Roderick Quincy Payne, a 43-year-old Black man, was shot on the evening of January 3, 2018, on the 200 block of Poplar Street in Bluefield, West Virginia. He was taken to a local hospital but died from his gunshot wound.

Investigators described the shooting as drug-related. Within a day, two men, Marcus Brooks and Rashad Johnson, were arrested and initially charged in connection with the incident; their charges were later upgraded to first-degree murder. A Mercer County Magistrate Court criminal complaint alleged the shooting arose from a drug deal that turned into a planned robbery and confrontation, culminating in Payne’s fatal injury.

Both Brooks and Johnson were held in the Southern Regional Jail awaiting further legal proceedings. If anyone knew Roderick Payne, his movements that evening, or has information about the alleged robbery and shooting, please come forward.