On October 20, 2023, at about 10:31 p.m., Canton police went to a residence in the 1900 block of Maple Avenue NE after a reported shooting. Officers found 37-year-old Dontae T. Crayton with a gunshot wound to the upper body; he was taken to Cleveland Clinic Mercy Hospital and later died of his injuries.

Investigators say the shooting happened during a domestic dispute between Crayton and his fiancée, Yolanda Jones. During the altercation Crayton allegedly spat on Jones, and her son, 18-year-old Savier D. Smiley, intervened. Smiley reportedly retrieved a firearm and shot Crayton once in the abdomen. Smiley was arrested shortly afterward at a nearby residence and charged with murder.

The case left both families and the community shaken. If anyone saw what happened at the Maple Avenue NE residence that night or has information about the events leading up to the shooting, please come forward.