On November 19, 2024, at about 10:45 a.m., 29-year-old Anthony A.J. Zellars Jr. was fatally shot while working as a parking enforcement attendant at the Townes Apartments on West Arrowhead Road in Charlotte, North Carolina. Employed by Lot Management Solutions, he was placing a boot on a vehicle for parking violations when the vehicle’s driver confronted him and shot him. Emergency responders pronounced Zellars dead at the scene.

Zellars was a Jefferson Forest High School and Radford University graduate who had studied criminal justice and law enforcement. He was engaged to Amilya Mixon and was a father figure to her son, Kase. His family described him as having a loving spirit and a strong work ethic and expressed deep sorrow over the loss.

After a nearly month-long investigation, police identified 28-year-old Marquell Pettiford as a suspect; on December 13, 2024, Pettiford was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Zellars’ family has said they are grateful for the progress in the case and want swift justice and full accountability.

Did anyone at the Townes Apartments that morning see the confrontation or the vehicle involved?