On the night of May 14, 2024, 49-year-old Charles Westbrooks was shot and killed in the parking lot of Westbrooks Grocery on west Sharkey Road in the Sharkey community near Charleston, Mississippi. A 911 call came in at 11:34 p.m.; responding Tallahatchie County Sheriff’s Office units found Westbrooks with multiple gunshot wounds and pronounced him dead at the scene. His body was sent for autopsy to determine the formal cause of death.

A 36-year-old man, Melvin Lee, also from the Sharkey community, was found at the scene, taken into custody for questioning and was charged the following afternoon with first-degree murder; his bond was set at $500,000. Investigators recovered a .300 Blackout firearm believed to be the weapon used, along with 13 empty shell casings of that caliber and one live round ejected on the ground. No motive has been released and the investigation is ongoing.

If anyone in the Sharkey or Charleston area knew Charles Westbrooks or has information about what happened that night, please share what you know.