Late spring 2025 brought a homicide investigation to Henry County, Virginia, when the body of 34-year-old James Baldwin Jr. of Martinsville was found on the shoulder of Lee’s Ridge Road on April 29 with multiple gunshot wounds. Family and officials identified Baldwin as a Black / African American male. Authorities determined Baldwin had been killed inside a residence at 1145 Ridge Road in Martinsville; a search warrant executed at that address turned up evidence tying the home to the killing and investigators say his body was then moved to the roadside location where it was discovered.

Martinsville Police led the probe with assistance from the Henry County Sheriff’s Office. On April 30 a Martinsville resident, 36-year-old Jermaine Dominique Finney, was arrested and charged with concealing or transporting a dead body and held without bond. Investigators interviewed several persons of interest and expected more charges; a gold 2022 Chevrolet Trax with Virginia plate TGB-2200 was sought and later located. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Roanoke is conducting a forensic exam.

If anyone has information about Baldwin, the Ridge Road residence, or movements of the Chevrolet Trax, please share what is known.