. Nugent.
The conviction stems from the March 2, 2024, killing of 33-year-old Jont’e Davis, who was carrying out his official duties as a mail carrier when he was shot.
Authorities established that the father and son tracked Davis along his delivery route before the shooting occurred.
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According to evidence presented during the trial, Davis was sitting in his parked mail truck on March 2, 2024, when gunfire was fired from a gray Dodge Ram truck that pulled up beside him.
An eyewitness called 911 and described the vehicle involved, which investigators subsequently confirmed was registered to Kaprise Sledge, 24, of Warren.
Investigators utilized video surveillance footage and phone records to determine that Kaprise Sledge and his father, Thomas Sledge, 44, of Youngstown, stalked Davis along his delivery route for approximately an hour and a half before the fatal shooting.
Additionally, federal agents executing a search warrant at Kaprise Sledge’s residence located evidence of drug trafficking.
In addition to the murder of an officer and an employee of the United States, both men were found guilty of using, carrying, and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 10, 2026.
Both Kaprise Sledge and Thomas Sledge face up to life imprisonment on the murder charge, along with a mandatory minimum of 10 years up to life imprisonment on the firearms charges.
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