Father and Son Convicted for Their Roles in the Murder of a USPS Mail Carrier

CLEVELAND – Today, a federal jury convicted a father and son for their roles in the pre-meditated murder of an on-duty United States Postal Service (USPS) letter carrier in March of 2024.

After a nearly two-week-long trial in front of U.S. District Judge Donald C. Nugent, Kaprise Sledge, 24, of Warren, and Thomas Sledge, 44 of Youngstown, were found guilty of:

• Murder of an Officer and Employee of the United States
• Using, Carrying, and Discharging a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence

According to evidence presented to the jury, on March 2, 2024, the two men aided and abetted one another in the premeditated killing of Jont’e Davis, age 33. At the time of his murder, Davis was carrying out his official duties as a mail carrier for the U.S. Postal Service, in Warren, Ohio, when he was struck by gunfire coming from a gray Dodge Ram truck that drove up next to his parked mail truck. An eyewitness called 911 and identified the vehicle involved in the shooting. Investigators were able to confirm that the truck was registered to Kaprise Sledge. Through video surveillance footage and telephone records, investigators were able to establish that Kaprise Sledge and his father, Thomas, stalked Davis along his delivery route for approximately an hour and a half before shooting and killing him.  Additionally, during the execution of a search warrant at Kaprise Sledge’s residence, agents located evidence of drug trafficking.

Sentencing is scheduled for December 10, 2026. Both Sledge’s face a term of up to life imprisonment on the murder charge, and a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years, up to life imprisonment on the firearms charges. A federal district court judge will determine the sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The United States Postal Inspection Service Cleveland Office and the Warren Police Department investigated the case. The Trumbull County Action Group Drug Task Force, FBI Violent Crimes Task Force, and Trumbull County Emergency Management also assisted in this investigation.

Assistant United States Attorneys Carol Skutnik, Peter Daly, Brett Hammond, and Samuel Lioi for the Northern District of Ohio are prosecuting the case.

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