MANSFIELD — A 30-year-old man was shot to death early Saturday morning in an apparent dispute with an another man, according to Mansfield police.
The death of Jervon King at 29 Minerva Ave. around 4 a.m. is the 12th homicide handled by Mansfield police in 2023.
According to an emailed press release from Capt. Randy Carver, officers responded at 4:11 a.m. to a 911 call to the residence just east of South Main Street. Minerva Avenue is a small connector street between South Main and Hammond Avenue, west of South Diamond Street.
“A male subject called the police to advise that he had just shot another male who was
wielding a knife,” Carver said.
Police found King, identified by Richland County Coroner Chief Investigator Bob Ball, dead inside a bedroom.
“It appears the victim sustained a single gunshot wound resulting in his death,” Carver said.
“The suspect has been identified and arrested on an unrelated felony warrant,” Carver said.
(Below is the 911 call made from 29 Minerva Ave. on Saturday at 4:11 a.m. The caller’s phone number has been edited from the recording.)
Jermaine Bounds, who said he was the victim’s father, told Richland Source that his son “was in a bad place” due to ongoing child custody issues with Richland County Children Services.
“I spent about five hours with him Friday. We hadn’t talked in a long time. We sat together for a long time and I was trying to get him to understand the fight wasn’t over. He was giving up,” Bounds said.
He said the issues with his son’s children, all age 3 and under, and the child welfare agency had been ongoing for a couple of years.
“It was spin move after spin move where they are like ‘Do this and you will get your kids back in 30 days.’ That’s been going on for years. I told my son after the first few months they never plan on giving those kids back,” Bounds said.
“He was just in a bad place. He was in a defeated place. He loved his kids. My son’s very loving and a very giving man. He loved to give gifts,” Bounds said.
Ball said King’s body will be sent to the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office on Monday for an autopsy.
Police detectives are working to gather additional information and additional details will be released once they are available, Carver said.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Det. Richard Clapp at (419) 755-9470.
