James Gardner was 26 and from Cleveland, Ohio. He was fatally beaten on April 14, 2021, after an incident at the Family Dollar store in East Cleveland. Surveillance footage shows Gardner left a pouch containing about $10,000 in a shopping cart, then confronted two unknown male assailants after realizing the error; the men attacked and beat him, and he later died on June 28, 2021.

The investigation that followed identified a person charged with aiding and abetting the attack. Court records and later hearings raised issues including allegations of prosecutorial misconduct, improper admission of evidence, and claims of ineffective assistance of counsel, which were contested in appeals. The case has had a lasting effect on Gardner’s family and the community.

If anyone witnessed the April 14 confrontation at the Family Dollar or has information about the two men seen in surveillance, please share what is known.