Robert William Staton was 33 when he was found dead in the parking lot of First St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church in Rustburg, Virginia, on the afternoon of July 5, 2022. He had sustained a fatal gunshot wound and was pronounced dead at the scene. Friends and family described Staton as a big man with a generous nature who was always willing to help others.

The Campbell County Sheriff’s Office treated the death as a homicide. Two days after the shooting, investigators arrested 52-year-old Michael Anthony Cerillo of Lexington, North Carolina; he was charged with second-degree murder, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. Prosecutors said Cerillo believed Staton had stolen a large quantity of marijuana and shot him in the face.

A trial concluded and Cerillo was sentenced in March 2024 on the murder and firearms charges. Does anyone who knew Robert remember him from the Rustburg community or have information about the events that led up to that afternoon?