On the evening of October 5, 2016, police in Danville, Virginia, found 41-year-old Jonathan McDonald Hamlett in the street near the intersection of Chatelaine Avenue and Albert Street with multiple gunshot wounds. Hamlett, a Black male, was taken to Danville Regional Medical Center where he was pronounced deceased shortly before midnight. His body was sent to the Medical Examiner’s Office in Roanoke for autopsy and the Danville Police Department described the investigation as active and ongoing immediately after the shooting.

Detectives continued to pursue leads for several years. In August 2020 the Danville Police and the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office arrested a 17-year-old Danville resident and charged the teenager with first-degree murder and related firearms offenses; the youth was taken into custody without incident and held at the W.W. Moore, Jr. Juvenile Detention Home to await trial. The arrest was credited to prolonged investigative work by detectives.

If anyone knew Jonathan, saw activity near Chatelaine Avenue and Albert Street on October 5, 2016, or has information about the shooting, please come forward.