Samuel L. Brooks, 42, a Black man from Reidsville, North Carolina, was fatally shot late on the night of June 12, 2025. Officers responded just before midnight to the 500 block of Roach Street and found Brooks and his cousin, 37-year-old Shanika D. Penn, both suffering gunshot wounds; Rockingham County EMS pronounced them dead at the scene.

Investigators developed a person of interest from neighborhood surveillance video and eyewitness accounts between 11 p.m. and 12:30 a.m. Detectives publicly identified 45-year-old Dexter Lamar Scales Sr. as the suspect and obtained warrants charging him with two counts of first-degree murder. Authorities warned that anyone who aided or harbored him would face charges and announced a reward that grew to as much as $10,000 as the search continued through July. As of late June, police said Scales remained at large and considered dangerous.

Officers arrested 39-year-old Leslie Moyer of Eden on June 27, charging her with being an accessory after the fact; she was booked on a $500,000 secured bond. On July 22, police arrested Deaja Lamiya Scales and charged her with accessory after the fact, also held on a $500,000 secured bond. The investigation remained active and family and community members called for justice for Brooks and Penn.

If anyone has information about the events on Roach Street that night or the whereabouts of Dexter Lamar Scales Sr., please come forward.